Save Alpha From Photoshop for Games
TGA and PNG with transparency
Also known as: Photoshop alpha channel export · Photoshop save TGA alpha · Photoshop PNG transparency · Photoshop alpha for Unreal · Photoshop texture transparency · Photoshop alpha channel game
Quick answer
To save transparency from Photoshop for a game engine, keep the alpha in an alpha channel in the Channels panel or as a transparent layer, then export as TGA with 32 bits per pixel or as PNG with transparency. Both keep the alpha, which engines read as opacity or as a mask. If the edges show dark halos, extend the color beyond the alpha edge before saving, since engines blend the color behind the transparent pixels.
How to fix it
Name the file clearly and keep a layered PSD as the source. For packed maps, such as ORM, put each grayscale map into the red, green and blue channels in the Channels panel and save without alpha, with sRGB off in the engine. Check the result in the engine, since some formats and import settings drop or premultiply the alpha. TGA is widely supported and avoids compression changes.
Tools that use Save Alpha From Photoshop for Games
See also
Alpha Channel
Fourth channel that stores transparency or a mask
Texture File Formats (TGA, PNG, EXR)
Which image format to use for game textures
Black Edges Around Cutout Textures
Dark halos on leaves, hair and fences
Channel Packing
One texture, multiple maps
ORM Texture
Occlusion / Roughness / Metalness packed into one map
Blend Mode
How a material combines with what is behind it