How to Create a Rainbow in Photoshop

Rainbows make everyone feel better. Add a rainbow to a homemade greeting card to cheer up a friend who may need a pick-me-up. Or you can layer one onto a landscape. Rainbows are easy to make with Photoshop. With just a few clicks, you can brighten someone's day.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Open the Photoshop program. Start a new document with a 400x400 pixel canvas. Click "OK" when you have everything set. Create a new layer by selecting the "New Layer" button from the layers palette at the bottom of the Photoshop screen.
2. Make a rectangle. Choose the "Rectangle Marquee" tool. Hold your left mouse key down to create a rectangle twice as tall as you want the rainbow to be. It's best to leave some room at the bottom of the Photoshop screen.
3. Pick the "Gradient" tool. From the selection box, choose the spectrum gradient. Double check to make sure the shape is set to linear. Select the entire rectangle. While holding down the "Shift" key, click and drag the mouse from the bottom of the rectangle to the top. Now choose "Deselect."
4. Set the filter. Pick "Filter" from the toolbar. Next select "Distort." Finally click "Polar Coordinates." Deselect "Rectangular Polar" if necessary.
5. Preview the rainbow. From the "Filter" dialog box, select the "Minus" button. When you click "OK" the preview should show a circle rainbow.
6. Create a soft edge for your rainbow. From the "Filter" menu, choose "Blur." Now select "Gaussian" from the blur options. "1" is a nice touch for a soft rainbow. Select it and click "OK."
7. Cut the rainbow in half. Select the lower half and delete it. Remember to save your rainbow to insert into your graphic arts projects.

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