Fading transparency from top to bottom, how?

[Starbase1]

I have an image I want to use as part of a more complex composition.

I want to select it all, with the top of the image 100% selected, and the bottom 0% selected, so it will fade from top to bottom when I put it over another element.

How can I do this please?

Thanks, Nick

[PaulEC]

Add a mask to the top image and put a white to black gradient on the mask, so that the top image fades to the bottom image.

[Pšenda]

22 minutes ago, Starbase1 said:

How can I do this please?

Transparency Tool.

[v_kyr]

28 minutes ago, Starbase1 said:

with the top of the image 100% selected, and the bottom 0% selected, so it will fade from top to bottom when I put it over another element.

Do you mean somehow like this?

   

[PaulEC]

2 hours ago, Pšenda said:

Transparency Tool.

Only in Designer and doesn't work on pixel images!

EDIT: Sorry, I should have said "pixel layers"! 😁

[GarryP]

52 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

and doesn't work on pixel images!

Interesting; I never knew that.
Just checked (on Windows 10) and I find that you are correct; the Transparency Tool can be applied to Image layers but with a Pixel layer it cannot be applied (the layer can be selected but I can’t use that tool on it).
Seems odd.
Do you know if that’s expected behaviour or not?

[Pšenda]

55 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

Only in Designer and doesn't work on pixel images!

Designer - yes. The application was not specified in any way, and possibly it is not a problem to use Edit in ...
Pixel images - Place. OP talk about "I have an image", not about the Pixel layer. And Image layer is the "pixel images".

[GarryP]

6 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Pixel images - Place.

I’m not sure what you mean by that; is it an instruction, or something else – can you explain what you mean?

[v_kyr]

6 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Do you know if that’s expected behaviour or not?

Quote

Transparency Tool

The Transparency Tool allows you to apply and edit transparency gradients to vector and text objects.

• Transparency Tool

[Pšenda]

8 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I’m not sure what you mean by that; is it an instruction, or something else – can you explain what you mean?

Menu File, command Place (or Place Image Tool), select "pixel image", place image as Image layer, apply transparency via Transparency Tool.

[PaulEC]

25 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

OP talk about "I have an image", not about the Pixel layer.

That is true! Although I'm not sure that everyone always sticks to the Affinity differentiation between image layers and pixel layers. It's quite common to refer to any old picture as an "image": I wouldn't automatically assume that anyone who mentions an "Image" specifically means an "image layer", in the way it is used in Affinity apps!

[GarryP]

v_kyr: It can also apply a transparency to Image layers. Does this mean that an Image layer is a “vector object” (because I don’t think it could be classed as a “text object”)?

Pšenda: The OP said that they have an “image” but they didn’t specify if they had an “Image layer” or a “Pixel layer”. When you use menu “File → Place” you are creating an Image Layer (which contains pixels) – which can have transparency applied – not a Pixel Layer (which also contains pixels) – which cannot have a transparency applied. If the Transparency Tool cannot be applied to Pixel layers then we need to be sure what type of “image” we have before we can say whether the Transparency Tool can be applied.

[walt.farrell]

7 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Does this mean that an Image layer is a “vector object”

It has other aspects of a vector object, such as setting its Fill directly.

[Pšenda]

3 minutes ago, GarryP said:

The OP said that they have an “image” but they didn’t specify if they had an “Image layer” or a “Pixel layer”.

Yes, and therefore we cannot automatically assume that the Transparency tool "cannot be used". I assume that the OP has an "image file" - it uses Place to insert it into the document, and uses the Transparency Tool to adjust its transparency to its needs. Is there a problem with that?

 

6 minutes ago, GarryP said:

v_kyr: It can also apply a transparency to Image layers. Does this mean that an Image layer is a “vector object” (because I don’t think it could be classed as a “text object”)?

In my Help (from v_kyr link) the wording is a little different - just for anything that is an object.

[GarryP]

7 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

It has other aspects of a vector object, such as setting its Fill directly.

Yeah, I never though about that.
So an Image layer is a vector object which happens to contain some pixel-based information.

[NotMyFault]

12 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Does this mean that an Image layer is a “vector object” (because I don’t think it could be classed as a “text object”)?

Yes. A mental model is a rectangle shape, with a bitmap fill. And in contrast to adjustment / filter layers, it does not have an inherent mask.

it becomes really complex wrt color handling and color fill (dont start with layer fx).

[GarryP]

I think some of us may be (unnecessarily) at cross-purposes, with the discussion getting stretched in different directions and some people getting some ‘wires-crossed’ somewhere along the way, while we all generally agree on the same things.

May I suggest that we simply pause the discussion and wait for the OP to reply, telling us:
A. Which application they are using.
B. What sort of layer they have.
Once we are more-fully aware of the requirements we can advise better.

[NotMyFault]

Just now, GarryP said:

object which happens to contain some pixel-based information.

No. It has a fill of type bitmap. It does not contain pixel information.

[GarryP]

5 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

No. It has a fill of type bitmap.

I’ve just used menu “File → Place”, selected a JPG file, and dragged a rectangle on the document to place a new Image layer.
I then, with that layer selected, went to the Fill Tool and the Fill Type is “None”, not “Bitmap”.

As I said a little earlier, I think this discussion is starting to get a bit ‘out of hand’.
Can we just wait for the OP to get back to us?

[NotMyFault]

5 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I’ve just used menu “File → Place”, selected a JPG file, and dragged a rectangle on the document to place a new Image layer.
I then, with that layer selected, went to the Fill Tool and the Fill Type is “None”, not “Bitmap”.

As I said a little earlier, I think this discussion is starting to get a bit ‘out of hand’.
Can we just wait for the OP to get back to us?

Now when it gets interesting you want to calm down,

Another fact: use “convert to curves” on a placed image,

Use node tool. Drag all 4 edge nodes outside from original position. The image fill gets extended. A pixel layer / non-fill content cannot be auto-extended (testet on iPad).

[Pšenda]

23 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

That is true! Although I'm not sure that everyone always sticks to the Affinity differentiation between image layers and pixel layers. It's quite common to refer to any old picture as an "image": I wouldn't automatically assume that anyone who mentions an "Image" specifically means an "image layer", in way it is used in Affinity Photo!

Yes, everyone should call it what they can. But OP writes "I have an image I want to use as part of a more complex composition." From this I deduce that it is a composition of several images and their "complex composition", which adjusts their position, size, inclination, blending and fading (about this is the question), and more. In this case, it is always better to work with images as objects, ie Image layer, not with an image as pixels, ie Pixel layer.

[NotMyFault]

6 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I then, with that layer selected, went to the Fill Tool and the Fill Type is “None”, not “Bitmap”.

Observation is correct. When i say “mental model”, it is kind of inherent fill which behaves like a rectangle with fill, but you can add another explicit fill on top (like nested objects).

[NotMyFault]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

the Transparency Tool can be applied to Image layers but with a Pixel layer it cannot be applied (the layer can be selected but I can’t use that tool on it).

Correct, but there is a workaround:

The transparency tool simply adds gradient on alpha channel to a vector object. You can create the same manually using a rectangle shape with gradient on alpha (and save as asset), and apply this rectangle nested to masking position to any layer / object.

Edited June 1, 2022 by NotMyFault
Edited for clarity that you need an rectangular shape helper object

[v_kyr]

41 minutes ago, GarryP said:

v_kyr: It can also apply a transparency to Image layers. Does this mean that an Image layer is a “vector object” (because I don’t think it could be classed as a “text object”)?

I think an image layer is treated like a specific container/view (probably a vector a rect) where the transparency seems then can be applied too. The english online help instead shortly just talks about vectors and text here for the trancparency tool. - I believe @NotMyFault is right here and that the transparency tool under the hood just creates a vector shape with a gradient on alpha channel.

[Starbase1]

Transparency tool would be handy indeed, but for some reason it's not in Photo...

But I got something that seems to work using a mask, so thanks for the pointer to that...

 

Nick