|
|
OCTOBER 15, 2003 DVD Studio Pro: Customizing Button States
Using advanced color to clean up jagged highlight edges Now, earlier I mentioned that I'd show you how to use these color technique to clean up jagged edges on highlights. Hard, sloppy or jagged edges are actually caused by antialiasing that occurs within Photoshop, something that's quite difficult to avoid, unless you're working in Bitmap mode. This is the reason Apple's documentation is always going on about making sure you have antialiasing turned off in Photoshop. But there are times when it just can't be helped.[an error occurred while processing this directive]However, you can use the color technique you just learned to fix it up in DVD Studio Pro, though it won't work with multi-colored highlights. For these, just pick colors that aren't too vibrant, and you shouldn't have anything to worry about. But let's assume you are using a vibrant color and that it's giving you some edge trouble, as in the example below.  What's a DVD author to do? Well, since this problem is cause by anti-aliasing that occurs between the boundaries between color and transparency, what you're really getting is residual semi-transparency, which, as you now know, can be mapped to its own color. So select your button in the Menu window and go back tot he Color tab in the Properties palette. Change the colors so that they gradually step down toward your background color, and increase their opacity to 15 each, as in the example below.  Alternately, you can also use all the same color and step down the opacity. It's about the same in overall effect.  And so you'll wind up with edges that look a lot better, even if they aren't perfect. (It might be difficult to see the difference in the example below, since it's compressed for the Web.)  So there you have the ins and outs of highlight creation, mapping and color manipulation. Next time around we'll delve into overlays, which are slightly more advanced than integrated button highlights, and also cover color sets and other color issues. Until then, if you have any further questions, be sure to drop me a line or visit me in one of the forums listed blow. You can reach me in the DVD Studio Pro forum here. Contact the author: Dave Nagel is the producer of Creative Mac and Digital Media Designer; host of several World Wide User Groups, including Synthetik Studio Artist, Adobe Photoshop, Apple DVD Studio Pro, Mac OS, Adobe InDesign, Adobe LiveMotion, Creative Mac and Digital Media Designer; and executive producer of the Digital Media Net family of publications. You can reach him at dnagel@digitalmedianet.com. Prev 1 2 3 4 Related sites: • AV Video • Content Mastering • Creative Mac • Digital Media Designer • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • DVD Creation • Film and Video Magazine • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
|