Photoshop gradient overlay isn't transparent

Question

I wanted to make a gradient from black to transparent but it doesn't work.

I have a red layer as a background and a rectangle with a gradient overlay. The top-right corner has opacity set to 0 but instead of showing a black to transparent gradient, it still shows a white to black gradient.

Why is it not working?

Answer 1

Even though you have applied a black to transparent gradient, via the layer effects, to your top layer, I can see that the layer itself is still filled with white.

Set the fill of the top layer to 0%

Another tip for you: Change both colors of your gradient to black, then adjust the opacity. Leaving the gradient as a Black > White one will mean that the colors between the two points are not only black, but varying shades from black to white and therefore not a true black to transparent gradient

Here you can see what you have right now: a white layer with a black > transparent gradient style applied to it. As you can see, the fill color of the layer is still white

You need to decrease the fill of the layer to 0%, which will make the layer transparent, allowing your transparent gradient to work

A simple break-down:

• Fill is the base upon which your layer styles are applied. No matter what styles or effects you add, the fill is still underneath it all. Change this to affect only the fill of the layer and leave your styles intact
• Opacity affects the entire layer (fill and styles). Change this to decrease the opacity of everything on the layer