Photoshop Tutorials: Create A Burnt Edge Effect

Step 5: Apply The Gaussian Blur Filter To The Layer Mask

We need to soften the border edges, and we're going to use the Gaussian Blur filter for that, which will give us a nice preview of what we're doing. With the Curves layer mask still selected in the Layers palette, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Blur, and then select Gaussian Blur. This brings up the Gaussian Blur dialog box. Drag the slider bar at the bottom to increase or decrease the amount of blurring until you've softened the border edges to your liking. Keep an eye on the image for a preview of what you're doing. I've set my Radius value to about 25 pixels here:

And here's how my image looks:

Step 6: Use Free Transform To Resize The Layer Mask If Needed

I mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial that we're creating this effect in a way that's very flexible, and one of the reasons it's so flexible is because we can resize the edges around the image if needed simply by resizing the layer mask using Photoshop's Free Transform command. To do that, with the Curves adjustment layer selected in the Layers palette, simply use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up the Free Transform box and handles, and then drag any of the handles in or out to resize the mask, which resizes the edge effect around the image:

Hold down Shift+Alt (Win) / Shift+Option (Mac) while dragging any of the corner handles to resize the mask from the center and maintain the same proportions.

Step 7: Lower The Opacity Of The Curves Adjustment Layer If Needed

Another reason this method is so flexible is that we can reduce the amount of darkening around the edges if we need to simply by lowering the opacity of the Curves adjustment layer. To do that, with the Curves adjustment layer selected, go up to the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette, hover your mouse directly over the word "Opacity" which turns your mouse cursor into Photoshop's "scrubby sliders" icon, and then drag your mouse to the left. As you drag, you'll be lowering the opacity and lightening the edges. I've lowered mine to 60% here:

This gives me a more subtle edge darkening effect:

We'll look at a couple of other easy variations on the effect next.