Hi, i am trying to edit MaskMap (R-Metallic, G-AO, B-DetailMask, A-Smoothness) in Photoshop, but when i open it, it is completely transparent. I can not edit channels and see anything.
Texture contains information, it is working in Unity correctly. Texture is in PNG format.
This is how it looks in Photoshop
This is how it looks in Unity
You can download the texture to check it yourself.
Link to the texture
Thank you.
Photoshop’s default PNG file handling is terrible. Use SuperPNG instead.
https://www.fnordware.com/superpng/
You’ll need to select the PNG as a SuperPNG from within Photoshop’s open file dialog, then hold down Shift when you click the Open button. It should pop up a prompt with the option to open the “Alpha as a separate channel”. Select that and hit Okay. (Do not enable the Multiply RGB option.)
Saving using SuperPNG will also be required if you want to save those textures as PNG files again, because by default Photoshop deletes all color data in areas where the alpha is zero. Make sure you choose Alpha Channel as Alpha 1, and Quantize is off. Also don’t enable Clear Transparency. That”s the thing Photoshop does that you’re trying to avoid. Personally I also choose the faster save option as the actual file size of the PNG itself is mostly irrelevant as it doesn’t impact the imported texture.
Thanks. It works as supposed to now.
Hey images are totally blank cant see anything.
But I think
If you want to directly edit layer transparency, create a photo mask for this data.
You can Shift-click the thumbnail to disable it and make the image and its channels opaque.
Photoshop converts transparency into an opaque color, hidden by the newly created mask. The opaque color varies greatly, depending upon the filters and other processing previously applied to the layer.
No. Don’t do this.
The PNG files have color data in the areas that are fully transparent. If you open them with Photoshop’s default PNG plugin it will destroy that color data. As soon as a layer imported into Photoshop has a fully transparent pixel, all color data is deleted. As you said, Photoshop will convert the transparent area to an opaque color if you extract the transparency to a mask, but it will be one it conjured up from thin air, not the one that was in the original file. The layer was already fully transparent before that so the data was already lost.
If you use layer masks for the alpha when saving to another format that supports alpha using Photoshop’s official plugins, like PNG or TIFF, any color values in the fully transparent areas will be deleted by Photoshop.
And even if you just keep it as a PSD, the official PSD plugin Unity uses has the same behavior and any areas of full transparency will be imported as solid white. You must use the separate alpha channel, not layer transparency or layer masks, if you want Unity to be able to read the color channel and alpha channel of a PSD file.
Similarly, Photoshop’s default PNG (and TIFF) saving will delete all color values in areas that are “fully transparent” even if you do keep the alpha in the separate channel.
The SuperPNG plugin is the only way to both open and save PNG files with Photoshop that will properly keep the alpha uncorrelated.
edit: Looks like TIFF works properly now when using a separate alpha channel. BMP, TGA, TIFF, and PSD files all work and keep the alpha channel separate rather than combining it. Using a layer mask or layer transparency for these formats all have their color data irreparably damaged in any area with any transparency. And some don’t have any alpha at all, even if they do when using a separate alpha channel.
It also appears I’m wrong and there are situations when Photoshop does not destroy the color data on fully transparent layers and Photoshop can correctly retain it when using the From Transparency method described above. It’s not 100% of the time though, and doesn’t avoid the problem of saving files destroying the color data.
@bgolus , I liked your tips. Thank you.
If you’re experiencing blank images, addressing layer transparency issues can be pivotal. To directly manipulate layer transparency, consider implementing a photo mask for your data.
Begin by navigating to the Layers panel and selecting the desired layer. To establish a image mask from transparency, go to Layer > Layer Mask > From Transparency. If you wish to toggle the visibility of the image and its channels, you can achieve this by Shift-clicking the thumbnail.
By executing these steps, Photoshop ingeniously transforms transparency into an opaque color, cleverly concealed by the newly generated mask. It’s important to note that the resulting opaque color may exhibit variations, contingent upon the filters and other processing techniques previously applied to the layer. This method not only resolves the issue of blank images but also offers a nuanced approach to controlling layer transparency with precision.