Adding a transparent circle to an image on python with PIL

Question

I have a python program that craetes a png file with a circle on it. Now I want this circle to be semi transparent, given an alpha value.

Here is what I do:

img_map = Image.new(some arguments here)
tile = Image.open('tile.png')
img_map.paste(tile, (x,y))
canvas = ImageDraw.Draw(img_map)

# Now I draw the circle:
canvas.ellipse((p_x - 5, p_y - 5, p_x + 5, p_y + 5), fill=(255, 128, 10))

# now save and close
del canvas
img_map.save(path_out + file_name, 'PNG')

how can I make the ellipse semi transparent?

Thanks

Answer 1

Instead of a 3-tuple RGB value, (255, 128, 10), pass a 4-tuple RGBA value:

canvas.ellipse((p_x - 5, p_y - 5, p_x + 5, p_y + 5), 
               fill=(255, 128, 10, 50))

---

For example,

import Image
import ImageDraw

img = Image.new('RGBA', size = (100, 100), color = (128, 128, 128, 255))
canvas = ImageDraw.Draw(img)

# Now I draw the circle:
p_x, p_y = 50, 50
canvas.ellipse((p_x - 5, p_y - 5, p_x + 5, p_y + 5), fill=(255, 128, 10, 50))

# now save and close
del canvas
img.save('/tmp/test.png', 'PNG')