How to Make Transparent BlackBerry Messenger Pictures

Use Adobe Photoshop to make BBM ghost avatars.

Most of the recent BlackBerry devices come with a nice instant messaging application already installed: the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). One nice feature of the BlackBerry Messenger is the ability to use transparent BlackBerry pictures, also known as BlackBerry Messenger ghost avatars. You can find hundreds of ghost avatars on the Web, but creating your own transparent pictures is even better. Although creating them is not a very easy task, Adobe Photoshop offers all the tools you need.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Double-click on the Adobe Photoshop icon to start the software. Go to the "File" menu and select the "New" option. Set the "Width" to 150 pixels and "Height" to 150 pixels. The "Resolution" should be 72 pixels per inch.
   • 2
     Right-click on the "Background" layer in the right "Layers" toolbox and select the "Layer from background" option from the resulting drop-down menu. Click on the "OK" button without changing any of the settings.
   • 3
     Right-click on the layer and select "Blending Options" from the drop-down menu. Place a check-mark in the "Color Overlay" box and click on the "Color Overlay" button to see the settings.
   • 4
     Click once on the "Blend Mode" drop-down box and select "Multiply" from the resulting list. Click on the color and select white (RGB 255 255 255). Drag the "Opacity" slider to zero percent. Click on the "OK" button to apply the changes.
   • 5
     Click once in the "Fill" drop-down box in the "Layers" toolbox, type "0" and press "Enter." Press the "Ctrl," "Shift" and "N" keys at the same time to create a new layer. Click on the "OK" button and click once inside your picture to insert a text box.
   • 6
     Click on the "Set foreground color" button in the left toolbox and select white (RGB 255 255 255). Click on "OK" and type the word or words you want to have in the ghost avatar. Click once on the new layer to validate the text.
   • 7
     Go to the "File" menu and select the "Save for web" option. Select "PNG-24" as the file type and select the "Transparency" option. Click on the "Save" button and the "Save Optimized As" window pops up.
   • 8
     Type a name for your new BlackBerry Messenger ghost avatar in the "File name" text box and use the built-in file browser to select a folder to save the file in. Click on the "Save" button to create the transparent avatar.