Gradient Tool vs Gradient Map adjustment

[alecspra]

Hi, I am beginning to understand how to use the Gradient Tool at this point but I am not clear as to the difference with the Gradient Map adjustment. When to use the later vs the former. It seems that the Gradient Map adjustment can be used to colorize an image (b&W or color) but what else can you do with it and when is it a better choice than the Gradient Tool. I have seen the 2 Affinity Photo videos on the Gradient Tool but there doesn't seem to be anything yet on the Gradient Map. Thanks!

[Madame]

Hi.

 

You can use it to recolour your picture in a creative way. Play with the blend modes as well.

[dhayton]

Hello alescspra—

 

The gradient map lets you selectively color luminosity ranges of a photo (either color or b&w). Very crudely, the left end is the darker ranges; the right is the lighter ranges; the middle is, well, the midtones. If you select one of the stops on the gradient map, you can change the color used to replace the tone you're working on. I realize that might be a bit confusing, so you might look at the video I made that uses the gradient map to give a photo a vintage look. The first thing I do is apply a gradient map, about 10 seconds in:

 

I will try to make another video showing a more robust use for the gradient map—you can use it to create sepia tones (sort of what I did in the video) or selenium or tinted b&w.

Best,
Darin

[alecspra]

Many thanks Madame and Darin! The giving a photo a vintage look video is quite helpful. I look forward to a more robust video in the future.

[dhayton]

Alecspra—

 

I've finally had a chance to make a short video showing one way to use the gradient map. In this case, I used it to convert a color image to a cyanotype image. You could also use the gradient map to create selenium or sepia or Van Dyke or other tinted monochromatic images (e.g., tinted B&W images). Once you have a gradient map that offers a nice starting point, you can save it as a preset and then use it to color other images, adjusting it as needed for each image.

 

[alecspra]

Thank you! I found the video very helpful.