Gradient

The Gradient Image Generator creates smooth transitions between colors, procedurally and at any resolution. Choose between five shapes, set as many colors as you need, and decide what happens beyond the end of the gradient: stop, repeat, or bounce back.

Use it for:

• Backgrounds and color washes
• Light spots, glows and spheres
• Stripes, rings and sunbursts, with the Repeat and Mirror modes
• Soft-edged masks, for example to fade a layer out

Quick Navigation

• Creating and Connecting a Gradient
• Gradient Types
• Colors and Stops
• Wrap Mode
• Radial and Angle Options
• Bands and Invert
• Animating the Gradient
• Controls

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Creating and Connecting a Gradient

Like any Image Generator, the Gradient can be connected to any image parameter, for example:

• The Source of a layer, to display the gradient itself
• The Mask of a layer, to fade that layer progressively
• The image input of a Modifier, for example to use the gradient as a map that drives an effect

The quickest way to create a layer with a Gradient as its source is described in Adding Layers:

• Click the + button at the top of the layer stack and choose Gradient from the list of Generators
• Place the mouse cursor over the Viewer and open the Quick Access Menu, then pick Gradient:
  • Press Q when no layer is selected
  • Press Shift+Q when a layer is selected (in this case, Q opens the menu dedicated to Modifiers)

To use it with any other image parameter, such as a Mask, click the parameter's slot and choose Gradient from the list of Generators on the right.

A new Gradient goes from black on the left edge of the composition to white on the right edge, and covers the whole canvas, since its Output Format is Unbounded. Choose another Output Format to restrict it to a rectangle.

Gradient Types

The Type menu sets the shape of the gradient, and which parameters define it:

• Linear: the colors go from Position 1 to Position 2, in a straight line.
• Reflected: the colors go from Position 1 to the midpoint between the two positions, then back to Position 2. The last color is in the middle.
• Radial: circles around the Center. The first color is on the Radius, and the last color at the Center.
• Angle: the colors turn around the Center, counterclockwise, from the direction set by Angle to the direction set by Max Angle. Both are in degrees, measured counterclockwise from the right: 0 points right and 90 points up.
• Diamond: like Radial, but with squares instead of circles.

Colors and Stops

The colors are defined in the Gradient parameter, as color stops. Each stop has a color, including its opacity, and a position from 0 (the start of the gradient) to 1 (its end). Add as many stops as you need.

Like keyframes, each stop has an interpolation mode that decides how the color changes between this stop and the next one. By default, the transition eases in and out of each stop, which gives soft, smooth gradients. Set the stops to Linear for an even, constant transition.

All the interpolation modes available for keyframes can be used, more than 50 in total, including the easing families such as Quad, Sine, Expo, Back, Elastic and Bounce. They are described in Keyframes. Since each stop has its own mode, you can mix them within a single gradient: a Bounce mode creates ripples of color, an Elastic mode overshoots, and Constant holds the color of the stop until the next one, for a hard edge.

Wrap Mode

The Wrap Mode decides what happens beyond the end of the gradient, for example outside Position 1 and Position 2:

• Constant (the default): the first and last colors extend outward.
• Repeat: the gradient starts over, which creates stripes with a hard edge.
• Mirror: the gradient goes back and forth, which creates smooth waves.

Radial and Angle Options

• Focal Point moves the brightest point of a Radial gradient, relative to the Center, while its outer edge stays on the Radius. Use it for a light that hits a sphere from the side.
• Radius has an X and a Y value: set them differently to turn a Radial gradient into an ellipse.
• Repetitions repeats an Angle gradient several times around the circle, to create sunbursts and fans. It needs the Wrap Mode to be set to Repeat or Mirror, and has no effect on the other types.

Bands and Invert

• Bands sets the number of samples used to draw the gradient. With a low value and Band Interpolation set to Nearest, the gradient turns into flat bands of color, as in the third bar of Figure 2. With Band Interpolation set to Linear, the transitions stay smooth.
• Invert reverses the gradient, as in the last bar of Figure 2.

Animating the Gradient

Offset shifts the gradient along its direction, as a fraction of its length: an Offset of 1 moves it by one full gradient. Combined with Repeat or Mirror, animating it makes the colors flow continuously.

For a seamless loop, animate Offset linearly by one full period: from 0 to 1 with Repeat, or from 0 to 2 with Mirror, since a mirrored gradient goes back and forth.

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Controls

Parameter / Script Name	Type	Default	Function
Enabled / enabled	Boolean	On	Turns the Generator on or off. When off, the Generator produces an empty image.
Output Format / output_format_mode	Choice	Unbounded	Defines the area filled by the gradient. - Unbounded: The gradient covers the whole, infinite canvas. - Format Preset: The gradient fills the selected preset, centered. - Composition Format: The gradient fills the composition. - Custom Format: The gradient fills the Format rectangle.
Format / format_preset	Choice	HD (1920x1080)	The format used when Output Format is set to Format Preset. - PC VIDEO (640x480) - NTSC (720x486:0.91) - PAL (720x576:1.09) - NTSC 16:9 (720x486:1.21) - PAL 16:9 (720x576:1.46) - QHD (960x540) - LHD (1280x720) - HD (1920x1080) - VHD (1080x1920) - UHD 4K (3840x2160) - VUHD 4K (2160x3840) - UHD 8K (7680x4320) - Super35 1K FULL AP (1024x778) - Cinemascope 1K (914x778:2.00) - Super35 2K FULL AP (2048x1556) - Cinemascope 2K (1828x1556:2.00) - DCP 2K (2048x1080) - Super35 4K FULL AP (4096x3112) - DCP 4K (4096x2160) - Square 256 (256x256) - Square 512 (512x512) - Square 1K (1024x1024) - Square 2K (2048x2048)
Format / formatRect	Float 4D	-500, -500, 500, 500	The rectangle used when Output Format is set to Custom Format, as left, bottom, right and top edges in pixels from the center of the composition.
Pixel aspect / par	Float	1	The pixel aspect ratio of the generated image.
Type / type	Choice	Linear	The shape of the gradient. See Gradient Types. - Linear: From Position 1 to Position 2. - Reflected: From Position 1 to the midpoint, then back to Position 2. - Radial: From the Radius to the Center. - Angle: Around the Center, from Angle to Max Angle. - Diamond: A square from the Radius to the Center.
Wrap Mode / wrap	Choice	Constant	What happens beyond the end of the gradient. See Wrap Mode. - Constant: The first and last colors extend outward. - Repeat: The gradient starts over. - Mirror: The gradient goes back and forth.
Position 1 / pos0	Float 2D	0, 0	Start point of the Linear and Reflected types, in pixels from the center of the composition. Set to the left edge of the composition when the Generator is created.
Position 2 / pos1	Float 2D	0, 0	End point of the Linear and Reflected types, in pixels from the center of the composition. Set to the right edge of the composition when the Generator is created.
Center / center	Float 2D	0, 0	Center of the Radial, Angle and Diamond types, in pixels from the center of the composition.
Radius / radius	Float 2D	100, 100	Size of the Radial and Diamond types, in pixels. With different X and Y values, the Radial type becomes an ellipse.
Focal Point / focal_point	Float 2D	0, 0	Position of the brightest point of the Radial type, relative to the Center. The outer edge stays on the Radius.
Angle / angle	Float	90	Start direction of the Angle type, in degrees, counterclockwise from the right.
Max Angle / max_angle	Float	359.999	End direction of the Angle type, in degrees, counterclockwise from the right.
Repetitions / num_repetitions	Float	1	Number of times the gradient repeats around the circle. Only used by the Angle type, with Wrap Mode set to Repeat or Mirror.
Offset / offset	Float	0	Shifts the gradient along its direction, as a fraction of its length: 1 moves it by one full gradient. Animate it to make the gradient flow.
Invert / invert	Boolean	Off	Reverses the gradient.
Bands / lut_size	Float	256	Number of samples in the color table used to draw the gradient. With low values and Band Interpolation set to Nearest, the gradient becomes flat color bands.
Band Interpolation / band_interpolation	Choice	Linear	How the color table is read. - Linear: Smooth transitions between the samples. - Nearest: Flat bands of color.
Gradient / gradient	Gradient	Black to white	The color stops of the gradient. See Colors and Stops.
Colorspace / input_colorspace	Choice	Project Display Space	Only available when the composition's Color Management is set to OpenColorIO. The colorspace in which the colors of this Generator are expressed. - Project Working Space: The color is assumed to be expressed in the project working space - Project Display Space: The color is assumed to be expressed in the project display space