These are flat planes where the black (or alpha) part of an image becomes transparent. This lets you create details like leaves, grass, or signs without modeling full 3D geometry, saving performance while still looking detailed.

Alpha cards go hand-in-hand with masked textures. This means it uses a texture where certain areas are “masked out” (hidden) based on a black-and-white map. White areas are visible, black areas are fully transparent, and you can plug it into the Opacity Mask slot in Unreal Engine.

In my game, I primarily used alpha cards for creating foliage, like leaves. I would take a leaf image texture with a black background, and connect the RGB output into the Base Color and Opacity Mask parameters. This would create a seamless leaf material.

Insert image of before and after using alpha.

Here is a valuable tip when using Alpha Cards in Unreal Engine.

• Know where your alpha comes from. Some textures store transparency in the RGB channels, while others use the Alpha (A) channel. Using the wrong input can make your mask behave incorrectly.

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Again, I am still learning, this is just what has helped me. If anybody has any feedback, reply below.