Why is my fade a solid? 1

[annconroy]

For PC

In the past to apply a 'vingette' I drew a marquee, selected inverse, set the feather and filled. This gave me a fade around the edges of the picture.

I recently upgraded to CS3 and when I follow the same procedure all I get is a solid fill.

Am I missing something?

 

[apepp]

...select > modify > feather still behaves the same, so without seeing what you are doing it is difficult to problem solve...

...ensure your using a high enough feather value would be one area to look at, values are resolution dependant...

...personally though i prefer to create fancy borders with a layer mask as it gives much more control and scope for easier modifications, for example the ability to adjust the position of the image in relation to the feather, or resize the feather easily...

Andrew

 

[apepp]

quick tip:

when you have made a selection, choose select > refine edge...

Andrew

 

[annconroy]

Thanks Andrew. You have been a huge help!!!

Ann

 

[annconroy]

If you're out there Andrew:

Some time ago you told me about the 'refine edge'. It worked then but now I see what I want in the 'preview' but it disapears when I hit OK.

Help?

 

[apepp]

...when you hit OK from refine edge, do you mean all you see are the 'running ants' or in other words the live selection?

...this is normal of this function, you then need to create a layer mask from that live selection or fill that live selection with a color...

...at the bottom of the refine edge dialog you see the five preview icons, they are merely different ways of seeing how the selection will work, pressing the f key cycles through these preview modes...

...once OK is performed, your document will revert to just the selection, press the Q key and you will then enter quick mask mode whereby you can further modify the mask if required...

...so basically, once refine edge is performed you then need to carry out another step such as creating a layer mask, filling or deleting...

Andrew

 

[apepp]

...also to add...

...if you apply a refine edge directly to am existing layer mask then the mask will change, therefore no further steps are required if applying to an already existing layer mask...

Andrew