How to Use the Smear Brush in Blender Texture Paint

The Smear brush in Blender's Texture Paint mode is a powerful tool designed to blend, smudge, and soften colors directly on a 3D model's texture map. By dragging existing pixels across the surface, it helps artists create smooth color gradients, painterly effects, and seamless transitions. This step-by-step guide explains how to select the Smear brush, adjust its core settings, and apply practical blending techniques to your textures.

Step 1: Set Up Texture Painting

  1. Select your 3D object in the viewport.
  2. Switch the interaction mode from Object Mode to Texture Paint using the mode dropdown menu in the top-left corner.
  3. In the Tool Settings tab (or the top toolbar), ensure your object has an assigned material and a active image texture slot ready for painting.

Step 2: Select the Smear Brush

  1. Press T to open the Toolbar on the left side of the 3D Viewport if it is hidden.
  2. Click on the Smear brush icon from the toolbar. Alternatively, open the Active Tool tab in the Sidebar (N key) or the Properties panel, click the brush picker thumbnail, and select Smear.

Step 3: Configure Brush Settings

  • Radius (F): Adjusts the brush size. A larger radius blends broad areas, while a smaller radius allows for detailed smudging.
  • Strength (Shift + F): Controls the intensity of the smear effect. Lower values (e.g., 0.1 to 0.3) provide subtle, controlled color blending, whereas higher values aggressively drag pixels across the surface.
  • Falloff: Defines the brush edge profile. A Smooth or Sphere falloff curve works best for natural color blending without harsh boundary lines.
  • Blend Mode: Ensure the blend mode is set to Mix for standard smudging behavior.

Step 4: Apply Smear Techniques

  • Blending Edges: Click and drag across the border between two distinct colors to create a soft, painted transition.
  • Pulling Colors: Start your stroke inside a solid color area and drag outward into an unpainted or differently colored area to pull that specific hue along the brush path.
  • Feathering: Use light, short strokes with low strength to soften harsh lighting highlights or ambient occlusion shadows painted on the texture.