Trying to blend 2 objects in Illustrator cs4

Question

Hello again,
I am trying to create a blend/gradient with a linked photo and a square object in my design, creating a seamless blend.  The way I am doing this is by selecting the topmost layer (in this case, an orange square), opening the transparency panel, double clicking on the right side of the image/item thumbnail to create a mask, choosing linear gradient, then using the rectangle tool to select the area i want the gradient to be in.  I hope that makes sense.  The gradient looks lovely, however where the end of my orange square is, there is an obvious line.  Is there a way to soften this so it blends seamlessly?  I've attached a small screenshot of this file as a jpg so you can see what my problem is.
Thanks,
Gwen

Answer 1

If you want the orange grad to blend better you need to make the grad from orange to transparent. This is only possible in CS4 which I assume you are working in since you didn't mention any other version. Once you make the grad with orange to transparent you will need to readjust the color stops to get the fade out you desire.