Photoshop CS3: Make a Special Gradient

The Gradient tool helps you blend multiple colors as you fill an area in an image. You can use the
Gradient tool in many ways, such as by itself to fill text with soft gradations of color, to fill backgrounds with a gradient, or in combination with layers and masks. Gradients are often used when making composite images. Photoshop includes default gradient color sets and has other gradient sets listed in the drop-down menu in the Options bar. You can also create your own gradient by sampling colors from areas in your image or choosing different colors altogether.

You can add intermediate colors and design a blend among multiple colors in any order that you want. You can even design gradients that fade from any color to transparent.

You can also choose a style for the gradient, such as linear, radial, angled, reflected, or diamond. You customize the gradients from the Gradient Editor. Start with an existing gradient and modify the colors, the color stops, and other variations in the dialog box. The possibilities are almost endless!


1 Click the Gradient tool.
2 Click a gradient type in the Options bar.
3 Click inside the gradient thumbnail in the Options bar.

• The Gradient Editor dialog box appears.

4 Click the left color stop under the gradient bar to select it.
5 Click the Color thumbnail to choose a new color.

• The Color Picker dialog box appears.

6 Select a color from the dialog box.

• Note: If you have an image open, you can move the cursor over the image to select a color.

7 Click OK.

• The selected color fills the left color stop in the Gradient Editor.

8 Click the right color stop under the gradient bar to select it.
9 Repeat steps 5 to 7 to select the colors for the right color stop.
10 Type a name for your new gradient in the Name field.  Click New.
1l The custom gradient appears in the presets. Click OK.