Image Fade Technique

You may right click on the first car image and scroll down and right click on the sand image to download them and use for the tutorial. Feel free to use the images on your own machine for the tutorial. Any other use of these images may be a copyright violation.

This tutorial was made with and for Photoshop version 4.0 If you are using an earlier version of Photoshop you may have to make some adjustments. If you don't know where any of the tools that I mention are located just click on that help button in Photoshop and do a search.

Step 1: Download fig 1 and fig 6 and open them both in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the white background of the car with the magic wand tool. Go to select/inverse. This will select just the car image.Go to edit/copy This will place a copy of the car on the clip board.

Step 3: Click on the sand image to make it active. Go to edit/paste You should now have one image, with the car on the uppermost layer. (fig 2) Use the move tool to place the car where you want it.

Step 4: Click on layer one(car layer) to make it the active layer. Active layer is shown by paintbrush icon and blue highlight in the layers palette. (fig 3) If you don't see your layers palette anywhere go to window/show layers.

Step 5: Click on the add layer mask icon at the bottom left of the layers palette. (fig 3) Select the magic wand tool in the floating tools palette and click on the background of the car layer. Go to select/inverse This selects only the car.

Step 6: The gradient tool is used to create the fade.Set your foreground color to black and background color to white in the floating tools palette. Double click the gradient tool to bring up the gradient tool options palette. (fig 4) Set your gradient to foreground to background in the options palette. Drag the gradient tool across the car from bottom to top.

Step 7: Apply the mask Drag the mask in the layers palette down to the trashcan icon. A dialogue box will come up and ask if you want to apply the mask before discarding. Click on apply

Hints: The black portion of the gradient will totally block out the picture and allow the background to show through. The white portion will leave the original picture untouched. This is how the fade is achieved. If you don't like the way it comes out with your first drag, just redo it. No need to go to undo. When you drag again the last effect is automatically undone. You may have to adjust your settings to get the effect that you desire. How far you drag the gradient tool will have an effect and you may also click on edit in the gradient tool palette and adjust the amount of black and white in the gradient. Play around with it for awhile till you get used to it.

THIS PRODUCT IS NOT ENDORSED OR SPONSORED BY ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED, PUBLISHER OF ADOBE PHOTOSHOP.