How to Add Gradient Texture to My Node Setup? I'm trying to add a linear gradient texture to this node setup for my characters' shoes. I want to make the top part of the shoes dark black and I want it to fade to a lighter black where the leather texture material meets the bottom rubber material. I've already tried it by watching tutorials and can't figure it out.

I have two textures/materials on the shoes: A leather texture for the top part and a rubber texture for the bottom. I want to do this gradient on the bottom material (rubber part) to fade up into the leather texture (Top part). The bottom part in the second picture is the material I want to fade. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You cannot directly mix different materials.
Turn one of them into a node group, and it will work.


Turn Material 01 into a Node group
Add the new Node group into Material 02 using a mix shader
Connect Gradient texture and use ColorRamp to control the gradient


Create a nodegroup from one of your materials.



Add the new node group into the other material using a mix node.
Use ColorRamp to control the gradient.



Notes:
Gradient texture connects into the FAC input of a mix node (Mix RGB, Mix Shader or ColorRamp)
To make the gradient vertical, I used a UV map projected from view.