Smudging an Area

The Smudge tool helps you drag color from one area into another, much as you can with a paintbrush full of wet paint. You can use the Smudge tool to add a painted effect in a very specific area of the image. Smudging resembles blurring but has a much more dramatic effect. Follow these steps to practice smudging:

Click on the layer in the Layers palette that holds the content you want to smudge. The selected layer will become the active layer.
Use the Navigator to zoom in on and display the area to smudge. The selected area will become more visible.
Press and hold the mouse button on the Blur tool in the toolbox. A submenu will appear.
Click on Smudge Tool . The Smudge tool will become the active tool.
Choose a Brush style on the options bar. The selected brush will become active for the Smudge tool.
Make a choice from the Mode drop-down list on the options bar. The selected mode will become active for the Smudge tool.
Select the Strength text box contents, type a new entry , and press Enter . (Alternately, click on the right arrow beside the Strength choice, drag the slider, and then click on the right arrow again.) The strength setting will become active for the Smudge tool.

Note
If you click on the Finger Painting check box in the options bar to check it, dragging with the Smudge tool will paint using the currently selected foreground color.

Drag on the layer over two contrasting colors to make the smudge. Smudging will begin to appear. When you finish creating all the necessary smudges , you can continue working with another tool or operation in Photoshop.

Note	You can make the effects of the Blur, Smudge, or Sharpen tool partially transparent after you use the tool. To do so, click on Edit and then click on Fade (Tool Name ). Specify an Opacity setting in the Fade dialog box that appears and then click on OK.