Gradient Fill Layers - From PHOTOS to ART with Photoshop - page 134

Gradients
There is a small tool bar at the bottom of the Layers Panel.
Moving from left to right, the Icons represent:
1) Link two or more layers — Used to insure that related layers are treated as a group.
2) Effects Menu — Used to add special effects to text and images — shadows, bevels,
etc.
3) Add a Layer Mask to the active layer — masks will be covered later in the topic.
4) Add Fill and Adjustment Layers — This Chapter.
5) Add a New Group — not covered in this topic.
6) Create a New Layer — Another way to create or duplicate a layer.
7) Trash Can — Drag a layer here to delete it.
The symbol of interest at this time is the middle one, ( 4 ) — Add Fill and Adjustment Lay-
ers . We will cover Adjustment Layers in detail in Chapter Nine. For now, I want to discuss
Fill Layers .
In the next chapter, we will create two Solid Fill Layers as part of our book cover project.
These Solid Fill Layers will be used as backdrops for text. They are rather simple — create
a selection box and fill it with a solid color.
Gradient Fill Layers are much more complex and have many more options. Gradients
change from one color to another over some distance. They can involve just two colors or
shades of gray, or they can have multiple colors. We will cover enough detail to start using
them effectively.
If you click on the center icon in the small tool bar at the bottom of the Layers Panel , it will
activate a pop-out menu. The second item on the list below is Gradient .