To soften the edges of a shape in Photoshop, the primary method is using feathering. Feathering creates a gradual transition at the boundary of the shape or selection, making the edges appear soft instead of sharp.
Understanding Feathering
As explained in the reference, Feathering basically softens up the edges of your selection by gently fading between the pixels on the border and the pixels in the surrounding area. This technique is crucial for creating smooth transitions, blending elements, or making objects less rigid within your composition. While it effectively blunts sharp edges, it's important to note that it also can cause some loss of detail at the feathered edge of the selection.
Applying Feathering to Soften Shape Edges
You can apply feathering in Photoshop either before you create a selection or afterward. For softening the edges of an existing shape (like a Shape Layer), you typically work with a selection derived from that shape.
Here are the common ways to feather:
1. Feathering After Creating a Selection
This is often the most practical way when working with existing shapes or layers.
- Create a Selection from Your Shape:
- Hold down the Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) key and click directly on the thumbnail icon of your shape layer in the Layers panel. This loads the shape as an active selection.
- Apply Feather:
- Go to the main menu bar and select Select > Modify > Feather....
- A dialog box will appear asking for a Feather Radius.
- Enter a pixel value. A higher value creates a softer, more spread-out edge; a lower value creates a subtler softness.
- Click OK.
Your active selection now has feathered edges. You can then perform actions like copying, cutting, or applying adjustments or masks based on this soft selection.
2. Feathering Before Creating a Selection
Some selection tools (like the Marquee or Lasso tools) allow you to set a Feather value in the Options bar before you draw your selection.
- Select a Marquee Tool (e.g., Rectangular Marquee Tool) or a Lasso Tool.
- In the Options bar at the top of the screen, find the Feather input field.
- Enter your desired pixel value for the feather radius before you click and drag to create your selection.
- Draw your selection. The selection boundary you see will still appear sharp, but the actual selection is feathered behind the scenes.
This method is less common for softening pre-existing complex shapes but is useful when starting a selection from scratch with the intent of having soft edges.
By utilizing the feathering feature, you can effectively soften the harsh outlines of shapes and selections in Photoshop, creating more natural and blended results.
