Topic awaiting preservation: Fading an image (Page 1 of 1)

Can anyone tell me how to fade an image as it gets closer to the right side? I have a background on one layer and then text in a simple box on a higher up layer and want I want to do is gradually fade the text and box as it gets closer to the right side. So on the left side the box and text are clear and then they slowly fade into the background pattern on the layer beneth. How can I do this?

Kind of like this image here: http://www.free-php.net/images/index_13.jpg

This image fades into white and I know how to do that but I need to know how to make it fade into a background.

Thanks,
E-Oreo

P.S. I am actually useing GIMP cuz I like it better then PS but if you know how to do it in PS tell me cuz if I know how to do it in PS I can figure out how to do it in GIMP easily.




[This message has been edited by E-Oreo (edited 12-05-2003).]

Quick 'n' dirty:

Build your unfaded image over whatever background you want first.

Hit 'Q' to go into Quickmask mode.

Using the gradient tool draw a gradient out over your image with the pink over what you don't want erased. Playing with the gradient a bit will give you the effect you want.

Hit 'Q' again to exit Quickmask mode.

Hit Delete.

:::11oh1:::

Does gimp not have layer masks? Deleting is so.. permanent.

Since you already have a coupld of viable solutions to work with, I have a question for you.

[quote]I am actually useing GIMP cuz I like it better then PS[/quote[

I've never heard anyone say they prefered GIMP to photoshop. I've heard it compared to it as a viable alternative, but always as the "free but not quite photoshop". What reasons do you have for prefering it? I'm curious now


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'nother curious one joining in....

share those secrets you found in the Gimp ??!!

Also would like to know any pro-GImp points , Ps-Win user meself but very curious, also anyone know how much win-emulators in linux slow down programs compared to them being run normally in Windows.

Well first of all GIMP does support layer masks. Thanks for the help!

I don't really understand the mask things, what do they do exactly?

I use WINE for windows programs but I havn't found many programs for windows that don't have a linux alternative. It runs fairly quickly although truly not as fast as it would on a windows computer.

I prefer GIMP over PS for several reason, one is that its free but thats pretty much just an added bonus. I like the flexibility that GIMP allows me to have, If I need a special graphic effect I can program a plugin for GIMP and use it right away. I can tweek gimps programming code in any way I want so it gives me a ton of flexibility. Another thing I like is the number of people working to iron out bugs. If a bug is found there are literally thousands of programmers just waiting for the chance to fix it, so as a result GIMP does not have many bugs at all. GIMP can save in a wide variety of formats, mac formats, windows formats, and unix formats. I have only found one type it doesn't save in and that is the AOL .art format. It allows me to do everything photoshop can do, I think the reason some (or maybe most) people don't like it is becuase it is not as user friendly as PS, and those who don't like it are usually using the windows version. Since the windows version is just a port it usually lacks features, has more bugs and doesn't run as fast as the main gimp program for linux.

My only complaint is the lack of good fonts, but that doesn't really have anything to do with gimp since gimp uses the fonts installed on my system. I guess thats more of a complaint against linux, not enough good fonts.



[This message has been edited by E-Oreo (edited 12-07-2003).]

I can only tell you how they work in PS, which may be different in gimp. I think somebody told me once that all they were in PSP was a way to save a selection so who knows.

When you activate a layer mask in PS you have basicly an empty (all white) mask. You can then paint, fill selections, use gradients or whatever in grayscale. Black areas will be 100% transparent, white areas will show the layers contents and intermediate shades will be partially transparent. That's it in a nutshell, the point is that by using a layer mask you can leave the layer entirely intact making it easier to edit later since the information that would have otherwise been deleted is still there.

edit: went dyslexic for a sec.

[This message has been edited by cyoung (edited 12-07-2003).]

ah ok, thanks. I'm pretty sure they work the same way in GIMP. Layers can be used for a lot of things, but I think layer masks are a little different. Layers can be used to save a selection, or make it easier to edit things. In GIMP you can use different layers and then combine them with a special filter effect to make really cool effects you can't get from applying a regulare filter on just one layer. Layer masks are the ones that filter what shows through between a layer, or so I think from reading your explanation.

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Layer have merging methods, in case thats what you mean in teh first line of your later post with all those things filters cant do. The different merging methods depend of the program. Photopaint has almost teh same than ps, and i suspect GIMP does as well.

Yes, layer masks "filter" what should be shown and what not. The darker a region is in the mask, the less opaque it is on the layer itself. note that layer masks are child of a regular layer, which means they are not independant elements, but rather something like a property of the layers themselves. An alpha channel for a specific layer more or less.

Regarding file formats, tahts something i am not truly worried, as all my work is either tga, cpt, psd, gif, jpg, ico, avi or png. I have not found need for any other format.

__________________________________


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[This message has been edited by Alevice (edited 12-07-2003).]

I usually save in xcf, png, jpg or gif. xcf for when I'm working on an image and need to preserve every aspect of it, png when I'm making high quality web images, jpg when I'm working with pictures and gif when I'm working with low quality web images.


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I'd be really interested in seeing some of your work using GIMP E-Oreo.