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[ 33 ]Step 27: Select the Gradient tool
in the Toolbar once again. Change
it to a Foreground to Transparent
gradient, and make sure you have
the Linear Gradient type selected in
the Options Bar.Step 28: Press Q to activate Quick
Mask mode. Holding the Shift key,
start the gradient on the left edge
of the canvas area and drag it to
the halfway point. The Shift key will
keep the gradient perfectly horizon-
tal. When in Quick Mask mode, the
gradient will appear in red, and you’ll
notice the layer in the Layers panel is
also highlighted in red. Press Q again
to switch back to normal view mode.
Now we have a gradient selection.
Note: If the right side of your image
is selected, go to Select>Inverse so
the left side is selected instead.
Go under the Filter menu to Blur
and choose Gaussian Blur. Set the
Radius to 13 pixels, and click OK.
You can see the blur effect fades as it
goes across the shadow based on the
gradient selection you created. Press
Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
Step 29: Go to Gaussian Blur once
again, but this time set it to just 5 pix-
els. This will soften the sharp edges
on the right side of the shadow.