Control hard and soft edges
See this course’s project requirements
An original limited-palette still life in a free raster editor with named layers, controlled edges, a reversible mask, PNG export and native source.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- Create a limited-palette still life with named object layers.
- Record canvas pixel dimensions and a stated light source.
- Demonstrate different hard/soft edge relationships.
- Hide and restore one region with a transparency mask.
- Deliver native source, reopened full-canvas PNG and an honest revision/test note.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Composition/value: large forms follow the named light and palette.
- Layer ownership: objects remain separately editable.
- Reversibility: mask hide/restore preserves source pixels.
- Delivery: actual export matches the intended canvas and source.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
A hard edge changes abruptly; a soft edge transitions gradually. Use a crisp boundary where an object meets the background, and a softer transition on a rounded form when the light model calls for it. Do not blur the whole image: that destroys intentional distinctions. Compare using a duplicate or reversible layer.
An edge is a transition you can control.
Control hard and soft edges — worked practice
An edge is a transition you can control.
Original plan: cup outer silhouette against background has a hard edge; its body’s light-to-shadow turn has a softer transition. Box plane border stays sharper. A cast shadow can be harder near contact and softer farther away in this simplified study. Revision from a globally blurred image restores the cup outline while blending only the internal value boundary.
1. 4.1 Control
Choose one silhouette edge and one internal value transition. Label which should remain hard and which should soften under the supplied plan.
You should see: The two edge roles are separate.
2. 4.2 Control
On a duplicate/child paint layer, use a larger low-opacity brush or a verified blending tool only over the chosen internal boundary. Compare the neighboring silhouette.
You should see: Only the selected boundary softens.
3. 4.3 Control
Restore an accidentally softened outline using the preserved silhouette or a controlled opaque stroke. Avoid repeating blur across unrelated pixels.
You should see: The object outline stays readable.
4. 4.4 Control
Make a thumbnail edge map listing three hard and three soft regions, then check the final image against it at normal and reduced size.
You should see: The map corresponds to actual painted transitions.
What to finish
An edge-control comparison and annotated edge map.
Watch for this
Applying global blur as a substitute for form painting.
How can I tell I understand it?
You can soften one transition while preserving an adjacent hard edge.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
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Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
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Sources and further reading
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01
Read canvas, paint layer/compositing, color, selection and export boundaries in official 5.3 documentation; no native Krita session performed.
Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.
Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01
Read block-in/form/value workflow and layer guidance; no tutorial image copied or native application claimed tested.
Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.
Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.
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