GRADIENT EDIT

In Brief

An existing gradient can be edited using the curve edit tool.

We will use this sample project to explain gradients. All layers have been disabled except Layer 8, on which a few yellow petal curves with gradient fill have been drawn.

Details

The first step is to select a curve. The gradient edit function works only if exactly one curve is selected. To select a curve, make sure the option key is disabled, then tap down on the select icon, drag away and release. If done properly, the icon gets a red border.

Tap down on the select button, drag away, then release.

With the select button outlined in red, drag a marquee over the curve you wish to edit. Note that if the option button is active, the tool will select all curves that are partially contained in the marquee. With the option key disabled, only one will be selected. If more than one curve intersects the marquee, the one with the most points inside the marquee will be selected. Then the curve edit screen is displayed.

Here a curve was selected using the rectangular marquee just visible on the left side of the image. A red circle is drawn over each point on the curve outline. Additionally, and edit screen is displayed that includes details of the curve. The number of points in the curve is shown and matches the number of red circles on the main work area. A copy of the curve is also drawn on the edit screen with two red circles. These red circles will be described below. The other thing to notice here is the **Simplify** button.

By tapping the Simplify button, the curve will be modified by removing as many points as possible without changing the overall shape significantly.

The curve has been simplified from 703 to 36 points

Next we notice the outline of the petal isn't exactly aligned. Zooming in, the positions of the points can be moved precisely.

First tap the select button to deactivate it. When it's selected, dragging on the screen will create a new marquee. Disabling the select button allows the points to be moved. In this illustration, the blue arrows show sample movements of the points to more closely align with the image in the bottom layer.

Here all points have been moved to where we want them.

The points are all aligned, but the gradient is not quite right. Look at the picture at the top of this page. The gradient in the actual flower concentrates the darker color toward the center of the flower. Most of the petal is the lighter color. Select the curve again to edit the gradient distribution.

The red circles show where the gradient transition occurs.

The circles have been dragged to change where the color transition occurs. Now most of the petal is the light yellow color. Here is the result show with the other curves and the base image.