Create rainbow gradient in Photoshop SIMPLE with SaDesign

1. Learn what is Gradient?

Gradient can be simply understood as the blending of 2 or more colors together. This combination helps create a smooth, continuous and transitional feeling. Gradient color modes are widely applied in web design or poster design to help create modern, diverse, beautiful and attractive works.

In addition, gradient colors can also be applied to shapes to decorate the background, making your background more diverse, rich and colorful. They are also widely used in publications with an artistic and creative direction, depending on the imagination and aesthetic taste of each person.

2. How to create rainbow gradient in photoshop

2.1. How to create a rainbow color range in photoshop

To create a vibrant rainbow gradient in photoshop, you first need to create a rainbow gradient.

Step 1: Create a colorful rainbow gradient in Photoshop by selecting the Layer Adjustments icon at the bottom of the layers panel. It's the half-filled circle icon.

Select Gradient from the drop-down menu to create a gradient fill layer.

Step 2: Select the Gradient window to open the gradient editor. Several pre-made gradients will appear:

Step 3: In the Gradient settings box, double-click the bottom and leftmost anchor points, also known as stops, to open the Color Picker.

The colors of the rainbow include:

Red: #e40303

Orange: #ff8c00

Yellow: #ffed00

Green: #008026

Blue: #004dff

Purple: #750787

The leftmost stop is the start of the gradient, so set it to red #e40303. 

Then click OK.

Step 4: Select the rightmost Stop, then set it to purple #750787. If the stop starts to become transparent, select the top left Stop and set the Opacity to 100%.

Step 5: Click right below the gradient dialog box to create a new stop. Create 4 new stops between the two original stops. You need to make them even by clicking on the Stop and dragging.

Step 6: Change the color of the mid-stops to:

Orange: #ff8c00

Yellow: #ffed00

Green: #008026

Blue: #004dff

You can adjust the stops to further fine-tune the rainbow gradient as desired. Click New to save your gradient as a Photoshop preset.

Step 7: To create the ROYGBIV rainbow gradient background, select the Pride rainbow preset you just created or repeat the same steps using the color palette:

Red: #ff0000

Orange: #ffa500

Yellow: #ffff00

Green: #00ff00

Blue: #0000ff

Dark blue: #4b0082

Purple: #8a2be2

2.2. How to create a rainbow effect in Photoshop

Step 1: Choose one of the rainbow gradient backgrounds we created above. In this article, SADEIGN chooses to use the Pride rainbow gradient. Then select OK.

Step 2: Adjust the Style, Angle, and Scale to suit your photo. You can see our settings below. However, they will also depend on the image you are using and the colors you want to highlight the most.

Step 3: Finally, set the gradient layer mode to Screen and the Opacity to 50%. This will help you create a beautiful rainbow overlay in Photoshop.

Above are some detailed instructions from  SaDesign  on how to create rainbow gradients in photoshop easily, simply but extremely beautiful. With just a few simple steps, you can create a beautiful rainbow color range, suitable for each photo. Hopefully this article will help you create beautiful, impressive, and personal photos of your own.

See also:

The Power of Color in Photoshop Gradients
How to Add Sunlight to Photos in Photoshop