how to make a circular gradient

[josephwalter]

i'm using a photoshop tutorial to figure out how to make a "waiting animation" (a circle of spinning circles), except i'm doing it with gimp. see

http://www.vladstudio.com/photoshoptutorials/?8

i'm stuck on the step where i need to add a gradient layer, that will make the first circle fully visible and then each circle thereafter lighter until at about 270 degrees there is only white.

the tutorial says add a Gradient Fill layer, white-to-transparent at 77 degree angle. I can't find an equivalent in gimp for "New Fill Layer".

i tried the Filters | Light Effects | GFlare. this comes close, but all the circles are still visible. i want them to disappear at 270 degrees.

using gimp, how do make a circular transparent-to-white gradient that goes to completly white three-quarters the way around in a circle?

 

[TonyGroves]

Try Layer -> Mask -> Add Layer Mask, then fill the mask with a Conical (asym) gradient.

 

[josephwalter]

going black-to-transparent, I see that the conical gradient makes some of the circles disappear (which is i what i wanted). but with the conical gradient, the lighter circles are on both sides of the fully visible circles (instead of just trailing the fully visible one). when animated to rotate, this will not give the same effect as shown in the example i'm working off of.