Editing Gradients

I claim the copyright to this tutorial.  You are free to do whatever you please with what you make, but please do not take my tutorial.  Do not send the tutorial through email.  Only share my link.

This tutorial is intended for a beginner to learn about setting up image ready for animation.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email  me.

To do this tutorial you will also need Photoshop CS.  I used CS 2.  You may download a free trial at Adobe.

Remember to save as a .psd file often!

In this tutorial, you will learn how to edit an existing gradient to create a new one, save it, and load gradients.

1.  Choose the gradient tool from the tool menu.  Your Paint can may be showing instead.  Click on the menu arrow on the paint can and a tool menu comes up.  Choose the Gradient Tool.

   

2.  Click on the Black-White gradient.  That is the 3rd one on the top row of the default gradients.

3.  Then in the top menu, click on the gradient bar and the Gradient Editor pops up.

4.  The circled color sliders on the bottom of the gradient affect the color.  Click ON one and the the color box activates (see arrow).  Click on the color box and you can choose your colors.

5.  Need to add more colors?  Then hover your mouse to the right of one of the color sliders until you get a hand (to the right of the slider, and just below the gradient bar).  Left-click once with the mouse, and this will create another color slider.

6.  The tiny diamond to the right of the white slider in the pic for #4 sets how far the white will spread.  move it closer to the white or farther.  Your choice.

7.  The sliders on TOP of the gradient bar affect the opacity and transparency of the gradient.  In the Black-white Gradient these opacity sliders are set to opaque everything (no transparency).  Slide them inward if you want some transparency in your gradient.

8.  Now it's time to create the gradient.  In the Name box, give your gradient a name.  Then click New.

9.  You will now see a new gradient choice.  If you hover your mouse over it, it will have the name you assigned it.

10.  Now let's learn how to save gradients so that you can share with others.  If we save as our presets are now, the saved file will contain ALL gradients in the preset window. 

This would be a good idea if you would like to save a gradient palette that you like to use, so that it is easy to restore each time.

But we would like to save only the gradient that we made, so that we can share this gradient with someone else.

So right-click on one of the gradients in the preset window (OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU CREATED!) and choose Delete gradient.  Delete every gradient that you did not create, except for the ONE you want to save.

10.  When you have just the one gradient left, click on Save.  A save Box will come up, usually Photoshop is set to save in your Gradient folder, but you can change this if you like.  Then give it a filename (bottom circle).  I called it the same filename as the gradient name.

 11.  Now you have a saved gradient file that you can share with someone.  But let's get our default gradients back.

Click on Load in the Gradient Preset window.  At the top, you will have to back up folders until you find the Required folder.  Choose that folder.  Then inside you will see Default Gradient file.  Choose that one.  Click Ok.  and now your default gradients are back!