Another photoshop question!

[GR Web FX]

Hey people,

Yet again im a bit stuck with photoshop!!!

Basically i just wondered how you change colours when using channels?? ive been creating some buttons using layers, and when i go over over to the channels tab, i create a new channel called 'Alpha 1' then ive been filling my shape with a white fill. However this time i wanted to fill the shape with a blue. But when i choose a blue colour to fill, it just goes to a shade of grey!!! Does anyone know why this is happening?? The other colours in the channels tab are RGB.

Thansk alot

GR Web FX

[mikeandike22]

because you are either on the blue red green or black/white(alpha) channel

[GR Web FX]

Oh right i see......how do i change the colour?? when i create alpha 1 the box fill colour is black. the other RGB colours dont have the 'eye' thing but my alpha level does. Ive noticed the background colours change when i click the eye thing of the RGB colours.

I basically just need to know how i can create a new channel, and make the fill colour of that channel a type of blue????

Thanks alot

GR Web FX

[mikeandike22]

i dont really now i will have to see if there is some sort of channel properties box or something like that. i do know that you can copy channels so you can copy the blue, the red, or the green channel. I think that alpha is only black and white.

[GR Web FX]

oh right i see, thanks alot :)

[Kezz]

Channels are greyscale only - basically, they define a selection.
If you want to add colour, go back to your layers pallette and click on they layer you want to adjust.

[mikeandike22]

channels are not grayscale only there only new channels alpha channels are grayscale there is also a red green and blue channel.

[Kezz]

You're right (sort of ;)) - I should have been more specific.

Colour Channels are greyscale information about how much of a particular colour is present. If the image is RGB, there are 3 channels which in this way define how much colour information is present for each pixel for Red, Green and Blue respectively.
If the image is CMYK, there are 4 channels - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (Key).

So in this respect we're both right, they are greyscale, but the greyscale tones represent the amount of each colour present for a particular pixel. Photoshop allows you to see these channels in greyscale or colour - as defined in your preferences - it defaults to greyscale, as 98% transparent yellow is hard to see :)

Alpha channels are different but work in a similar way. In this case, as mikeandike22 pointed out, they are purely greyscale, and can be used to define a selection where the different grades of grey define transparency.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

[GR Web FX]

Thanks for all your help, i think i was maybe barking up the wrong tree!
Ive enroled myself on a photoshop cs course at University which started a week ago! Hopefully that will stop me asking dodgy questions!! :lol:

[mikeandike22]

no question is a stupid question (please ppl dont argue about that statement at least here it is true because ppl are learning from every question on this forum.

[Kezz]

I agree - there's no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers ;)