Billboards help?

[Statyk]

In the tab where you see layers, go to "channels", or go to Window>Channels.

Create a new channel and it should automatically make it an alpha. Alpha transparency works in greyscale.

White areas = Fully visible
Grey (depending on shade) = translucence. Whiter, more visible; darker, more INvisible
Black Areas = Invisible/100% transparent

Paint in the alpha channel with your shades of preference and make sure you save it either as a .tga, or if you have .dds, save it using DXT5.


As for the material (.mat), open the Material Editor and change soliddiffuse to "translucent" and change Blend Type to "Alpha". Put your image in there and test the transparency until you're happy.