Make Your Own Alpha Textures

Eventually you'll come across mesh clothing that doesn't fit properly, and bits of your body poke through, or you want to wear something special, like a peg leg, that obviously requires part of your leg to be gone.  Alphas to the rescue!  No, not that kind. These are texture files that are worn on the skin layer of BOM capable bodies. They make your body, or parts of it, invisible.

Most mesh bodies have a built in alpha section in their HUD, but not all do, and not all of them can be lined up properly for some clothing. Or, sometimes, you have a piece of clothing meant for another style of body, and it ALMOST fits, but there's just this one section . . .

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.  Fortunately, you can make and upload your own.

This requires 10 lindens, a UV body grid, and a little work on your computer with image editing software capable of transparent layers. I use Krita, which is a free, open-source program. 

Second Life UV Templates

The best way to make a template is by using a handy little body grid. There are a number on marketplace, but you can find some free ones available in-world at this location:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Livingtree/127/99/25  They are on the right hand side of the door, but be certain to check out everything in that store, it's an amazing resource! The 'Free UV Suit and Body Stand' is what I clicked to get what I needed.  You will find a variety of wearable items in that folder, along with instructions. I wore the system shirt for the demonstration.

Now, try on the clothing that you want to make an alpha for.  The part that needs to be covered will be obvious on the grid. 

Take notes, take a couple screenshots, and then head over to your image editing program. 

EDITING THE ALPHA TEMPLATE FILE 

Open the UV template jpg file you were wearing inworld in your image editing program. 

Make a new layer.  

On the new layer, you will need to white out everything that is NOT the part that you want to be invisible.  It will end up looking something like this.  It feels counterintuitive, but it works.

Make the grid layer invisible before saving. Be sure to save your file under a new name, in a format that allows for transparency layers. I use .TGA.

It will ultimately end up looking something like this. 

Testing Your New Alpha Texture

The grid test shirt was only to figure out where on the body needed to be invisible.  To test your texture, you will need to make an Alpha file.  

In your Second Life viewer:

• Open your Inventory
• Click the + button
• Click 'New Alpha.'  
• A new alpha item will appear in your inventory list, ready to rename if desired.
• Wear the alpha texture.
• Right click on the shirt in your inventory and click on 'Edit.' You'll get a new window.

• Click on the white square that corresponds with the body section you're working with.  A new window will open.
• Click the 'Local' radio button under the white square. Then click 'Add.' You'll get a new window to search your hard drive for a file to open. Select the edited file in the desktop window, and then click 'Open.'  
• Click the new file name that just appeared in the right hand side of the 'Pick' window. After it appears in the white square, click 'OK.'

Now you can minimize your window and check your alpha work.  When you're satisfied, it's time to upload.

Uploading the Alpha Texture

There are at least two places where you can upload textures in the game.

Build Menu - Upload - Image

There is also an Upload button in the Pick menu where you uploaded the test image using the 'local' feature.

Either one will work. The Pick window is probably faster, as it already knows where the file is located on your hard drive, and chances are, you're already in there if you've been testing the file.  Make sure you've selected the file you want before clicking Upload. This is where you pay the 10 linden fee.  

To make the newly uploaded alpha texture show permanently in game, click on the 'Inventory' radio button in your Pick menu and select the file you just uploaded. Then click OK and save in the next window.

That's it! This will only work on BOM or system layer capable bodies. It will work on the Free Legacy mesh bodies in your inventory Library's Welcome Pack folder. 

The UV suit can also be used to create system clothing and tattoos, but that is a lesson for another day.