Grayscale gradient around a circumference

howdy, kids.

i don’t do art and i don’t have money. how is that for a good start? :slight_smile:

doing an electronics project and need some printed graphics. specifically, i need a white to black gradient around a circle circumferentially. i will add a photo of what i am getting at below.

now, i could just buy that photo but i don’t know the quality. the system i am working on is going to monitor light brightness based of the reflected light coming off the gradient. black will reflect little while white should reflect a bunch. that is broad strokes. the point is that i need the gradient to be as smooth as possible to get the best results.

here is where you folks come in: is there a free graphic design software that i could use to create this and, if so, how would i go about doing that?

thanks!
i love you!
goodbye!

Inkscape is ‘free’ and you can do conical gradients

How that will work for whatever you’re doing I have no idea.

2 Likes

close, but no cigar.
that goes from white to black and then back to white. that means there are two, mirrored, gradients. i need one continuous gradient with a sharp transition between black and white.

i was just playing with inkscape. again, no dice.
they have linear and radial gradients, but no circumferential gradient. :frowning:

thanks for the ideas though!

You can make the gradient however you want to - you don’t have to follow this exactly, you can change it to suit whatever you need.

It’s the exact same thing as you posted.

1 Like

The iStock file you mentioned is as good as you will get. You would not download a photo. You would download an Encapsulated PostScript (eps) vector file that is scalable to any size without loss of quality or resolution.

PostScript files are not photos — they’re instructions to a PostScript interpreter on an output device to render the vector image to whatever resolution the output device can produce.

I don’t use Inkscape, but it should be able to open the .eps file and save it to svg (another scalable vector format).

Unfortunately the output device (your monitor or a printer) might not be capable of producing smooth transitions in a gradient and may produce, instead, subtle banding artifacts within the gradient. This isn’t a fault in the file. It’s a limitation of the output device.

2 Likes

Not that it’s any of my business, but I do have to wonder what sort of a project you are working on or what the economic circumstances are that would prevent you from having $15 to spend on a stock image.

2 Likes

So, you just need this?

2 Likes

alright. that is pretty cool. as i said, i don’t know much about graphics. that is super helpful.

perhaps i gave up too early with inkscape. i will give it another go tonight.

ha! that is easy.
i like to run up debts and the not pay them. so, people don’t like giving me credit cards or keeping my bank accounts open. that leaves me with prepaid cards. they cost extra to load and per transaction. fifteen becomes fifteen plus four plus two. now add the hassle of getting dressed to drive to 711. all for something i have high confidence there is a free way to simply generate myself and zero confidence the overall design will work in the first place.
nope.
i am so cheap i design and print my own bearings for prototypes…and then leave them in the final design. :slight_smile:
if this ends up working decently with something i print out at home on my old inkjet the next step is having a local printer knock out something quality for me. for that i am willing to pay. both for the quality graphic and for quality prints.
i say all that, but if it works well enough to function at all i am more likely to just work around the shortcomings and stick with free.

i could kiss you.

Sounds like you are in need of financial and career advice more than graphic design advice. :man_shrugging:

1 Like

better men than you have tried, and failed, to advise me into conformity.
lesser men, too. :slight_smile:
i am nearly fifty and hate corporations.
my mind is unlikely to be changed.

may i suggest that you try out the bottom of the barrel for a little while?
you meet all kinds of neat people down here!
like, i assume everyone on a public forum is poor and has nothing better to do with their time.
that is why i am here.
i could just be projecting.
tis the human in me…

If I were wise man, I’d let this go. Unfortunately, no one has ever accused me of being wise.

I believe the average American household carries debt. If that is true, that makes you the one in conformity.

I’m not sure what your feelings about corporations has to do with being fiscally responsible. I am a bit curious as to what corporation built the device you’re using to access this forum or built the car you use to drive to 7-11.

I have friends that do quite well, and I have friends that are in debt. A person’s financial position does not factor in to whether or not I will be friends with them or hang out.

You know the old saying about what happens when you assume…

1 Like

you can have it, boss.

i got my wheel and learned about vector files.
while i still don’t know how to create my own,
you never once offered to help with that. lol

thanks for prying though!

2 Likes

It’s understandable how something that seems so simple can be tricky if you’re not familiar with the tools or the nuances of design. This kind of gradient might seem basic, but creating it correctly for a specific physical application, like your light-sensing project, requires understanding how digital designs translate to real-world outputs. That’s something designers pick up with experience.

Think of it like cooking a perfect omelet. It’s just eggs, right? But the technique, the pan, and even the heat distribution all play a role in getting it just right.

Similarly, in design, creating a smooth circumferential gradient involves choosing the right tools, settings, and export formats to ensure it works as intended for your needs.

1 Like