Fading out an image

Tutorial #1: Using a gradient

1. Copy and paste the image of your choice onto a new canvas.

2. We want to add some extra room at the bottom, to give more room for the fade. To do this, adjust the Canvas Size (Image >> Canvas Size).

   Add more to the Height, and on the Anchor, select the top middle square.

   

   It should look like this now.

   

3. Select the Gradient tool , and make sure the settings look like this.

   

   Things to take note of are that the gradient goes from color to transparent, and the type of gradient selected is Linear Gradient.

4. Make a gradient from the bottom of the image to where ever you want it to stop.

   

5. And that's it! Though this is the easier way of the two, it's not as useful as using feathering.

   

Tutorial #2: Using feathering

1. Copy and paste the image of your choice onto a new canvas. We want to make sure that the image is on a layer separate from the Background.

2. Now add some extra room at the bottom, to give more room for the fade. To do this, adjust the Canvas Size (Image >> Canvas Size).

   Add more to the Height, and on the Anchor, select the top middle square.

   

   It should look like this now.

   

3. Select the Background layer. Using the Paint Bucket tool , fill the Background with the color you want to fade to.

   

4. Now select the layer the image is on. Using the Rectangular Marquee, make a selection that covers the bottom of the image.

   

5. Go to Select >> Feather. Adjust it as you like. The higher the number, the more it will fade. I will be using 20px.

6. Hit Delete on your keyboard once or twice, and that's it! The selection is faded on the edges due to feathering, so it will cause the image to be deleted in a faded way.

   This method is more useful than just using a gradient because it allows you to fade the image into other things, such as backgrounds that are not solid colors or into other images.