Troubling gradient.....

[Gort]

Hi all,
I have been trying to create a gradient in AP that includes all four blocks shown in the image included, but not individually as shown.
I want it to get darker from the left to the right just as it is in a single block, but applied across all four as if it were one block. Am I making sense?

Any idea on how I do it?

Thanks

G

[Gear maker]

45 minutes ago, Gort said:

Any idea on how I do it?

Sure, make something like this.  Make sure either the black OR the white are in the exact place you want them.

Then zoom in and move the two nodes close together.  Move the one that's not in the exact  position from above.

Then when you zoom out you will have something like this.

[Old Bruce]

Make a document swatches palette, make swatch with the gradient from one of those rectangle's fill.

Select all the rectangles, give them a solid fill, this is to clear the current gradient. Now select them all and click on the gradient swatch in the document swatches palette.

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, Gort said:

applied across all four as if it were one block

If you mean that you want a mostly white linear gradient fill on the left-hand block and a mostly black linear gradient fill on the right-hand block, with light and dark grey fills on the two blocks in between, you’re going to need four separate fills. You can’t simply specify a single fill and expect the software to work out how to distribute it across the row of four separate objects.

Unless you absolutely must retain the four rectangles as separate objects, I would combine them into one and then apply a single fill.

[Lisbon]

Hi Gort

Another way...

1) Add a pixel layer and fill it with any colour.
2) Apply a procedural texture (Filters > Colours > Procedural Texture)

3) Create a pattern layer (Layer > New Pattern Layer From Selection)
4) With the Move Tool selected, move the right handle towards left.

[Gort]

Thanks guys, but that's not quite what I meant. I knew I hadn't explained it very well..!
Give me a few minutes and I'll try again...

[Gort]

Ok, hopefully, I'll do better this time.
I have four rectangles (B) and each one will be a column header container.
What I want to do is have each block or rectangle be darker than the one preceding it but with a continuous gradient as in (A), but each block will be separate from the next. So that the gradient as shown in (A) covers all four blocks. 

Doesn't have to be white to black, in fact I haven't really decided yet what the gradient colours will be, I just know that's the effect I'm looking for if it can be done. If not I'll have to hack it in some way to get the result I want or come up with something else!

Hopefully I've explained that a little better. 

[Gort]

Don't worry guys...I can kill the alarm now, I figured it out...sort of!! 😃

A couple of layers and the transparency tool did the trick!

Thanks

[JimmyJack]

@Gort - Klaatu barada nikto.

Grab all rectangles at once and draw/adjust the gradient. It will propagate to all objects.
You can also group them (or put them in a layer) and apply the gradient to that. That way you just need to select the group if you need to adjust... instead of having to select everything. One gradient to rule them all 😉.

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, Gort said:

Hopefully I've explained that a little better.

For what little it’s worth, I thought you explained it just fine the first time!

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

you want a mostly white linear gradient fill on the left-hand block and a mostly black linear gradient fill on the right-hand block, with light and dark grey fills on the two blocks in between

@JimmyJack has shown how you can do this easily. As so often happens when I see his posts, I wish I’d thought of that.

[David in Яuislip]

10 minutes ago, Gort said:

A couple of layers and the transparency tool did the trick!

Come on then, tell us the secret!

Here's my interpretation

gradients.afphoto

[Gort]

This is the effect I was trying to create.

I managed to do it by filling the four blocks with the first colour of the gradient I wanted to fade out from. Then I duplicated those blocks into another layer above that and filled with the colour I wanted to fade to. Then with that layer selected I used the transparency tool dragging from midway of the last block all the way to the left. The result I'm happy with and I can play around with the gradient colours til I decide which I like best!

[smadell]

I'm assuming the use of Photo (not Designer), although I am unsure if it would make a difference. Given the desired result (immediately above), it seems pretty clear that the gradient you're looking for is a gradual fade from yellow to green to blue, spread out over four separate rectangles. I think that the easiest way to do this is with a combination of (i) a single layer with a gradient; (ii) a mask on that gradient; and (iii) individual text boxes with the labels. See below...  [note that the "Rectangle" layer is the one that holds the gradient, as a fill.]

[R C-R]

55 minutes ago, smadell said:

I think that the easiest way to do this is with a combination of (i) a single layer with a gradient; (ii) a mask on that gradient; and (iii) individual text boxes with the labels. See below...  [note that the "Rectangle" layer is the one that holds the gradient, as a fill.]

I think the method shown by @JimmyJack in this post above should work fine whether the gradient has 2 colors or several.

[smadell]

Hello @R C-R. The only problem I see with the solution put forth by @JimmyJack is that the same gradient is applied to all 4 rectangles. From the example given by the OP (3 posts above this one) it looks like the 4 rectangles do not contain the same gradient but, rather, are pieces of a larger whole. Admittedly, this was not clear until the OP gave his example.

 

Edit: OK, I take it back. I watched the video he posted and I see what he did (which is not what I initially had understood). His method is certainly valid and may be more elegant than the one I proposed.

[Gort]

Ok, including my own, I now have 3 different methods, all of which work. From 0 to 3 is good going!

I must say though, after trying the other methods out, I find the method by @JimmyJack to be the best and quickest way for me. And each block can be separated without loss of the gradient, which is exactly what I wanted.

Thanks a lot guys, that was educational!

G

[JimmyJack]

11 hours ago, Gort said:

Ok, including my own, I now have 3 different methods, all of which work. From 0 to 3 is good going!

I must say though, after trying the other methods out, I find the method by @JimmyJack to be the best and quickest way for me. And each block can be separated without loss of the gradient, which is exactly what I wanted.

Thanks a lot guys, that was educational!

G

Yes, but if you move them and try to adjust the gradient you will be starting from those new positions. You'll figure it out.

Anyway, @Gort.... I thought, for sure, the best part of my response was going to be the Klaatu barada nikto part! 🤖 😝

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, JimmyJack said:

Anyway, @Gort.... I thought, for sure, the best part of my response was going to be the Klaatu barada nikto part! 🤖 😝

Why, because you think it will prevent Gort from destroying the Earth? 😜