Alpha Examples

---

Alpha blending is used to display an image that has transparent or semi-transparent pixels. In addition to a red, green, and blue color channel, each pixel in an alpha bitmap has a transparency component known as its alpha channel. The alpha channel typically contains as many bits as a color channel. For example, an 8-bit alpha channel can represent 256 levels of transparency, from 0 (meaning the entire pixel is transparent) to 255 (meaning the entire pixel is opaque). The list below shows some special effects that can be created using alpha blending.

• Billboarding
• Clouds, Smoke, and Vapor Trails
• Fire, Flares, and Explosions

---

Send comments about this topic to Microsoft. © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Feedback? Please provide us with your comments on this topic.
For more help, visit the DirectX Developer Center