Hi!!

Please excuse this post (although help is what I'm after) but I'm on a last resort here.

It's my job to give texturing a go for an environment I have to build in a group for college. Now I've touched it once briefly but I really can't remember how to use the alpha channel technique (to add bumping, transparency etc) to a texture.

One technique I'm mainly interested in for now is adding transparency to an object by doing it in Photoshop. it is possible right?

I need to make a surrounding background imagine for the environment but need to make it so that the surrounding background (a wall of image planes so to speak) fades into the sky globe that will be placed on top of the whole thing. Does that make any sense?!

I mean I'd like to do this:

So if I had an image that fades to transparent in photoshop, how to do it so that it comes out that way in maya? Or if it's not possible to have a gradient fade for planes then would I be able to have just the top of the image transparent? (this is only a rough example image!!)


I'm pretty sure this has something to do with creating an alpha channel and saving it as a TIFF or something, then doing something to it in maya but I really really can't remember and don't seem to be able to find any relevant tutorials (plus I'm on a bit of a time problem here!)

Any suggestions or walk throughs? I'd appreciate it sooo much!!! so so much!!!

The other thing I wanted to ask, how would be best to add fog/mist (low ground) to an enivornment? Is it something I can add in maya or would it be easier to add in After Effects?

Who ever can help me here is a super star!!