Controlling Edges

As discussed in the preceding sections, when cloning, you are blending image elements together—be they discrete image elements that exist on layers or cloned areas—and the key to success with blending is controlling the edges of the added elements. There have historically been three levels of edge control:

Anti-alias This is an on or off function that adds a narrow edge of semitransparent pixels to elements such as type or selections. It applies the minimum amount required for blending.

Feathering This is an edge gradation tool that can add full pixel width increments of gradation to a selection. This is an effective, but coarse, edge gradation tool.

Creating and Editing Masks via Blurring, Sharpening, Levels, or Curves Creating and editing alpha channel (or Quick) masks has historically been the way to exert the most control over the characteristics of your selection edges.  For instance, if you blur pixels in a mask with the Gaussian Blur tool, you have the ability to work with increments of 0.1 pixels. This provides you with 10 times the level of control that feathering does, which works in only full pixel increments. But this level of control (creating, editing, and loading masks) has required a big step up in terms of knowledge, conceptualization, and sophistication of skill. You can learn to feather in five minutes; mastering masks takes considerably longer. The new Refine Edge tool brings, in one dialog box, much of the selection edge control you used to have to venture into masks in order to achieve. Alpha channel masks will never become obsolete, because there will always be the need and desire to manually edit masks. But the Refine Edge tool is a huge step forward in providing easy access to sophisticated selection edge control that allows you to create wellhidden, high-quality, printable clones.