Frequency Blur Tutorial

This tutorial will give you a quick introduction to using the Frequency Blur tool.

Add the initial image to the flow.

Add the Frequency Blur tool from the Tools->Awake menu, or from the tool bar item 'FqBl'.

Adjust the blur size using the slider. The blur size is similar to what is used in the defocus tool.

The internal Disk filter is a flat circle with a constant weight from the center to the edge of the filter. This is a good approximation the blur produced by a camera lens.

The internal Hexagonal filter has six hard edges on the filter with constant weight across the filter. The hexagon shape is a more accurate model of a cameras lens aperture.

The internal Gaussian filter produces a smooth blur effect.

The internal Airy Disk filter models the diffraction effect as light passes through a circular aperture.

Adding Bad Bokeh produces a ringing effect in the filter with a dimmer center and brighter edge. The effect is most commonly found in mirror lenses.

Bad Bokeh can also be added to the Hexagonal filter. In addition, the filter can be rotated to a desired angle.

A user-defined filter can be used instead of the standard set of internal filters. This allows the artist to model any style of camera lens aperture when a filter can be created. For example, a lens filter can be generated by shinning a light directly into an out of focus lens. In this case, the Mandelbrot is used to convolve the image.

The shape of the user-defined Mandelbrot filter is visible in the highlights of the image. The size of the user-defined filter is scaled to same size as the internal filters.