Efficient gradient fill for retouching

[Annehouw]

I am starting the investigation to migrate my workflow from PS to AP. Most things are more or less in line, but I have come to an essential workflow element that is so inefficient in AP that I am wondering if I am doing it completely wrong. Any suggestions are very welcome!

Let me explain: Retouching on a gradient is hard to do. One of the tricks in my toolbox is to replace that part of the image with a gradient fill based on end-colors picked from that segment of the image itself.

The workflow in PS is as follows:

1. Make new empty layer
2. Define the selection
3. Set the background color to one end of the selection
4. Set the foreground color the other end of the selection
5. Select the gradient tool
6. Draw the gradient
7. Mask and blend with soft brush
8. Add a bit of noise

 

In Affinity Photo I have found no quicker way than doing it as below

1. Define the selection
2. New fill layer
3. Change type from solid to linear
4. Activate the move tool
5. Move selection out of the way (as it blocks the area I want to pick colors from)
6. Activate the gradient fill tool
7. Click on the color bar
8. With the first end point selected, click on a color bar again
9. Pick the color from my image
10. Activate the other gradient end point
11. Click on color
12. Pick the second color from my image
13. Select the move tool
14. Move the selection back into place
15. Reselect the gradient fill tool
16. Draw the gradient
17. Mask and blend with soft brush
18. Add a bit of noise

 

That is a lot more effort!

I have tried, but failed, to get fill and gradient tools to open up with my selected background and foreground colors as end points:

• Fill layer starts with the background color and changes to a luminosity range of this same color when choosing linear fill
• The Gradient Tool starts with black and white by default.

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Annehouw

[NotMyFault]

23 minutes ago, Annehouw said:

• Activate the move tool
• Move selection out of the way (as it blocks the area I want to pick colors from)
• Activate the gradient fill tool

Hi,

 

agree that gradient UI is a bit overly complex.

what do you mean by step 5? Normally you move layers and not selections.
You can just deactivate the fill layer to samples colors beneath. This will make at least 4 steps redundant.

Why not draw the gradient directly after step 2?

May watch the tutorial about divide, showing a better sequence for color sampling to fill layers.

https://youtu.be/Ldwx_wG4X6c

You could speed up creating gradients by saving and using swatches, to use any pre-defined colors you want.

Edited August 18, 2021 by NotMyFault
Added link to tutorial

[Annehouw]

Hi NotMyFault,

Thanks for this superquick reply! Much appreciated.

In step 5, I indeed move the layer (partially filled because of my selection earlier).

Deactivating the layer and picking the colors indeed is a good trick and there I the tutorial is a good pointer as well to quickly change one color in the gradient. However, this still gives me a monochromatic fill layer. In my use cases, there not only is a luminosity change but als a hue change across the gradient. So then I will need to go into the fill menu to change the end hue. (But see the shorter workflow based on your suggestions below).

I have thought about the swatches, but since this is a retouching effort based upon what is in the image, no gradient is the same twice. Ever.

 

"Why not draw the gradient directly after step 2?": I do not know if I understand what you are saying here. Maybe this?

1. Define the selection
2. Sample a color as my background color
3. Add a fill layer
4. Select the Gradient Tool (which now has one correct sampled color at one of its ends)
5. Drag to create a linear fill
6. Deactivate the fill layer
7. Sample my second color from the image with the color picker giving me the other sampled color at the other end of the gradient
8. Re-active the fill layer
9. Reposition the handles (and possibly mid point) to get the color gradient to match the surrounding area
10. Mask and blend
11. Add noise

That indeed saves 7 steps already! Thank you.

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Annehouw

[Wosven]

Why not: definitely add a shortcut to "Add fill layer", "Show" (Layer), Hide" (Layer) and:

• Select an area ("L" + selection)
• Add a fill layer (shortcut)
• Unselect (ctrl+D)
• Hide layer (shortcut)
• "G" for gradient Tool
• Alt+Click on the image for the first color
• Draw gradient
• Alt+Click second color
• Display layer (shortcut)

 

 

[Annehouw]

@Wosven'

Some great suggestions. I did the sequence you wrote down (without the shortcuts for the moment) and that works as well. I need to rewire my muscle memory but that will be OK.

 

Thanks!