In previous tutorials in this series,
we've seen how to create Hide All or
Show All masks from scratch. Then, use
black or white or gray paint to control
what gets masked. In this tutorial, we'll
expand upon painting new masks using
gradient fills. Before we get started, if
you're watching this video on YouTube,
you'll find a link in the description
below that will take you to our tutorial
page on Corel's Discovery Center. Here you
can also download a written copy of this
tutorial.
along with sample images you can
download to try out the steps yourself.
I'll start with this colorful flower
photo. I want to create a mask that will
transition between this color image and
a grayscale version of the same image. To
get the second image, I'll right-click on
the photo layer and duplicate it. Then,
while the new layer is active, I'll
choose Adjust > Hue and Saturation > Hue
Saturation Lightness. Hue and Lightness
should be around the center of their
sliders, and I'll remove all Saturation.
For an effect that will be even more
dramatic when transitioned, I'll also
choose Adjust> Brightness and Contrast >
Brightness Contrast. I'll decrease both
sliders to darken and wash out the
greyscale layer. Now, I want to add a mask
to this layer that will transition
between the grayscale and color layers.
I'll click the foreground swatch and
choose Gradient. This is the preset black
to white gradient which I'll click to
activate, then click OK. To apply a blank
mask, I'll click the New Mask Layer icon
in the Layers Palette and choose either
Hide All or Show All. Either will work
since I'll be painting over it. Then, I'll
use Flood Fill and paint this layer with
the gradient. Because the gradient starts
with black on the left, the left side of
the grayscale layer is blocked. But say I
want the transition to go the other way,
starting with gray on the left and
transitioning to color. I'll go back to
the gradient and click Invert, then click
OK again. Flood Fill is still active, so I
just have to click again to repaint. This
effect is a bit hard to see. The
transition from the left starts too soon,
and ends too far to the right. I want to
change the black/white transition on the
mask so that I'll get more of the grayscale
version to show on the left, and more
color to show on the right. I can adjust
the transition on the gradient itself.
I'll open Gradients again and I'll click
the plus sign to create a new gradient
because I don't want to replace the
current gradient. I'll name this new
gradient BW Sharp. This new gradient
starts out entirely black, so I'll click
the Color Stop icon on the left and
change it to white. The bottom sliders
control where the transitions start and
end. I'll move each of these pretty close
to the center. I want white at the left
so I don't need Invert checked. I'll
click OK and save changes.
After repainting, now the transition area
is much more narrow. I'll now try another
gradient that has two transitions, white
to black, and back to white. Going back to
gradients, I'll click the plus icon again
and name this WBW. I'll set both start
and end colors to white. Now, I'll click
twice just below the transition slider
to add two more color stop icons. I'll
set these both to black, and adjust the
locations to get two sharp transitions.
After saving this gradient and
reapplying, here's the result: a strip of
colorful flowers down the center. Now for
a circular transition, I'll activate my
BW Sharp gradient again, switch the mode
to Sunburst, Invert for white on the
outside, and apply. If I wanted to change
the mask circle to an oval, I could use
the Pick Tool. As long as I expand the
image window to see the outer edges of
the mask, I can adjust it. To manage
gradients, I'll open them again and click
the More Options icon. Then, I'll click
Resource Manager. This is where I can
delete, rename, copy, or move gradients.
Gradient transitions are also great for
transitioning between two separate
images. I have these two soccer images
open and I want the final image to have
one kid on either side. So, one of these
images needs to be flipped, which I can
do with Image > Flip > Flip Horizontal. Now,
I'll drag this layer onto the other
image, and close the image whose layer I
dragged. I'll add a Hide All mask to the
top layer of this image. Then I'll go
back to gradients, open the Linear
Gradients again, and choose my BW Sharp
gradient. This time I also want a slight
angle which I can do by dragging here, or
I could enter the angle in this field. I
also need to invert to get white on the
left. I'll click OK and Flood Fill. Now I
have to adjust the placement of each
photo. I'll select the lower photo layer,
activate pic, and slide it over a bit. I
can do the same for the other photo
layer, adjusting it within its mask group.
For my last example, I'll apply a
Transition Gradient to this image to
highlight one of PaintShop Pro's really
fun plugins. To get this plugin,
click the House icon to open the Welcome
Book, choose Get More > and Creative
Content, and find and install the free
Pic-to-Painting plugin. First, I'll
duplicate the photo layer. With the top
layer active,
I'll choose Effects > Plugins > Pic-to-
Painting >
Pic-to-Painting. From the list along
the bottom,
I'll try watercolor since these are fish
after all. I'll set to medium strength
and click Preview Style. I could sample
other styles, but I like this look so
I'll click Send and Close. This effect is
only applied to the active layer. I'll go
back to my gradients and find the
original black to white, straighten its
angle back to 90, and keep white on the
left. Then, I'll add a Show All mask to
this layer and paint it with a gradient.
Now it looks as if the fish are swimming
out of a painting into the ocean. I could
also try out the BW Sharp gradient with
white on the left, or the Sunburst
version of this gradient.
This brings us to the end of this
tutorial on creating masks with gradient
fill. If you've been watching this video
on YouTube,please follow the link in the
description below, which will take you to
this tutorial page in Corel's Discovery
Center.
Here you'll find a written version of
this tutorial, along with sample images
you can download and follow along.
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