When I first started my digital art journey, I didn’t even know that something called a transparent background existed. And once I discovered it, my next thought was: How do you actually make one?

A transparent background means there is nothing behind your artwork. Instead of a white, black, or coloured background, the empty space is invisible. Transparent areas are usually displayed as a grey-and-white checkerboard pattern, but don’t worry—that pattern is only there to help you identify transparent areas. It won’t appear in your final image.

So, how do you create a transparent background? In many graphic design and digital art programs, you can simply remove, delete, or hide the background before exporting your artwork.

When you’re ready to save your work, make sure you choose a file format that supports transparency, such as PNG. If you export your artwork as a JPEG, any transparent areas will automatically be filled with white because JPEG files cannot store transparency.

Transparent backgrounds are useful in many situations. They let you place your artwork on different coloured backgrounds, use it on websites, create logos, stickers, animations, and combine it with other designs without an unwanted white rectangle around it.