Smudge Tool

The Smudge Tool simulates dragging a finger through wet paint, pushing pixels in the direction of your brush stroke. It is used for blending colors together, creating painterly effects, and softening harsh transitions between adjacent areas.

This tool is particularly useful in digital painting for creating smooth color blends, in retouching for softening wrinkles or skin texture, and in photo manipulation for extending edges.

Where to Find It

The Smudge Tool is located in the toolbar, grouped with the Blur Tool and Sharpen Tool. It looks like a pointing finger with a small line beneath it. Click and hold the Blur Tool icon (teardrop), then select Smudge Tool from the flyout.

How to Use

• Select the Smudge Tool: Click and hold the Blur Tool icon, then select Smudge Tool from the group.
• Choose a brush: Select a brush tip size and hardness from the Options bar. Soft brushes create smoother blends.
• Set strength: Adjust Strength (1–100%). Lower values create subtle smudging.
• Paint to smudge: Click and drag in the direction you want to push the pixels.
• Finger Painting: Check Finger Painting to use the foreground color at the start of each stroke.

Pro Tips

• Use a low Strength setting (20–40%) for subtle blending that preserves the original texture underneath.
• Enable Sample All Layers to smudge based on the combined appearance of all visible layers.
• In digital painting, use the Smudge Tool to blend edge transitions after applying hard brush strokes for a more painterly look.