Quick links to procedures on this page:

 
 
 
 
 
 


Changing the edges of objects

You can adjust the appearance of an object by changing the characteristics of its edges. You can blend the edges of an object with the background by feathering, defringing, and removing black and white edges. To emphasize a certain object in an image, you can define its edges by sharpening them. You can also customize the object marquee.


Feathering

Feathering softens the edges of an object by gradually increasing the transparency of the edge pixels. You can specify the width of the feathered section of the object and the transparency gradient you want to use.

Photo Paint obj feather Changing the edges of objects

The object on the right has been feathered to soften its edges.


Defringing

An object created from an editable area sometimes includes stray pixels along its edges. This is apparent when the editable area is surrounded by pixels of a different brightness or color. Defringing replaces the color of the stray pixels with a color from the object so that the object blends with the background.


Removing black or white object edges

You can remove black or white edges from a feathered object by making pixels along the edges more transparent or more opaque.


Sharpening

Sharpening defines the edges of an object by making the edges crisp. You can do this by specifying the grayscale threshold for the pixels located along the object’s edges. The edges become sharper as the pixels below the threshold become transparent and the pixels within the threshold become opaque.

Photo Paint obj sharpen Changing the edges of objects

The object on the right has been sharpened to define its edges and make them more crisp.


Changing the appearance of the object marquee

You can customize the appearance of the object marquee by changing its color and threshold value. Changing the marquee threshold value modifies the location of the visual boundary of the active object. You can also change the color of the object marquee to make it more visible against the image background.

You can also hide the object marquee.


To feather the edges of an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
1.
 
Select an object.
2.
 
Click Object Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Feather.
3.
 
Type a value in the Width box.
4.
 
From the Edges list box, choose one of the following:
Linear — changes the edge transparency in even increments from the beginning to the end of the feathered section
Curved — results in small transparency increments at the beginning of the feathered edge, larger transparency increments in the middle, and small transparency increments at the end
If you want to view the effect in the image window, click Preview Photo Paint pgx preview Changing the edges of objects .

To defringe an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
1.
 
Select an object.
2.
 
Click Object Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Matting Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Defringe.
3.
 
Type a value in the Width box.
Higher values create a more gradual transition between the edges of the object and the background.

To remove black or white edges from an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
1.
 
Select an object.
2.
 
Click Object Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Matting, and click one of the following:
Remove black matte — makes edge pixels more transparent
Remove white matte — makes edge pixels more opaque

To sharpen the edges of an object

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
1.
 
Select an object.
2.
 
Click Object Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Matting Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Threshold.
3.
 
Type a value from 1 to 255 in the Level box.
Higher values include fewer semitransparent pixels.

To change the object marquee

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
1.
 
Click Tools Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Options.
2.
 
In the Workspace list of categories, click Display.
3.
 
Type a value from 1 to 255 in the Object threshold box.
Lower values enclose more of the object’s pixels.
4.
 
Open the Object marquee color picker, and click a color.

Photo Paint note Changing the edges of objects

 
When you change the threshold value of the object marquee, the area enclosed by the marquee changes, but the object itself does not change. Pixels that are not completely opaque can lie outside the marquee even though they are still part of the object.

To hide the object marquee

Photo Paint btnbacktotop Changing the edges of objects
 
Click Object Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Marquee visible.

Photo Paint tip Changing the edges of objects

 
You can also hide or display the object marquee by clicking the Show object marquee button Photo Paint pgx show object marquee Changing the edges of objects on the standard toolbar. If the standard toolbar is not displayed, click Window Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Toolbars Photo Paint onestep Changing the edges of objects Standard.

Changing the edges of objects