1 Correct answer
@Chris29379353jpz4 change this option to classic gradient
Explore related tutorials & articles
24
Replies
I see. Will there ever be a time where developers will realize just because something is new, or because they are releasing something they see as an improvement - it doesn't mean everyone wants it?
By @Chris29379353jpz4
It sure might not mean everyone wants it, but an important enhancement like this is very likely to be something more users want than don’t want. So although some may not want it, it makes sense to make the new way the default, because it’s likely that more users want the vastly improved flexibility, especially in the future.
For context, Photoshop had been falling behind in this area. Easy-to-edit gradients have been available in other image editors that I use (such as Adobe Lightroom Classic, but non-Adobe software had also advanced beyond Photoshop in this area), and I am one of the users who was waiting a long time for Photoshop to catch up here. I probably won’t ever want to use it the old way again, because the new way is so much more powerful and productive.
This is not to dismiss your preference, you have a right to want to do it a certain way, which still exists. But this is to help explain why it is set the new way. Fortunately Adobe does let you still do this the old way; not all Photoshop enhancements are reversible.
Adding a new nondestructive layer is a standard Photoshop way of preserving your options. It is how many of the advanced new features work (sky replacement, AI generative fill…) so that you can easily back out of an edit any time in the future and try something else without wrecking the image, or just be able to turn off the edit or do a with/without comparison.
Choose "Classic Gradient" from the drop down on the far left. The options are: "Gradient or Classic Gradient."
"Method" drop down on the right determines how the transition between colors is calculated, referred to as: the Interpolation Method. Classic in this case refers to the previous (i.e. CS6 ) method of color interpolation.
The Adobe Docs, explains in detail: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/gradient-interpolation.html
If I understand your needs, the best solution involves a Gradient Preset and a Tool Preset to speed up your workflow.
It does require a little set-up, especially if a "foreground to background" gradient doesn't exist. I don't recall if I made one or it was installed by default. The one I use is located under [ Gradient Presets --> Basic --> Foreground - Background ] the icon should match your current foreground and background colors.
If you need to make a "Foreground to Background" preset. It can be a little tricky to find "foreground" and "background" options when defining "color stops" for a gradient. Find them in the context menu, shown in the image below. Click the down arrow next to the Swatch, not the Swatch itself.
Make an "old School" gradient:
- Select your area.
- Select the Gradient Tool.
- Select Classic Gradients
- Select your Gradient Preset -> Foreground to Background
- Apply your gradient as you have in the past.
But "wait" you say, that's many steps!
Lucky there are "Tool Presets", They appear in the tool bar and/or the "Tool Presets" window. So now your gradient is one or two clicks depending how you have your tool presets configured.
It's found in Window > Gradients > Legacy Gradients > Legacy Default Gradients
This, however, does not fix the issue.
I'm confused. I switched to Classic gradient and painted it right into the layer without any issue. In my case I selected a foreground to transparent gradient. But it worked just fine. I painted in several gradients into the same layer inside a masked area. How is what you are trying to do different?
No-one asked for this?!
By @Stephen_Davies
You might want to read what I posted earlier in this thread almost two years ago:
For context, Photoshop had been falling behind in this area. Easy-to-edit gradients have been available in other image editors that I use (such as Adobe Lightroom Classic, but non-Adobe software had also advanced beyond Photoshop in this area), and I am one of the users who was waiting a long time for Photoshop to catch up here. I probably won’t ever want to use it the old way again, because the new way is so much more powerful and productive.
This is not to dismiss your preference, you have a right to want to do it a certain way, which still exists. But this is to help explain why it is set the new way. Fortunately Adobe does let you still do this the old way…
The problem is not that Adobe changed it, because they had to change it. If they didn’t change it, that would just add fuel to the many opinions that get posted here that “the Photoshop code base still shows its old 1990s roots through old features that were never upgraded to keep up.”
The problem is that this new implementation of gradients still doesn’t quite work right, there are a few bugs here and there. But it was and is the right direction, they just need to give it the right level of fit and finish.
AdChoices
