Feature request - tool softness/hardness

[greenmorpher]

The tool softness/hardness is excellent and universal in editing programs. I would like to see a simple(?) variation available -- the ability to edit the center of it, the beginning point of the gradient.

At present, the softness of a tool is a gradient running out from the very center of the tool to the edge. What I am looking for is the ability to shift that so it can be set to off center.

Let me give you an example of how this would help (me).

I take a photo with bounce flash off the ceiling of a room. Inevitably the upper part of the subject (most recently, the room!) is more exposed than the lower part. I need to lighten the lower part and this needs to be graduated from top (perhaps halfway up the picture) to bottom. Ideally to achieve this I would be able to make the lightening brush into a tool with a gradient running from lightest at the top to darkest at the bottom. I would then be able to achieve my desired tone with one sweep of it across the lower part of the picture.

I know there are ways to achieve this -- by masking, by using just half of the lightening mask in the picture area -- I use these (mainly the latter). But it would be nice in this situation -- and in quite a lot of others I can think of -- if we could offset the gradient beginning point of any of the tools. One would be in the case of running the eraser around a soft-edged image like hair in the previous topic.

Best regards
Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
General Manager
Bushtrack Enterprises Ltd
http://www.bushtrackpng.com

[greenmorpher]

huh? no replies? I would have thought this would be a good little tweak.oh well …

Cheers, geoff

[Andreas87]

Hi, Maybe the reason for no reply is, that we don't know the Softness/Hardness tool. I just checked again all menus and also the PL help and cannot find these terms anywhere.
Or do you mean the softness of a brush?

[bkh]

At present, the softness of a tool is a gradient running out from the very center of the tool to the edge. What I am looking for is the ability to shift that so it can be set to off center.

Maybe you should just use a custom brush for that purpose. Just draw a black (100 % intensity) to while (0 % intensity) gradient, copy it and paste it into the toolbar as the active brush (via its context menu). You can also save this brush in the brush list.

Cheers

Burkhard.

[Hoogo]

You can double-click on a gradient and alter base and direction there. But I don't think that this is very useful, as you have to adjust it before painting with it. That's just the usual behavior of brushes.

For your purpose I would start with "Layout > vector > fit in vector layer" with a white fill color. Then I would use the adjustment dialog to turn it into o curves-adjustment layer.

Finally you can turn the fill color into a gradient and change it anytime with the vector point tool. And/or add a layer mask to the layer.