Opacity

Opacity[a]

is a graphics directive that specifies that graphical objects that follow are to be displayed, if possible, with opacity a.

Opacity[a,color]

uses the specified color with opacity a.

Details

  • Opacity runs from 0 to 1, with 0 representing perfect transparency.
  • If an opacity-a object with color c1 is placed in front of an object with color c2, the resulting color will be the blend ac1+(1-a)c2.
  • If red and blue with opacity 0.5 are combined, the result is purple—not black, as it would be with physical monochromatic filters. »
  • Opacity works in both 2D and 3D graphics.
  • It may take significantly longer to render 3D graphics that involve transparent surfaces.
  • Graphics that involve transparency may need to be printed as high‐resolution bitmaps.
  • On many computer systems, objects with opacity a will appear completely transparent if a is too small. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (3)

Make a 50% transparent sphere:

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Plot a see-through surface:

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Overlapping translucent 2D disks:

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Scope  (2)

Generalizations & Extensions  (2)

Applications  (3)

Properties & Relations  (6)

Possible Issues  (3)

Neat Examples  (1)

See Also

RGBColor  GrayLevel  Hue  Transparent  Blend  Specularity  Glow  WindowOpacity

Tutorials

Introduced in 2007
(6.0)