softening/blending edges

[TristanArtForm]

OK, newbie to some photoshop. I'm on the CS2 for Mac. In traditional penciling you can use a "stump" to blend out, soften the pecils to get an airbrushe-like smooth fade or blend effect. For those unfamiliar, using a stump would be similar to using your finger to blend out pencil shading, but with much more acuracy and control.

On photoshop there's the smudge tool and blur tool but neither seems to work very well at all, or am I just not using it right.

Is there a way can I go over layed down shaded areas to smoothly fade out the edges as I would with a stump tool in traditional penciling?

T

[Elwell]

Try playing around with the healing brush (the band aid icon).

[Shamagim]

you can also use the color picker to blend, just try to hotkey it in your pen or tablet ( or mouse).

Then is just about changing the tip´s presets, keeping in mind that one of the most important things is to keep spacing to 1% ( not the 15, or 25% that the presets have)

Blur and smudge in PS just don´t have a good enough result, unlike painter , that haves a much better smudge tool ( at least so i´ve heard)

Also using the shape and other dynamics is a good idea, but remmember that the presets for "other Dynamics" need to be activated to be controled by the Penn´s preasure, that assuming that you are using a tablet :).

Good luck.

[Datameister]

The huge "Digital Painting in PS" thread is all about one of the most popular Photoshop blending techniques. Basically, you repeatedly paint over hard transitions with a lower opacity. You can pick a color directly off the image by alt-clicking any part of it. The thread I mentioned explains this in great detail, especially on the first page.

This method produces good results, but sometimes you want a perfectly smooth blend. This actually can be accomplished using the smudge tool so many people detest--but you have to use the right settings. Create a new brush with soft edges and medium-small "scatter" value. If you use the smudge tool with this brush, you should be able to achieve a very smooth, controlled blend. Instead of smudging the colors along the brush strokes, it simply mushes together the colors of adjacent areas.

[TristanArtForm]

Hey gang, thanks for the help. I'll try all.

Elwell, how's everything going with you?

Shamagim, I think you estimate my PS knowledge/skills to be greater than they are. I am using a tablet, but I don't know how to "hot Key". I'm still going to do my best. Thanks again.

Tristan

[Shamagim]

The brush in ps has a secondary "color picker" function, just by plainly pressing "alt", that´s already a hotkey, if your using an intuos 3 ( 9 x12 ) you have hotkeys on each side, if you don´t, you still have the pen buttons, just set either of them to "alt".

In the tablet menu you have to can set any key to a modifier ( modifyers: space, alt, ctrl).

[TristanArtForm]

Thanks again Shamagim.

Yep, Intuos3, 9" X 12"

T

[FlipMcgee]

On photoshop there's the smudge tool and blur tool but neither seems to work very well at all, or am I just not using it right.
T

Try with smudge tool set at 30% or less opacity, no spacing for brush tip.

Using a speckle brush at low opacity and color picking works too.

I believe eyewoo, from another forum, has a band-aid-tool-as-a-blender tutorial somewhere.

[jfrancis]

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/images/sketchBookPro.jpg

For me it's all about tieing opacity to a pressure-sensitive brush.

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/images/hardBrushTechnique.jpg

[BeckyWC]

Check out this free video tutorials on blending and digital painting. Link below:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=380563

[nebezial]

smudge tool- hard edge brush- scatter radius 20-scatter count 11- other dynamics to pen pressure- spacing off, u control the blend power with strenght- enjoy!

[FlipMcgee]

Uh-oh, watch out....here comes the nebz!

Great to see you posting here too nebezial. I've been following your hit threads in cgtalk.

Hope you'll do a tutorial or two for ca someday.

Cheers!

[jfrancis]

That scatter/smudge technique is another popular way.

Here's an Olijosman tutorial called Painting With Fingers (http://www.nibbledpencil.com/ficha.php?id=277) that shows it in action.

http://www.nibbledpencil.com/image.php?image=FINGERSPAINT3.jpg