How to transform a gradient within a layer mask
Hoping I can get some help with a masking problem. Picture an image that contains several ripples, like when a raindrop lands on the surface of a pond. Each ripple is essentially a series of concentric elliptical shapes emanating from the center, each ellipsis slightly irregular. To each of these ripples, I would like to apply a graduated blur, so that the ellipses closer to the center are sharper than those further from the center. One way to do that would be to convert the ripples layer to a smart object, apply a Gaussian blur, and apply a radial gradient to the blur filter’s layer mask. However, I would like to shape (i.e., transform) the gradient to the contours of each individual ripple. I understand there are ways to contour a gradient. I can, for example, create a gradient in a shape layer and transform the shape. However, I haven’t figured out how to contour a gradient within a layer mask. Does anyone know how to do this?
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