9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 PROF VAUGHN: Okay, and this video is at[br]using a gradient as a transparency mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So we think of layer masks as revealing or[br]concealing using black or white paint, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and a range of grays. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We can use a gradient that is set from[br]black to white to create a really subtle 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 blend inside of a layer mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This gives you a lot of blending[br]opportunity. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So let's do a really obvious example[br]first, I have a colour photograph open, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm just gonna do a layer adjustment,[br]adjustment layer, I'll do it black and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 white so you can have a quick view of how[br]this might work. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So of course we know our adjustment[br]layers come with gradients. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is the effect, this is the- I'm[br]sorry, they come with a layer mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That is the layer mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if we wanted to use a gradient to[br]blend in the layer mask as a method of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 transparency blending, you could still[br]use that gradient tool. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When you look at your gradients, you're[br]gonna pick the black and white 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 version here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So this is black and white. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Whether or not you reverse it is up to you,[br]remember the way a gradient in a mask 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with black and white will work;[br]black is going to reveal, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 white is going to conceal. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, let's just do, um, let's do a radial[br]gradient to see what this might look like. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm gonna click and drag, now remember[br]I've made sure I'm on the layer 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 mask thumbnail. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So this is isolated, it's a pretty small[br]gradient, let's make it a little bit bigger. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it's pretty soft, but you can see I've[br]got black and white now here in the middle 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 radiating out in my layer mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you wanted to do a really weird, kind[br]of, small spot, you could. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Let's look at a linear gradient, now[br]I've sort of moved from black and white, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 shifted it slowly into colour, because again[br]the black and white in the layer mask is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 revealing of concealing, so the white in[br]this case is showing what's underneath. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So that is a a adjustment layer. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If we were thinking about using these, um,[br]to perhaps make some actual editing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 adjustments, we could think about not[br]using them for creative purpose, but for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 perhaps fixing an exposure issue. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So in this particular image, the land is[br]well exposed, it has good contrast, but 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the sky, because the sun is probably over[br]here somewhere, is a little too bright. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's a little bit blown out, we're losing[br]our contrast. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You can very easily use, um, an adjustment[br]layer in conjunction with a layer mask to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 fix that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So let's do a curve. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You could use your, um, line here, you[br]can use your scrubby slider. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Let's try this scrubby slider, so I'm gonna[br]come over here, I know this is the area I 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 want to adjust. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm just gonna pull it down, I'm pulling it[br]down, I don't wanna go so far that I get 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this banding, but I' gonna just pull the[br]sky a little but darker, and then 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 close that out. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, before it was like that, now it's like[br]this, so I'm really- I'm happy with this 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 kind of blue happening over here and[br]it's- it's dimmed it down a bit. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But what I don't want to do is effect the[br]landscape, so in this case I'm gonna 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 use a gradient inside the mask, and I'll[br]use a linear gradient. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm gonna just move from the top to the[br]bottom, I'm gonna click and drag. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm gonna actually start a little bit[br]lower 'cuz I want most of the gradient 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the sort of, white portion, to be up[br]high, and I want it to start to blend. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I'm gonna maybe dome where in here,[br]and let's go actually a little bit more, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a little bit more straight on down. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Okay, let's see how we're doing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if I turn it off and on, so I've still[br]got my mount- it's affecting these hills 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a little bit much because of this angle,[br]maybe I'll start it from about there. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's still a but too angled, that's a[br]better angle here, so I turn it off and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on you can see there's a nice blend in[br]the sky, it's still getting my mountains 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because I don't have a perfectly straight[br]horizon line, but that's okay, because I 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 know I can actually just grab my brush,[br]make a bigger sized brush, and continue 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to work inside this mask. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I want to paint with black, reading[br]this layer mask here, and let's open- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that looks pretty good, so maybe I'll[br]just come in and kind of get the mountain 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 out of the layer mask, so that would be[br]a pretty easy fix. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You would want to zoom in and do a little[br]bit more detailed work, but if I just kind 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of quickly do this. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I need a slightly harder brush. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I will have edited, essentially, just the[br]sky, and made a nice subtle kind 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of difference. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Again, you would clean these edges up,[br]but for purposes of demonstration this 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 gives you a good idea of how you can[br]use a layer mask inside an adjustment 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 layer to adjust something in a more[br]seamless fashion.