Tequila Sunset
Steve Weinrebe
www.ImagingRandR.comIn summer everyone's thoughts turn to warm evenings and outdoor views. Few images represent summer more than a beautiful, red, glowing, tropical sunset, so let's make one in Photoshop. Along the way you'll get a good understanding of the power of the Gradient tool and how to use Photoshop's Gradient Editor.Here is a gradient sunset image that I have used for photo and video backgrounds, and it is simple to create using Photoshop's Gradient tool. I'll show you how to create the atmospheric sun as well.
Use the Gradient editor to create the gradient colors
Step 1:
Make a new image file from File > New.
I have used a Photo preset to create a 5" x 7" image file, and clicked OK to create a blank document.
Step 2:
Now to create the gradient. Choose the Gradient tool in Tools.
Then click the gradient preview (not the drop-down menu arrow) in the Options bar, to bring up the Gradient Editor. Note that the settings in the gradient Options, below, include a linear gradient, in Normal mode, at 100% opacity.
In the Gradient Editor, we'll use the bottom "stops" only. The color stops are the icons below the gradient preview (the stops on top control opacity).
- Add stops by simply clicking in the area beneath the gradient preview.
- Delete stops by dragging a stop downward.
- Between each two stops is a diamond "midpoint" slider you can use to determine where the colors transition between the two.
- Stops can be dragged right or left to adjust where that color appears in the gradient.
In the figure below I have added 5 stops, in addition to the first and last stops which are always part of the gradient.
Once all our stops are added, we can click on a stop and then choose to have that portion of the gradient be the Foreground, Background, or a User color. If you choose "User Color" from the "Color" drop-down menu, or simply click the color swatch at the bottom left of the editor next to the word "Color", to bring up the color Picker. In the figure below, for the second stop I chose an orange hue from the Hue slider, and positioned the Brightness/Saturation circle at the top right of the Brightness/Saturation preview. When I click OK, that color will be assigned to the selected stop.
After clicking on each stop in turn, and assigning a color to that stop, I click OK. You can see the layout of the stops in the figure below, each assigned a color. (Note: if you want to save your gradient, assign a name and click the New button. Then Save your gradients to disk with the Save button.)
Draw the gradient in your image
Step 3:
Using the Gradient tool, position the cursor at the top of the document, hold the mouse button down and drag to the bottom of the document. The gradient will paint into your image.
(Tip: if you see banding in your gradient, visible as abrupt jumps from one color to the next, try adding some noise, from Filter > Noise > Add Noise, at an amount of 1 or 2.)
Here comes the sun
Step 4:
Make a new layer in the Layers palette by clicking on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the palette. We'll position the sun onto this new layer.
Step 5:
Use the Elliptical Marquee tool, near the top of Tools, to draw a circular marquee in the image. Hold the Shift key down to constrain the ellipse to a perfect circle.
Step 6:
Now use the Elliptical Marquee tool while holding down the Option (Mac), or Alt (Windows), key to subtract from the selection. Drag an ellipse over the bottom portion of the existing marquee to take a bite out of it.
Step 7:
Feather the selection using Refine Edge. If you have a selection tool active you will see the Refine Edge button in the Options bar. Otherwise choose Refine Edge from the Select menu. In Refine Edge, add enough of a feather so that the selection will result in a very soft, atmospheric fade.
Step 8:
Now that we have a feathered selection, with the new layer active, choose Edit > Fill. With the Fill dialog open, position the cursor in the yellow area at the bottom of the gradient and click to make that yellow color the Foreground color.
After clicking OK, the feathered selection will fill with the yellow color, giving us the completed sunset, to be used as a background graphic for any project.
Here is an example of this sunset image used as a background for a portrait. Because the sun is on a separate layer, it can be moved wherever you choose.
Steve Weinrebe:
Mode Studio
Photography © Steve Weinrebe, Getty Images
