Feather Selection

The Feather selection command will feather the active selection by a given number of pixels.

Feathering creates a fuzzy border around a selection that quickly fades to fully transparent. The length or width of the feather will depend on the number of pixels selected for the operation.

This command is useful for softly blending selections with the background. Done at a high enough resolution and then resized, an image composed of well cut selection areas that have been feathered can be a convicing reproduction of a real photo.

The word feathering owes itself to traditional art. Brush and Airbrush artists commonly feather highly contrasted areas of color with another to reduce the floating effect that can occur in these situations.