ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9

USING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9
Painting
242
Opacity Sets the opacity of the gradient. A low opacity setting allows pixels under the gradient to show through. Drag
the pop-up slider or enter an opacity value.
Reverse Switches the order of the colors in the gradient fill.
Dither Creates a smoother blend with less obvious bands of color.
Transparency Uses the gradient’s transparency (instead of any transparent areas in the image) if the gradient has
transparent areas.
6 In the image, position the pointer where you want to set the starting point of the gradient, and drag to define the
ending point. To constrain the gradient angle to a multiple of 45°, hold down Shift as you drag.
Apply gradient fill to text
1 Select the text you want to fill.
2 Choose Layer > Simplify Layer to convert the vector text to a bitmap image. You won’t be able to edit the text after
you simplify the layer.
3 Control-click (Command-click in Mac OS) the thumbnail for the text layer in the Layers panel to select the text.
4 Select the Gradient tool.
5 In the options bar, click the desired gradient type.
6 Choose a gradient fill from the Gradient Picker panel.
7 Position the pointer on the text where you want to set the starting point of the gradient, and drag to define the
ending point.
More Help topics
“Simplify a layer” on page 63
Define a gradient
You can define your own gradients in the Gradient Editor dialog box. A gradient can include two or more colors, or
one or more colors that fade to transparency.
A
B
Gradient Editor dialog box.
A. Color Stop B. Color Midpoint C. Opacity Stop
C
To define a gradient, you add a color stop to add a color to the gradient, drag the color stop and the midpoint icon to
define the range between two colors, and adjust the Opacity stops to specify the transparency that you want in the
gradient.
1 In the Edit workspace, select the Gradient tool .
2 To display the Gradient Editor dialog box, click the Edit button next to the gradient sample.
3 In the Presets section of the Gradient Editor dialog box, select a gradient on which to base your new gradient.
4 To choose colors for your gradient, do one of the following:
• Double-click the color stop , or click the Color swatch to display the Color Picker. Choose a color, and click OK.
Last updated 1/27/2011