Lesson 30: Adding Transparent Backgrounds to Scanned Items

I was recently asked about how to take regular items--like stickers, di-cuts, buttons, etc--and turn them into an element that can be used in digital scrapbooking. This is not something I have done much of in my own pages, but I DO know how to do it! First of all, this is a tutorial FOR PHOTOSHOP. If you are not using Photoshop or Elements, this tutorial will not help you.

OLD SCHOOL METHOD

1. Scan in your item. Pull that scanned image into Photoshop.
2. Use one of your Lasso tools to cut out the image as carefully as you can.
3. Once it's cut out, do CTRL+J to create its own layer, OR, copy and paste it using CTRL+C, CTRL+V.
4. Save the picture as either a .gif or a .png
**Note: .jpg files cannot have a transparent background. Make sure you file has the grey and white checkerboard background that means "transparent" and then save it as a .gif or .png in order for it to retain a transparent background.

NEWER METHOD

1. Scan in your item. Pull that scanned image into Photoshop

2. Click on the Eraser tool and choose Magic Eraser from the list
3. Click on the background until most of it is gone. It will automatically make a transparent background--no need to create a new layer.
4. Clean it up by using the lasso tool.
5. Save it as either a .gif or a .png
**Note: .jpg files cannot have a transparent background. Make sure you file has the grey and white checkerboard background that means "transparent" and then save it as a .gif or .png in order for it to retain a transparent background.

And now, if you'd rather watch a video that demonstrates this, click below!

Watch the Video! Creating a transparent background in Photoshop