Smoothing with the Smudge Tool in Photoshop

Although grouped among the Focus tools, the Smudge tool performs more of a warping effect, something like the Warp tool in the Liquify dialog box. Smudge pushes your pixels around on the screen as if they consisted of wet paint, using the color that’s under the cursor when you start to stroke. However, don’t view the Smudge tool as a simple distortion tool that produces only comical effects. I use it on tiny areas of an image to soften the edges of objects in a way that often looks more natural than blurring tools. The Smudge tool can come in handy when retouching images to create a soft, almost painted look.

Applying a Smudge
Smudged areas may stand out because of their smooth appearance. Adding some texture using the Noise filter after you’ve smudged is often a good idea, to help blend a smudged section in with its surroundings. To apply the Smudge tool, just follow these steps:
1. Open the image and choose the Smudge tool from the Tools palette.
Press the R key to select it, or press Shift+R to cycle through the available focus tools (including Blur and Sharpen) until the one you want is active.
2. Choose the settings you want from the Options bar.
3. Select a brush from the Brushes palette.
Use a small brush for smudging tiny areas, such as edges. Larger brushes produce drastic effects, so use them with care.
4. Choose a blending mode from the Mode pop-up menu.
5. Choose the strength of the smudging effect with the Strength slider or text box.
Low values produce a lighter smudging effect; high values really push your pixels around.
6. If your image has multiple layers, you can select the Use All Layers option to tell Photoshop to use the color information from all the visible layers to produce the smudge effect.
The smudge still appears only on the active layer, but the look is a bit different, depending on the contents of the underlying layers.
7. Use the Finger Painting option to begin the smudge using the foreground color.
You can switch the Smudge tool into Finger Painting mode temporarily by holding down the Alt key (the Option key on the Mac) as you drag.
8. Paint over the areas you want to smudge.
9. Watch the screen carefully as you smudge so that you can redirect your daubs to achieve the look you want.
This tool can be a little on the destructive side. If you’re looking to preserve reality, use it with restraint. If you want to get wild, go crazy.
10. When you’re finished, choose File-->Save to store your image.