Digital Tutorials - Page 10 (click here for the Index)
Gradients
Gradients - Digital Brayering
To me, gradients are the equivalent of brayering your cardstock with a great inkpad, except you don't need to worry if your ink is "juicy" enough, and you don't have to clean up afterward! Paint Shop Pro comes with a great selection of gradients and there are many sites where you can download additions. (In Paint Shop Pro 10, gradients must be installed. Click here for directions). It's even easy to make your own.
Let's look at some basic gradient "looks." I used the gradient Aqua that comes with Paint Shop Pro for the examples below. Not only can you change the colors of your gradient, but you can change the angle, the number of repeats, and even the kind of gradient. The first image below is the basic gradient, angle 180 and repeats 0. The second image has 1 repeat and the third image shows 3 repeats. You can even make a 3D looking striped background with more repeats. (None of these images are shown larger).
In the first image of this next grouping, I changed the angle to 136, with 0 repeats. The second image shows the Rectangular gradient and the third shows the Sunburst. You can add repeats and change the angles with these as well.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
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Apply a gradient to an image:
- Open a new image, whatever size you want
- Click the small dot to the left on your foreground color. (Image 1). A small drop-down menu will open showing a solid circle so that you can choose a solid color, a gradient, and a pattern. Click on the gradient.
- Double-click on the foreground color to open the Material Properties box. (You will note three Tabs at the top, Color, Gradient and Pattern, and the Gradient tab should be active). (Image 2)
You can also see where to change the Angle, Repeats and Style.
- Click the small arrow to the right of the gradient window. (Image 3). This will open a box that shows all your gradients. Choose the gradient you want and click OK.
- Click your Fill Tool (or just press the letter "F" on the keyboard) and left-click on your image to fill with a gradient.
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Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
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Make your own gradient:
Follow steps 2 and 3 above, and click on the button that says EDIT below your gradient window and the Gradient Editor window will open.
- Click the New button, name your gradient, and click OK.
- Click on the marker to the far left (looks like a small pencil) and then click the larger color rectangle next to Custom which will bring up the Color box. (Image 4). Choose one of the colors (I choose Peach) and click ok.
- You will see that your marker, the color box, and the first portion of your gradient is now peach.
- Click on the marker to the right, click on the color box and choose your color (I choose pale green).(Image 5)
- You can click your OK button now and Save your gradient. If you want additional colors, put your cursor at the point on the line where you want to add another color and click. A marker will be inserted. (Image 6). You can then click the color box and choose your color, and repeat.
- Here's our final gradient. (Image 7). If you don't like it, go back and edit it. You can slide your markers along the line to change the amount of color in each section, or change your colors entirely.
If you want a smoother blend between the colors, follow the directions above for adding a gradient to your image, but choose your Foreground and Background colors first. Then, when you open the box that shows all of your gradients, choose Foreground-Background. If you want to add additional colors, click the EDIT button under the gradient, choose SAVE AS, and name it. (You never want to make changes to the existing gradients). Then follow the directions above for adding colors using the markers, and save your finished gradient.
Colors that have a strong contrast are difficult to blend smoothly. Here's a sample I did using the Foreground-Background gradient and the same colors as above, without the darker peach. (Image 8).
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Gradient Girl
- Open a new image, any size, and fill with your created gradient in the sunburst style.
- Using the text brush, "stamp" the writing in four corners, changing the rotation of the brush.
- Create a smaller image and fill with same gradient.
- Using the brush of the girl, with your foreground black, "stamp" once on your smaller image.
- Using the Selection Tool rectangle, select just the image of the girl, eliminating the rest of the gradient background.
- Copy the image and paste onto your large image as a layer (CLT+C to copy, CTL+L to paste as a layer). Add a drop shadow.
- Create a new layer and draw a square with the Selection Tool a little larger than the girl.
- Using the Eye Dropper, click on the purple from the gradient and then make the color a little darker.
- Use the Fill tool to fill the square with purple, add a drop shadow, and in the Layer Pallette, drag the layer BELOW the layer of the girl so it will look like a picture mat.
- Repeat with another square, filling with black.
- Add a layer, and add the picture turn embellishment, sizing it in proportion to your image. The embellishment was pink so I colorized to purple to match. Move it into place and add a drop shadow.
- Add one more layer, and add the "Time" embellishment, also resizing and colorizing. Add a drop shadow.
- Merge all layers and save.
For this image, I created a slightly different gradient with the text background, and the image of the girl, and printed them on white cardstock, along with the "Time" embellishment. I then completed the card traditionally. Click here for directions.
You can also create your gradient, print it on cardstock, and stamp an image. If you're scrapbooking, you can use gradients as borders, as picture mats, or title blocks.
Published in SSReflections On-Line Ezine
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