01-19-2021, 01:53 PM
I don't think channels work like you are thinking. To have a 2 channel image you would need an image format that was designed for only 2 channels. Channels are not mandated to be alterable through file modification, only through translation at time of presentation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_(digital_image)
"Channel is a conventional term used to refer to a certain component of an image. In reality, any image format can use any algorithm internally to store images. For instance, GIF images actually refer to the color in each pixel by an index number, which refers to a table where three color components are stored. However, regardless of how a specific format stores the images, discrete color channels can always be determined, as long as a final color image can be rendered."
So modifying the image would not give the result you wanted. You could modify a 3 channel image to only use the colors from 2 channels but again I don't think that is what you are after because it sounds like you want to specify what the channel values are. There may be an image format out there that works in that manner but you are really into a discussion that transcends a particular tool (GIMP in this instance).
- E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_(digital_image)
"Channel is a conventional term used to refer to a certain component of an image. In reality, any image format can use any algorithm internally to store images. For instance, GIF images actually refer to the color in each pixel by an index number, which refers to a table where three color components are stored. However, regardless of how a specific format stores the images, discrete color channels can always be determined, as long as a final color image can be rendered."
So modifying the image would not give the result you wanted. You could modify a 3 channel image to only use the colors from 2 channels but again I don't think that is what you are after because it sounds like you want to specify what the channel values are. There may be an image format out there that works in that manner but you are really into a discussion that transcends a particular tool (GIMP in this instance).
- E