Photoshop gradient guide: tools, maps and smooth results

A Photoshop gradient is made with the Gradient tool (press G), a Gradient Fill layer, a Gradient Map adjustment or a Gradient Overlay style. For most work, use the tool in its live mode so the blend sits on its own editable layer, choose Perceptual as the method, leave Dither ticked, and switch to 16 bits per channel when the gradient is dark or subtle. Those habits are the difference between a clean sweep of colour and a stripy one.

Four ways to make a gradient in Photoshop

People often reach for the Gradient tool for everything, then wonder why they can't change the colours later. Each method has a job, and choosing the right one at the start saves rebuilding.

How to use the Gradient tool

1. 1

   Pick the tool

   Press G. The Gradient tool shares its slot with the Paint Bucket, so press Shift+G if the bucket appears instead.

2. 2

   Choose live or classic

   In current versions the options bar offers Gradient, which creates an editable gradient fill layer with handles on the canvas, and Classic gradient, which paints pixels onto the active layer. Choose live unless you are deliberately painting into a mask.

3. 3

   Choose colours

   Click the gradient swatch in the options bar, or open Window › Gradients to browse presets in folders. Set your foreground and background colours first if you want the simplest two colour blend.

4. 4

   Pick a shape

   Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected or Diamond. The next section shows what each one does.

5. 5

   Drag across the canvas

   The start of the drag is the first colour stop and the end is the last. Hold Shift to lock the angle to 45 degree steps. In live mode you can drag the stops and the midpoint afterwards.

6. 6

   Set the method and dither

   Choose Perceptual for even blends between saturated colours, and keep Dither on. Classic reproduces the older behaviour, which can look muddy in the middle.

The five gradient shapes in Photoshop

Linear is the workhorse for backgrounds. Radial makes a pool of light, which is the quickest way to give a flat background depth. Angle sweeps colour around a centre point like a clock hand. Reflected mirrors a linear blend from the middle outwards, which suits horizons and light bars. Diamond spreads colour in a square, and is the one you will use least.

Working in the Gradient Editor

Double click the swatch in the options bar, or the gradient in a fill layer's dialog, to open the editor. Colour stops sit below the bar and opacity stops above it. Click under the bar to add a stop, drag one away to delete it, and drag the small diamond between two stops to move the midpoint of their blend. The Location field lets you type exact positions, which matters when you want a set of gradients to match.

Three to five stops usually look richer than two: a shadow tone, a main colour, a lift and perhaps an accent. Keep neighbouring stops related, because opposite colours side by side pass through grey, which is explained in muddy gradients. The editor's Gradient Type menu also offers Noise, which generates random bands of colour; it is useful for texture experiments, rarely for brand work.

Photoshop gradient maps for photos

A Gradient Map ignores the photo's colours and reads only its tones. The darkest pixels take the left stop, the lightest take the right, and everything between follows the bar. With two stops you get a classic duotone; with three you can push shadows cool and highlights warm. Set the adjustment layer's blend mode to Color or Soft Light and lower its opacity for a gentler tone. Gradient map and the duotone effect go deeper.

How to stop banding in a Photoshop gradient

Banding is visible steps where a blend should be smooth. It is worst in dark, low contrast gradients stretched across a large canvas, because an 8 bit file has only a limited number of levels between two close colours. The full explanation is in gradient banding.

The noise layer is worth explaining. Fill a new layer with 50% grey, set it to Overlay so the grey disappears, then apply Filter › Noise › Add Noise with Gaussian and Monochromatic ticked. The fine grain breaks up the steps, survives compression better than a clean blend, and makes the gradient feel like a surface. Grainy gradients shows the look.

Gradients on text and shapes

For type you want to keep editable, add a Gradient Overlay from the fx menu. Leave Align with Layer ticked so the blend spans the words rather than the whole canvas, and adjust Scale and Angle until the colour change sits where you want it. The alternative is a gradient fill layer above the text, clipped to it by holding Alt (Option on a Mac) and clicking the line between the two layers. When the words sit on a gradient rather than wear one, read text on a gradient so they stay legible.

When one image becomes ten sizes

Photoshop is excellent for a single, carefully finished image. It gets slow when the same background has to become a post, a story, a banner and a thumbnail, because each crop moves the brightest part and each canvas needs the gradient redrawn. In Gradiently the background is a Mark that renders at every size you design in, and its calmest area moves behind your words by itself, so a story and a banner come from one design. One look, every size explains how.