Tutorial: How to Create Your Own Custom Gradient in PSP

[charliemc]

This will be a basic version of how you can create your own custom gradient for PSP. It's actually quite simple -- and fun! Often when I want certain colors for a gradient, I'll just quickly jump in and make my own -- rather than trying to find the right one to download on line...

You, too, can create gradients. Don't feel intimidated! I did for years, but there's really nothing to hold you back from giving it a try. Even if you 'mess up,' you can't do anything to hurt your PSP software... (smile)

Let's give it a try, shall we?

Making Custom Gradients

1. Open PSP.
   
   
2. Go to the Materials Palette. (By default this is located on the right-hand side of your workspace -- near the top.)
   
   
   
   
3. Click (once) on the Foreground and Stroke Properties rectangle. (If you hover the rectangular color windows, a popup will tell you which window this is.)
   
   
4. The Material Properties window will open. Under Style, click on the 'Gradient' (center) tab, to make it active.
   
   
   
   Inside the white area of the Material Properties window (left side), you'll see a gradient preview window. (Note that the name of the most recently select gradient will appear just above this window.)
   
   
5. Directly below this is an 'Edit' button -- Click it.
   
   Under Types you'll see a list of the installed gradients on the left-hand side -- and several buttons on the right-hand side.
   
   
   
   
6. Click the 'New' button.
   
   The 'New Gradient' window will open. Before you can proceed, you need to name the gradient you're going to make. But don't worry too much about this -- it's very easy to rename a gradient if you wish! (As you can see, the 'Rename' button is directly below the 'New' button...)
   
   
   
   I almost always start my own gradients by using my initials (cmc) as part of the name. That way I can easily tell that it's my own gradient, as opposed to a default gradient -- or one I've downloaded. But you can use any sort of naming procedure you prefer -- whatever works best for you is great!
   
   
7. Type a name.
   
   
   
   
8. After you've typed the name of your new gradient inside the space provided, click the 'OK' button to continue.
   
   Note: If you wanted to basically copy some aspects of an existing gradient -- and make a few minor changes -- then you'd start by clicking the 'Copy' button, in place of 'New.' When you use 'New' you begin with a gradient that has one color, which is whatever color appears in the Gradient Editor window, under Gradient inside the color square next to Custom.
   
   By the way, you have the option to begin with whatever color you wish as your base gradient color. With the Gradient Editor window open, go to the gradient section. The square next to Custom shows the current color. When you hover your cursor over the rectangular 'location' area, it turns into a Dropper. If you click inside that area, the Color window will open -- allowing you to select whatever color you wish.
   
   Hint: Did you know this? If you hold down the Ctrl (control) key (on your keyboard) then hover to bring up the Dropper tool, you can now move the Dropper anywhere on your desktop to select a color! Isn't that nifty? (smile)
   
   It's time to actually create our new gradient!
   
   In the Gradient section of the Gradient Editor window, you'll see the 'Gradient Bar.' This is where you'll actually be creating your new gradient!
   
   
9. If you place your cursor below the bar, it turns into arrow. If you click it, this will create a new gradient marker. A 'marker' tends to look a bit like a crayon, so some people refer to it as one. (smile) But we'll stick with marker, which is the actual name PSP uses.
   
   
   
   After clicking below the bar, we now see a new marker.
   
   
   
   
   
   Any new markers will contain the color that appears next to 'Custom.'
   
   To change the color of a marker simply click your cursor inside the colored portion of that marker -- then go to the rectangular color area (next to Custom and below Location) and click there. The Color window will open, allowing you to select a new color!
   
   
   
   Click OK in the Materials Properties window to finish your selection.
   
   So now we know how to add markers -- and change the color of our markers. That's a good start!
   
   But suppose you want to remove a marker -- how is this done?
   
   Simple!
   
   
10. Place your cursor on the marker you want to remove. Click and hold down the (left) mouse button. Then drag downward (and away) from the Gradient Bar and release. (Drag and drop.) The marker will disappear!
    
    The next thing we need to understand are the midpoints -- which resemble the outline of a tiny diamond. These rest on top of the Gradient Bar, indicating the position where two colors are equally blended. In other words, you'll always have a midpoint located between any two markers.
    
    
    
    
11. To change the point where two colors blend together, simply click on a midpoint and slide it either left or right. (When you release the mouse button, the midpoint will stop.)
    
    Playing around with various markers (set to any variety of colors) and the midpoints between markers is how you create your new custom gradient!
    
    Don't be afraid to experiment. You can always delete a gradient if you don't like how it looks! Or edit it any way you wish.
    
    Note that there are six (6) buttons in the 'Types' section, making it easy to make a New gradient and to Copy (and change) an existing gradient -- as well as being able to Rename, Delete, Import and Export a gradient.
    
    Next, let's change the Transparency of our gradient! (This is optional. If you want a solid gradient, then skip this.)
    
    
12. Click the marker below the Transparency Bar in the 'Transparency' section to select it. You can now lower the number inside the Opacity box.
    
    
    
    If you select the left marker, your transparency begins on the left side. If you select the right marker, the reverse is true. (Or you could select each marker in turn, lowering the Opacity on both sides...) That takes care of transparency for our gradient!
    
    We're now done creating our custom gradient! Only a few steps left. (whew)
    
    
13. The final thing you do is Close.
    
    You'll then receive the following message:
    The gradient "your gradient name here" has changed. Do you want to save the changes?
    
    
    
    
14. Click the 'Yes' button.

Wasn't that easy -- and fun?

Here are three examples using the gradient I just created!



I took my original (flag) image and added a New Raster Layer. Then I selected my gradient and used the Flood Fill tool to fill the layer with my gradient. I went to my Layer Palette and lowered the Opacity of the layer 40%. Then I Merged and Saved!



I took my original (flag) image and added a New Raster Layer. Then I selected my gradient and changed the 'Angle' setting to 45. Then I used the Flood Fill tool to fill the layer with my gradient. I went to my Layer Palette and lowered the Opacity of the layer 40%. Then I Merged and Saved!



I took my original (flag) image and added a New Raster Layer. Then I selected my gradient and changed the 'Angle' setting to 45. Then I used the Flood Fill tool to fill the layer with my gradient. I went to my Layer Palette and changed the 'blend mode' to Hard Light (leaving the Opacity of the layer at 100%). Then I Merged and Saved!

There are any number of uses for gradients, so I hope this tutorial will help you to begin making lots of custom ones to use and share.

==CharlieMC, assistant moderator