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- <h3 class="title"><a id="gimp-gradients"></a>4.9. Gradients</h3>
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- <div class="informalfigure">
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- <img src="../images/using/gradient-examples.png" />
- <div class="caption">
- <p>
- Some examples of GIMP gradients.
- </p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <p>
- A <span class="emphasis"><em>gradient</em></span> is a set of colors arranged in a
- linear order. The most basic use of gradients is by the <a href="ch03s06s03.html" title="6.3. Gradient Tool">Blend tool</a>, sometimes known as
- the "gradient tool" or "gradient fill tool": it works by filling
- the selection with colors from a gradient. You have many options
- to choose from for controlling the way the gradient colors are
- arranged within the selection. There are also other
- important ways to use gradients, including:
- </p>
- <div class="variablelist">
- <dl>
- <dt>
- <span class="term">Painting with a gradient</span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <p>
- Each of GIMP's basic painting tools allows you the option of
- using colors from a gradient. This enables you to create
- brushstrokes that change color from one end to the other.
- </p>
- </dd>
- <dt>
- <span class="term">The Gradient Map filter</span>
- </dt>
- <dd>
- <p>
- This filter allows you to "colorize" a grayscale image, by
- replacing each shade of gray with the corresponding color from a
- gradient. See the <a href="ch06s03s09.html" title="3.9. Gradient Map">Gradient
- Map</a> section for more information.
- </p>
- </dd>
- </dl>
- </div>
- <p>
- When you install GIMP, it comes presupplied with a large number of
- interesting gradients, and you can add new ones that you create or
- download from other sources. You can access the full set of
- available gradients using the <a href="ch04s12.html" title="12. Gradients dialog">Gradients dialog</a>, a dockable
- dialog that you can either activate when you need it, or keep
- around as a tab in a dock. The "current gradient", used in most
- gradient-related operations, is shown in the
- Brush/Pattern/Gradient area of the Toolbox. Clicking on the
- gradient symbol in the Toolbox is an alternative way of bringing
- up the Gradients dialog.
- </p>
- <div class="informalfigure">
- <div class="mediaobject">
- <img src="../images/using/gradient-usage.png" />
- <div class="caption">
- <p>
- Four ways of using the Tropical Colors gradient: a linear
- gradient fill, a
- shaped gradient fill, a stroke painted using colors from
- a gradient, and a stroke painted with a fuzzy brush then
- colored using the Gradient Map filter.
- </p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </div>
- <p>
- A few useful things to know about GIMP's gradients:
- </p>
- <div class="itemizedlist">
- <ul type="disc">
- <li>
- <p>
- The top four gradients shown in the Gradients dialog are
- special, because they
- make use of GIMP's current foreground and background colors,
- substituting the foreground color for black, and the
- background color for white. Thus, by altering the foreground
- and background colors, you can make these gradients transition
- smoothly between any two colors you want. The other gradients
- in the list, and any custom gradients you may create, have
- fixed colors.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Gradients can involve not just color changes, but also changes
- in opacity. Some of the gradients are completely opaque;
- others include transparent or translucent parts. When you
- fill or paint with a non-opaque gradient, the existing
- contents of the layer will show through behind it.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- You can create new <span class="emphasis"><em>custom</em></span> gradients,
- using the <a href="ch04s12s03.html" title="12.3. Gradient Editor">Gradient
- Editor</a>. You cannot modify the gradients that are
- supplied with GIMP, but you can duplicate them or create new
- ones, and then edit those.
- </p>
- </li>
- </ul>
- </div>
- <p>
- The gradients that are supplied with GIMP are stored in a system
- <tt class="filename">gradients</tt> folder. By default, gradients that
- you create are stored in a folder called
- <tt class="filename">gradients</tt> in your personal GIMP directory.
- Any gradient files (ending with the extension
- <tt class="filename">.ggr</tt>) will automatically be loaded when you
- start GIMP. You can add more directories to the gradient search
- path, if you want to, in the Gradients tab of the <a href="ch04s18s16.html" title="18.16. Data Folders">Data Folders</a> pages of the
- Preferences dialog.
- </p>
- <p>
- New in GIMP 2.2 is the ability to load gradient files in SVG
- format, used by many vector graphics programs. To make GIMP load
- an SVG gradient file, all you need to do is place it in the
- <tt class="filename">gradients</tt> folder of your personal GIMP
- directory, or any other folder in your gradient search path.
- </p>
- <p>
- You can find a large number of interesting SVG gradients on the
- web, in particular at <a href="http://openclipart.org/cgi-bin/navigate/Gradients" target="_top">OpenClipArt
- Gradients</a>. You won't be able to see what these gradients
- look like unless your browser supports SVG, but that won't prevent
- you from downloading them.
- </p>
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