Ported-> Photoshop Tutorial - Fading and Reflecting
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This post is originally from September 17, 2007…
Let’s say you’ve got an item that you’d like to be partially visible, fading out to one side. For example, a planet in the sky that is half-lit by a star. You could use a gradient to cover it up, you could color it in, there are a multitude of ways to do it. However, none of these is as simple and versatile as using layer masks. There are many kinds of layer masks, but the two I’ll be discussing are Layer Reveal and Layer Hide, which can be used interchangeably.
Either of these layer masks gives you a second thing to paint on the layer through besides the normal way. This shows up as a black or white (or a combination of the two) box next to the layer’s thumbnail. Black means that the items in that place on the regular layer are hidden, white means they are shown, and anything inbetween designates transparency. With that said, the difference between a layer hide and layer reveal is slim, it is that the layer reveal starts all-white, and the layer hide starts out all-black. It doesn’t matter what one you choose, but it is more convenient to use one than the other in certain situations.
The layer masks are under Layer->Layer Masks->Reveal All (or Hide All).
In order to hide part of something, simply create a gradient, or draw black, in the area to be hidden. Soft brushes and gradients allow for a gradual fade to hidden. Note that you can limit a gradient or brush to a certain area by making a selection before you use one.
This hide/reveal can be used to create reflections, by flipping what you want to reflect, moving it approximately 1px separated from the original, and then using this technique on it to fade the side of the reflection that faces away from the original.
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