Gradient Help

[hrigsby]

Good day:

I have what I would consider a complex gradient tool application that I can't seem to figure out.

Basically, I have a polyline from AutoCAD (a line that changes direction at a few different vertices) and an out boundary around this polyline (at varying distances from the polyline. What I'm trying to do is to create a gradient that is brightest at the line, and fades out from the line in a uniform pattern to the boundary.

Any ideas on how I would achieve this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[hrigsby]

Here's an idea of what I have now...to try to put into graphics what I was describing above. The gradient needs to be radiating out from the black line and fade to the grey border. Is this possible?

 

[ibclare]

There may be a member who knows PS better. The only way I can think of doing it would be too labor intensive and likely not the clean effect you need, would involve creating each quadrant of the outer selection separately, applying a gradient to half the top pattern, then flipping it. Do the same for the next. The problem would be the intersects, and I expect they would overlap and leave lines you don't want. I wish I had a good idea, but to my knowledge you are asking more than Photoshop can deliver. Seems to me there ought to be a way . . . .

So, in summary? That's not much of a solution. Hang in there. Someone may come along and say yay or nay to one!

 

[Crotale]

Shape burst stroke mode could work.

 

[hrigsby]

Shape burst stroke mode could work.

Any more details on that?

I've had a few ideas...but none of them are going to achieve the results I want exactly. I'd thought about segmenting it off and doing a linear gradient from the line out, reversing it, etc. Like you said, I'll get overlap lines.

I'd also thought about sectioning off various levels of the color as I get closer to the center...maybe using the shrink selection tool, but then I'll get a uniform gradient, when the outer edge isn't the same distance from the centerline.

 

[IamSam]

Shape burst is a Layer style option located under the Gradient Fill Type selection of a Stroke Style.

 

[Crotale]

The problem is that the black line and gray outer boundaries are not the same distance on all points in any of your groups. This means you will need to experiment and most assuredly, you will need to make secondary edits. As Clare said, you will need to do multiple "takes" and blend them together as necessary to achieve your desired effect.