I have tried and tried many times over. I can't seem to smudge the "right way" and I'm not sure if there's an exact way to make the renders I try to use blend with the background. I'm making another tag now after not doing a thing after a few weeks and I want it to count. Does someone know the best technique for smudging?
Alright, I use CS2. I'm pretty sure there's little to no difference, so I'll explain how I do it. Settings wise, smudging is rather simple. You should definitely experiment with the settings yourself, but let me explain them and everything. With your smudge tool active, choose the brush you'd like to use. You can download brushes, but the preset wet media brushes and the preset chalk brushes seem to work fine for me. On the top bar with the most basic of settings for smudging, there should be a dropdown that says "Strength." I usually set mine to 93%-100% for tag effects, because anything lower than that will push the colors together. if you're looking to softly blend the colors, I'd recommend 84%-88%. Onto the more advanced settings: In the top right there should be a tab that says "Brushes." That's where you'll find the more advanced settings for your smudging. I'd recommend using "Shape Dynamics" and "Scattering." You might also want to play with the spacing in the brush tip setting.
