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Blur Tool

The blur tool is yet another useful feature that is readily available within the Pixlr toolbar. Unlike Pixlr’s other tools, the blur tool takes some getting used to, the blur application process tends to take a lot longer than you would first expect. The key is to be patient and persistent when you apply a blur. At first you may even question whether the tool is actually doing anything, however after several applications you will soon see that a blur is being applied and the transformation it is having on your image.

Let’s assume that we want to enhance the presence that the statue of liberty has within the image below. Whilst the background in this instance is not overwhelming and distracting us too much from the statue, it certainly plays a big enough role in drawing your eyes away from the focal point. It is in these sorts of instances where you want a particular element within an image to stand out from all other aspects and this is where the blur tool comes into its element.

As you can see, whilst the lights and buildings aren’t distracting us too much, they are certainly prominent enough to grab our attention. In order to emphasis the statue of liberty we will need to blur out the lights and buildings in the background.

Blur Tool - Un-edited

To do this you will need to select the blur tool Blur Tool - Icon, which is located in the left hand side tool bar.

Once the blur tool has been selected you then have other options to pick from that enable you to dictate the effect that is produced once the blur tool is applied.

Blur Tool - Brush

As you can see you have the option to select the brush size and the strength at which the blur is applied. 100 is the maximum strength that can be selected and will produce the most noticeable application. There are multiple brush options to pick from and you can select the most suitable for your needs. If you need to blur out a small area you will want to select a small brush with a diameter of around 3 – 20 pixels. If you need to work on a large space a brush of 20 pixels or fewer would be less than adequate so you will need to select a larger brush to enable you to cover the image in sufficient time. This is where you will want to select a brush size of 100 or larger.

Blur Tool - Brush Size

Once the correct brush size and style has been selected, along with the appropriate strength at which the brush is to be applied, it’s time to use the blur tool to add an affect to your image. To do this simply hover the blur tool over the image in the area that you wish to blur out. Once you are happy with your positioning, click down with the left hand button on your mouse and slowly drag the tool across the image. After several applications you will soon see that your image is beginning to blur. Continue to apply the blur tool until you are satisfied with the affect that you have created.

Once you have applied the blur tool and tailored the image to your requirements, you should find that your image now looks something more like the example below:

Blur Tool - Blurred Image