1. Stubby wanted the alligator to look more transparent, taking a less prominent appearance in the header. Adding transparency is a common trick used to make an sprite appear further back on a graphic. The Transparency Effect makes it a breeze to do with just a few mouse clicks.

2. Click on the alligator_1 sprite to enable it. Then click the Effects button on the tool bar. The Effects dialog box appears. Click the Category drop down box and scroll down to Photographic, then click on it. The Transparency tool is the last tool listed in the Photographic Category. You can also find the transparency tool under the All Effects Category.

3. Click the Details tab and then set the amount of transparency to 73 either by highlighting the number already in the box and entering the number 73, or by clicking the slider bar and while holding down the mouse button move your mouse either left or right to increase or decrease the number shown in the box to the immediate right of the slider. You can also hold down on the arrows, up or down, directly to the right of the number to increase or decrease one number at a time.

4. Below you will find a representation of how the sprite should look so far after adding transparency. Don't be too concerned about slight variations in color between your image on the Image Composer workspace and the one below.

Useful Freebie: Ulead.com has a bunch of useful software for web masters. Check out their web site for specifics. Notable among the freebies offered is one called the Art Texture Plug-In, which can be "plugged in" to Image Composer. Art Texture makes gradients that can be highly customized to suit individual needs and purposes. The Ulead Art Texture Plug-In is available for downloading free at http://www.webutilities.com/products/art/runme.htm.