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How to Feather Edges on GIMP

Making an edge fade away into the foreground is a common image editing technique. GIMP is one of a few powerful programs that let a user fade the edge of an image to his exact needs. *please note the images are shown on OSX, but the menu...

Part 1 of 5:

Opening an Image

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    Click 'File', then 'Open' to open the file navigator.
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    Select your file by clicking on it (it will be highlighted blue when selected). Click 'Open'.
Part 2 of 5:

Adding an Alpha Channel

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    Click 'Layer'.
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    Hover over 'Transparency'.
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    Click 'Add Alpha Channel'. Adding an alpha channel adds the ability to become transparent to your image.
Part 3 of 5:

Adding a Layer Mask

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    In the layers toolbox, hover over your image and right click.
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    Click 'Add Layer Mask'.
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    Click 'Add.' White (full opacity) should be selected.
Part 4 of 5:

Feathering the Edge

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    Select 'Blend Tool' in your toolbox.
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    Click and drag from where you want your fade to end, to where you want your fade to begin.
    1. Don't like how you fade looks? Simply hit Ctrl+z (on OSX) or Ctrl+z (on Windows) to undo your last step and try again!
    2. The fade you establish will run along the length of the page, perpendicular to the line you drag.
    3. Hold ⌘ Cmd (on OSX) or Ctrl (on Windows) while dragging to make your line automatically stick to set angles, making a perfectly vertical or horizontal line easier.
Part 5 of 5:

Exporting the Image

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    Click 'File', then 'Export as'.
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    Name your new faded image, and add the .png extension in place of any other extension.
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    Click 'Export', or simply hit the ↵ Enter key.

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