Plugin help - recommendation

[RAMTEK]

Hello all! I could use a recommendation on a plugin/effect I need to use. I want to be able to fade both the top and bottom of a picture to black. I have tried EFFECTS>RENDER>GRADIENT but that fades the entire layer, and I dont have control over the width of the gradient. I have an image that I need to fade approx the top and bottom 10% of the picture to black. I have attached a example pic of what I need. In the example, you can see how the top fades to black. I need to be able to apply this same type of style to a pic but fade both the top and bottom, and I need to be able to control how much of the pic gets faded, and how the fade is generated. Any suggestions on what plugin I can use for this and where I can get it?

[AhmedElyamani]

Here is how to do it:

1- Create a new layer.

2- Fill it with black.

3- Using the gradient tool , setting the mode to Linear (Reflected), and setting the filling mode to Transparency Mode .

4- Click in the middle and drag until you get to the result you want .

Hope This helps.

Ahmed

[delpart]

You're technically creating what most seem to call a Vignette on the images.

Here's a search done on that term to help with a lot of thread hits and discussions on methods for doing this to some degree or another: Paint.net Search Engine results for Vignette

With some tweaking of either the starting image or the plugin sliders, Ed Harvey's Vignette plugin from his pack will probably get you fast results to experiment with: Ed Harvey Plugin Pack

Depending on how cut a line in the shadow you want, etc will depend on the method. Most of the time people really want something a wee bit random when doing this effect, so drawing, smudging a blurring your own gradient masks may be what you wish to consider.

Hope that helps.

Edited January 23, 2012 by delpart