Shapes and Transparency

DM
Posted By
Dan_Malueg
Dec 12, 2006
Views
385
Replies
8
Status
Closed
I can’t seem to get this to work. I want to create a custom shape as an overlay, a separate layer. I want to add a gradient to the shape so it fades to transparent over the shape below, i.e. true colors bleed through. Everytime I fade it to "transparent" i.e. Foreground to Transparency in the Layer Styles I get white filling that portion of the shape rather than it being truly transparent. I need it to retain it’s color strength so I don’t want to mess with the Opacity and Fill sliders or it defeats the purpose of my effort.

I’m drawing the custom shape with the pen tool to match contours and color changes in the "target" Shape underneath the custom shape.

I’m working in Photoshop CS.

This seems like a really academic exercise that a lot of people would be doing but I can’t seem to find a straightforward reference to it. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance and I apologize if this is a yawner.
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Y
YrbkMgr
Dec 12, 2006
Instead of using layer styles, try using a gradient mask. The most minimal basics are to create a new layer, draw a gradient with the gradient tool, then control click on that layer to select it, then go to the layer of interest and click on the Mask button at the bottom of the layers palette.

It doesn’t get you exactly where you want to be, but exemplifies a way to create gradient mask. I’d do it in channels, but that’s too much typing to explain.
DM
Dan_Malueg
Dec 12, 2006
Okay…thanks. I knew I had done this before. I just couldn’t remember how to do it and I couldn’t find a solid reference on how to do it. Adobe should really put a section in that speaks directly to this issue. That gradient tools and such do not work directly with shapes unless you adjust at the layer style level and that won’t necessarily deliver what you need. That you need to create masks or layer masks. If you didn’t know masks do this, you’d never think to go there. I can play with adding 1 or 2 more masked layers to achieve the effect I was looking for.

Thanks so much for the prompt response. Spent 4 hours last night trying to get this to work and was pretty frustrated.
Y
YrbkMgr
Dec 12, 2006
If you didn’t know masks do this, you’d never think to go there.

Agreed. The biggest learning curve in Photoshop for me, was terminology. "What is it called when you want to do this" kind of thing.

That’s where the forums help tremendously.

Peace,
Tony
J
jnixdorf
Dec 17, 2006
AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH

Yeah, me too. I beat my brains out for about an hour before I dropped by and found out how to do it.

Got it now though, thanks.
C
ColdFusion
Dec 23, 2006
I need help with something very similar, sorry if I’m not supposed to piggyback on the post. I have an image consisting of a million shades of grey, right? What I’d like to do is make white completely transparent, black completely opaque, and every shade of gray proportionally transparent, yeah? I’m sure there’s a setting for that, and I’ve explored every possible optimize-option for png and gif formats and I just don’t quite get it. Assigning specific shades of white to transparent didn’t quite work. I’m sure it’s very simple, I just need someone to find it for me </defeated> Thank you.
L
LenHewitt
Dec 23, 2006
Sounds like you want to use your image as a transparency mask for a solid black layer.
MV
Mathias_Vejerslev
Dec 23, 2006
Try turning down the shape layers Fill opacity to 0 in the layer palette. Layer styles will still show at original opacity. (this was an answer to the OP)
RS
re_soul_tion
Dec 27, 2006
can shapes in the photoshop library be used as logos. does anyone know?

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