2.7 Layers and gradients

Imagine that you have to create a magazine cover or an ad that will be 10 inches wide  by 14 inches height. The problem is,  you only have one very poor quality horizontal and it’s inverted as a negative.  Download and open this inverted (negative) photo of a balloon race in Photoshop, Gimp or Photopea.    

Photoshop:   

1. Image / Adjust / Invert  (Change from color negative to positive)
2. Image / Image Rotation / 90 degrees counter clockwise
3. Image / Canvas size / Make  height  12  inches
4. Special step for photoshop: UNLOCK the Background layer by double clicking on it. You should not see the lock icon on the layer, and rather than “background” you should see “Layer 0” 
5. Toolbar / Use magic wand – color select  tool to select and delete all portions of the sky around the balloons (use the options bar and sensitivity around 32);  Just hit the “delete” key to remove opaque areas. 
6. Create a layer underneath “Layer 0” (this will be “Layer 1).
7. Toolbar / Use gradient tool to substitute a new sky image. Click, drag and release the tool.
8. Toolbar / Use the “T” text tool and insert a large title for the magazine.  Sans Serif is probably best.
9. Save in “native” format (eg .psd for Photoshop), then flatten into a jpg, save that, and post the jpg to your site.   

Gimp:

1.  Colors / Invert (Change from color negative to positive)
2. Image / Transform / 90 degrees counter clockwise
3. Image / Canvas Size – Again, 11 inches high, but it’s not easy to guide the direction it grows in.  You may need to double this and then use the crop tool to take off the bottom part.
4. Special step for gimp:  right click on the layer and bring up the layers menu. About 2/3 of the way to the bottom of the menu, make sure you click on “Add Alpha Channel.” 
5. Toolbar / Fuzzy Select Tool – Click on old sky and then delete. (Edit/cut also works)  Do this until everything but the balloons is gone.  You should be seeing the checkerboard “alpha” layer underneath.
   Special note: Fuzzy select doesnt work with all versions of Mac and Gimp. You may have to use the eraser tool instead.
6. Deselect all just to clear the selections. On the top menu: Select / None
7. Create a new layer and put it under the Balloons layer.
8. Toolbar / Gradient Tool – Similar to photoshop. Click and drag. It will stay in place (unlike the Photoshop gradient tool) and you can change the gradient pattern with the tool in place.
9. Toolbar / Use the “A” text tool and insert a large title for the magazine.  Sans Serif is probably best. In either Photoshop or Gimp, the end result should look something like this Ballooning Magazine image. 
10. There are sometimes problems as the first layer’s boundaries constrain the second layer’s boundaries. This is not your fault, its a problem with Gimp. If you have problems with your gradient tool only working in part of the image, just go back and use the old sized canvas and dont worry about making the canvas size bigger.
11. Save in “native” format (eg  .xcf for Gimp), then flatten into a jpg, save that, and post the jpg to your site.   

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