How to Draw a Gradient-Filled Triangle in Photoshop
- 1). Create a new file by selecting “File” and “New.” Enter a document size of your choice in the menu options. For online art, select “RGB” as your color mode and a resolution of 72 dpi. If you want to print your work when you are done, select “CMYK” as your document’s color mode and bump the resolution up to 300 dpi.
- 2). Turn on Photoshop’s rulers by going to “View” and clicking on “Rulers.” Ruler lines appear at the top and left sides of your document. To make it easier to draw, turn on grids by going to the “View” menu. About halfway down the list, choose “Show” and pick “Grid” in the flyout menu. Click on the ruler lines and, continuing to hold down the mouse, drag them onto your document. You can draw as many guides as you want. Alternatively, use the grid to help you place your triangle’s apex points.
- 3). Choose kind of triangle you want to create: equilateral, right-angle, isosceles, obtuse or acute. To make it easy, create your triangle so that one of its sides is horizontal. Select the "Pen" tool from the Tools palette. Click on the document where you want the first apex, then click on the second point, then the third. Hover your mouse over the first point until a small rectangle appears, then click on the point. You should now have a closed path.
- 4). Go to the Tools palette and click on the "Gradient" tool. In the Gradient Options menu, select the type of gradient you want by clicking on its icon. The types include linear, angle, diamond and radial. A box with a color ramp indicates the gradient’s current colors. Click on the small triangle to the right of the color ramp to open a menu that shows your gradient library. Select one by clicking on it; the ramp box displays your new selection.
- 5). Make sure your triangle is an active selection. If not, change tools to the "Selection" tool and click on it, then switch back to the "Gradient" tool. Click in your triangle where you want the gradient to start, and keep holding the mouse button. Drag to where you want it to end, then release the mouse button. A short “draw” makes the gradient small; a long “draw” makes the gradient stretch across the triangle. Experiment until you are satisfied with the appearance of the gradient.
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