Wow, when I asked for opinions I wasn't expecting so many great, substantive replies.
I guess I should've explained my layout a little better at the beginning. The upper Pentastar portion of the sign wasn't intended to really fade into the lower portion so much as it was just a minor transition without a sharp masking line defining the blue Pentastar.
Does that make sense? [reading] Oh hell no. Sounds like one of those Neo-blah-blah-blah art critics. LOL I need more coffee.
Ummmmmm, okay lemme try it this way: I wanted the star to stand out since it's the main focus of the sign, but I wanted to soften the edge between the blue star and the PLYMOUTH portion of the sign. Look again at that first picture.
Where the bottom edge of the Pentastar form ends and the top edge of the PLYMOUTH part begins, they don't match up size-wise (the outer edges of the Pentastar are 1/8" wide but the bottom part is closer to a 1/2") and those two curves where the star and sign meet looked really goofy with a sharp tape line right there. There was no balanced way to make it all look even.
So I see where ya'll are coming from on the abrupt blue ending, but that wasn't really what I was trying to fade. :-D Points are all extremely well taken, thank you.
Unlike wet paint techniques, powders are often done with lighter/heavier applications rather than outright color changes. The purple wasn't a powder I used -- I don't even have any purple powder on hand. It was created where the blue met the red, and as the blue was applied layer by layer it got darker and darker.
