# How do I make a semi-transparent piece with a gradual blend?

**URL:** <https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-semi-transparent-piece-with-a-gradual-blend/90002>\
**Category:** Module Design\
**Created:** [March 21, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-semi-transparent-piece-with-a-gradual-blend/90002 "2026-03-21T22:47:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 14

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**Author:** ![cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/cholmcc/32/8319_2.png) [@cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/cholmcc)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-semi-transparent-piece-with-a-gradual-blend/90002/14 "2026-03-24T14:59:50Z")

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> [@clanmacrae](#):
>
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dALkimy3-9M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dALkimy3-9M)

Nice video - added to [Video tutorials on module development](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/video-tutorials-on-module-development/84786)

Everyone, please feel free to add such videos to that page - it will help everyone find the information easier and faster.

> [@Jardic](#):
>
> BTW I find usually I find that I personally spend almost as much time in a paint program as I do in vassal to make a module.

Doing graphics is generally tedious - which is why I try to avoid it 🙂 (I tend to rely on LaTeX - with my package [`wargame`](https://gitlab.com/wargames_tex/wargame_tex) to get the graphics right).

With [Gimp](https://gimp.org) it is possible to set-up automatised workflows if one is doing the same thing over and over again. It is a little technical to do, but will pay off in the long run. For example, inspired by a [recent post on BGG](https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/319038/version-that-can-be-played-in-gimp-image-editor), I made a small plug-in that will take a multi-layer Gimp image and make a draft Vassal module from it:

- [Create a draft Vassal module from a Gimp `.xcf` file](https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/5972382)

Another tool I like to use is [ImageMagick](https://imagemagick.org) which allows one to script common image operations. For example, the script - shameless self-plug -

- [`piece_manip.sh`](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/script-to-make-common-operations-on-piece-images/84787)

encodes a lot of common piece image operations, such as rounding corners, adding drop shadows, adding a border, adding a bevel effect, and so on.

Another nice tool is [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org) - for drawing Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). It can likewise also be scripted - for example, the [Counter Sheet Extension](https://github.com/lifelike/countersheetsextension) by Pelle Nilsson can help make counters from simple input. Pelle has also make a [Hex map extension](https://github.com/lifelike/hexmapextension) for Inkscape, but I believe it is less mature and less maintained.

Yours,  
_Christian_

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