Photoshop help

[Puncia]

All right so I guess this question goes mostly to people that know both Gimp and PS but any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

I dig PS and I think it's a swell software, however there is one thing that really GRINDS MY GEARS and that is the smudge tool. This damned thing could not smudge if someone's life depended on it! All it does is act like liquify and rub the colour without overlapping or mixing, as if it was oil and water.

Now, Gimp has an excellent smudge tool which I often use to soften and blend shadows and highlights, define edges and make things even. The problem with Gimp is that it can't handle large canvases and it lags and gets choppy.

This is what I need, this is what I want to do. But after looking dozens of tutorials and messing with the settings infinitely, I still can't find a way to smudge things properly in PS.

I know they are different software, I know there are differences and all, but can anyone PLEASE help me find a way to smooth out shadows and colours?

I'll give you an example...
Original:

Gimp:

PS:



Somebody? I've given up on 4 artworks now because of it...

[WingedZephyr]

Try adjusting your smudge brush settings. Turn down the hardness all the way so it's a soft-edged brush, then change the "strength" attribute of the tool to a lower number (around 30-40% or so usually works).

Also, PS has a "blur" tool which might be all you're really looking for, based on those examples. If you click and hold on the smudge tool button, you get more tool options, one is the blur tool. Increase the softness and strength on that and it might do the same thing you're looking for.

[White Wolf Guardian]

I remember this exactly problem in high school on one of the computers, it turned out to be some sort of hardware malfunction.

[Puncia]

Zephyr: that's what I have done on that image firstly, and I have tried just about all setting combinations. It doesn't change anything. Blur also doesn't even have an effect on a larger images, even with all settings at high or max or whatever. But blur will not keep straight edges and let me smear the shadow along lines to "pull it into place" so it's not what I need.

White: this has happened to me with two computers and three different PS installs.

[WingedZephyr]

Perhaps you're just using the tool the wrong way? I just did this in PS using the first image you posted and got this:



Which seems to be basically what you're looking for. So maybe it's not a problem with the tool not working properly, so much as you need to use it in a different way from GIMP's tool. When you smudge, try going back and forth over the same area more than once (in other words, pushing it one direction, then pushing it back so it ends up in the same place it was, except it will be more blended).

[Puncia]

That is the result I'd like, yeah. But I use the technique you described and it still won't blend. I usually treat it like how one would use a finger on oil pastels. But I will give it a go once more and use what you've said...

I've also made sure I got the very last version of the tablet driver, just to make sure. It was updated last month in fact.