Step 3: Add A Layer Mask

I'm going to add a layer mask to the pixelated layer at this point. To do that, with "Layer 1" selected, I'm going to click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

This adds a layer mask to "Layer 1", and if we look in the Layers palette, we can see that it also adds a layer mask thumbnail to the right of the layer content thumbnail:

We can also tell that the layer mask, not the contents of the layer, is currently selected by the white highlight border appearing around the layer mask thumbnail.

Step 4: Select The Gradient Tool

We're going to use our layer mask to blend the original image on the Background layer and the pixelated image on "Layer 1" together, and for that we need the Gradient Tool, so either select it from the Tools palette or press G on your keyboard:

Step 5: Reset Your Foreground And Background Colors If Needed

We want black as our Foreground color and white as our Background color. Normally those are Photoshop's default Foreground and Background colors, except when we have a layer mask selected, which we currently do. Whenever we have a layer mask selected, the default colors get swapped, with white becoming the default Foreground color and black becoming the default Background color. To quickly set our Foreground and Background colors to black and white respectively (remembering that we have a layer mask selected), press D on your keyboard to reset them to their defaults, and then press X to swap them. You'll see in the Tools palette that the Foreground color swatch is now showing black and the Background color swatch is now showing white:

Step 6: Select The "Foreground to Background" Gradient

With the Gradient Tool selected and our Foreground and Background colors set to black and white, look up in the Options Bar at the top of the screen to see which gradient you currently have selected. If the gradient preview area is showing a black to white gradient, you're all set:

If it's showing some other gradient, click on the small, down-pointing arrow to the right of the gradient preview area. The Gradient Picker will appear below it. Select the "Foreground to Background" gradient in the top left corner, then click anywhere outside of the Gradient Picker to close out of it:

Step 7: Drag Out A Black To White Gradient On The Layer Mask

Now that we have our black to white gradient, we can use it to blend the Background layer and the pixelated layer together, creating our first variation on the effect. I want the transition area of my blend to appear across the guy's face, so half of his face (and half of the image as well) is pixelated and the other half is not. To accomplish that, I'm going to click below his right eye and then, holding down my Shift key to make sure I drag in a horizontal line, I'm going to drag my mouse all the way over to the left edge of his face:

The area between where I started and finished my gradient is going to become the transition area between the pixelated image on "Layer 1" and the original image on the Background layer. When I release my mouse button, I get my transition effect:

Let's look at couple more variations on the effect, which we'll do next.

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