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Type Right for a Pro Look: Photoshop Gradient Transparency
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Creating color bursts at will is exciting, but when you add the power
of transparency to your color, you unleash all the artistic potential
of computer graphics. Creating transparency is not hard, but there are
several different ways to create see-through effects. We will look at
each one individually. No matter which way you need a graphic to have
transparency, Photoshop can deliver.
For a very simple transparency, you can make the entire gradient fill
transparent with the Opacity command in the Gradient Fill options window.
Simply choose the Opacity you desire and any selection you fill will
have this transparency. You could accomplish the same effect by making
the layer transparent, but there may be times you wish to have objects
on the same layer with different transparencies.
However, you are not bound to having consistent transparency with a
gradient fill.
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One of the most useful gradient fill settings is the Foreground to
Transparent setting in the Gradient Options window. With this option
your foreground color will fade away at the end of the gradient.
Make sure that the transparency option is selected and choose Foreground
to Transparent as the Gradient. As with any gradient fill, you can edit
how the color fades to transparency though the Edit button in the Gradient
Options window.
Click on the Edit button in the Gradient Options window to open the
Gradient Editor window. Make sure the Adjust>Color option is active.
For pure color fading to transparent, set each color stop to the foreground
color. The start color stop will be set to the foreground color by default.
Click on the end color stop to select, then click on the "F"
selection as shown circled with white. This will change the end color
to the foreground color as shown. The lower color window provides a
preview of the current gradient.
To adjust where the transparency starts, click on Transparency, which
will change the editing screen from color to transparency editing. The
first color window will change to a grayscale representation, since
it is now showing only the transparency. (The color preview window remains
the same and can be used to check the results of transparency editing.)
For transparency, black represents no transparency, and white represents
full transparency, or invisible. Compare the grayscale image to the
color image below and you will see the transparency increasing as the
gray bar lightens. You can adjust how quickly the transparency occurs
with the diamond above the slider. Click on the diamond to activate
and drag to the desired position. In this sample it has been dragged
to the left from the default position.
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Finally, you can start and stop transparency or color at any point.
To create a new start or stop point for color, make sure the Adjust>Color
is active and click and drag the start or end color to the position
you would like the gradient to start or end. Use the color preview window
to confirm that you have the effect you desire.
Likewise to adjust where transparency starts or stops, select Adjust>Transparency
and click the start or end stops to the desired location.
Once you understand the basics of this option, you can create wonderful
transparencies that contain many colors and varying degrees of transparency.
The sample at the left, which was not meant to look pretty, but to show
the power of the transparency option, features four different Foreground
to Transparent variations. There is no limit to the effects you can
create when you are comfortable with the color and transparency settings
for Photoshop's gradient fills.
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Saving a gradient fill
It can take a lot of time to produce the perfect gradient fill for your
project, and often you want to use the same fill over and over. When
you save a custom gradient, you will have instant access to it forever
through the drop down selector menu in the Gradient Tool options window.
Open the Gradient Editor window. Choose New from the menu on the right
side of the window. Give your gradient fill a name in the window that
pops up and click OK. Create the gradient that you desire and click
OK. The new gradient is now available to you from the drop down and
will remain. To remove a gradient from the list, select it in the Gradient
Editor and choose Remove. You can also save one or many gradient fills
to a separate file for sharing with other team members or to load to
another computer. Select the gradients you wish to save and choose Save.
Specify a location and file name. To load a gradient, choose load in
the Gradient Editor and select the gradient file. You will have the
choice to append, or add, to the default gradients, or replace the current
defaults.
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I could spend several more pages going over the different variations
possible with the gradient fills and transparency, but you now have
the basics. This is one technique that I recommend that you devote as
much practice time to as you can spare. Gradient fills results can be
unpredictable, and the more practice time you can devote to learning
which settings create which results, the more you will be likely to
use the techniques for your production work. And once you have mastered
the "gradient language" you have a powerful ally for quickly-produced,
dynamic graphics.
Increase that productivity by saving your successful gradients. Chances
are, you will not use that exact combination again, but you could well
use the same color distribution and transparency setup. Just select
your saved gradient, choose Duplicate from the Gradient Editor window,
give your new gradient a new name, and select new colors. Most of the
work is already done for you.
Next time we will look at gradients in vector programs, so if you also
work with Illustrator, Freehand or CorelDraw, make sure you check back.
Vector programs offer even more choices for gradient color. And if you
use Fireworks, check the menu below.
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Next page
Type Right for a Pro Look Tutorial Index
Color Power with Gradient Fills Start
Photoshop Gradient Fills
Photoshop Gradient Transparency
PaintShop Pro Gradient Fills
PaintShop Pro Gradient Transparency
Fireworks Gradient Fills
Fireworks Save Fills and Transparency
  
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