GIMP Version: 2.8.6
Operating System: Linux
GIMP Experience: Intermediate Level

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I'm trying to create a dark to light grey gradient that I can then change the stop point of. If the left endpoint's is 808080 and the right endpoint's colour is ffffff what I want to be able to do is change the right endpoint so that it's 40% away from ffffff. Then when I drag the gradient across the image I want it not to blend to white but to the point that is 40% away from white. I also will need to be able to alter the right and left end points so that they are different percentage points away from their left and right end points. There will be many different layers, all which will use different shades of grey.
I've been messing around with the gradient manager but so far have been unable to to set the end points so that they stop short of the original colours when the gradient is applied, other than by changing the shades of grey by using the change colours tool option. This isn't a great solution as it's mostly guess work as to the correct shade I need.
Also I was wondering if there's a way to choose the angle of the gradient other than by guessing, I've tried gradient overlay but that just produces a blend from one colour to the next which is abrupt, no smooth transition between the colours.

I hope this makes sense, and thanks for any help.

By design the gradient is fully mapped between you start and stop points...

Two methods:

1):

- in a side image create a blend with your gradient
- set the active gradient for Foreground to Background
- before you strike a new blend, sample the start and top colors in the side image as the FG/BG colors with the color picker

2):

- Create a black-to-white gradient where you want your gradient
- use the curves tool to re-map the values (which are in direct relation with the position along the gradient) to the colors you want

Thanks guys. Bit embarrassing but I misunderstood the tutorial I was trying to follow. What I was suppose to do was set the different shades of grey to percentage values. I figured it out in the end and with the help of a hex table for shades of grey was able to finish the tutorial. Each shade has to be set manually in the colour swatch so it quite time consuming but effective.
This is what I came up with. It's from a photoshop tutorial but works well in Gimp. Just have to see now if I can turn it into a vector graphic.

The lens marking should read 1/3.5-5.6.

Also, there is absolutely nothing blurry in a camera lens. All the reflections are very sharp, even if distorted. Any blur makes the lens appear dusty or misted(*).

(*) Strangely, when looking for lens pictures on Google, all the ones with blurry reflections where actually CGI...

that came out great !
you should have done this as a vector from the start, now you will have to do it all over again

Caz, nice results.

I got it wrong and this was a tutorial for Illustrator and the point that I was lost on was for the reflections. I used the path tool and then filled with white as per the instructions, but after filling with white the instructions were to feather the selection by 3 pixels. That didn't seem to make any change in Gimp so I figured I'd blur the reflection instead, probably a bad move. Going to experiment some more on the reflections and sharpen them up, and change the lens markings to what they should be.



Cheers.
I was hoping I might be able to use the xcf in Inkscape, or import the image in some way, probably not though. I'm a once in a blue moon user of Inkscape and if I used it for a long tutorial like the lens one I'd probably give up half way through. I just don't know it well enough.



Cheers. I thought it turned out well too.