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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

  1. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 1How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 1
    Click 'File', then 'Open' to open the file navigator.
  2. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 2How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 2
    Select your file by clicking on it (it will be highlighted blue when selected). Click 'Open'.
Part 2 of 5:

Adding an Alpha Channel

  1. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 3How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 3
    Click 'Layer'.
  2. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 4How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 4
    Hover over 'Transparency'.
  3. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 5How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 5
    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

  1. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 6How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 6
    In the layers toolbox, hover over your image and right click.
  2. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 7How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 7
    Click 'Add Layer Mask'.
  3. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 8How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 8
    Click 'Add.' White (full opacity) should be selected.
Part 4 of 5:

Feathering the Edge

  1. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 9How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 9
    Select 'Blend Tool' in your toolbox.
  2. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 10How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 10
    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

  1. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 11How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 11
    Click 'File', then 'Export as'.
  2. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 12How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 12
    Name your new faded image, and add the .png extension in place of any other extension.
  3. How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 13How to Feather Edges on GIMP Picture 13
    Click 'Export', or simply hit the ↵ Enter key.
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