Photoshop for iPad gets useful new tools

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Photoshop for iPad enhanced with smudge and sponge tools
Adobe improves Photoshop for iPad with smudge and sponge tools.
Photo: Adobe

Adobe added the smudge and sponge tools to Photoshop for iPad on Tuesday. These are just the latest improvements to the tablet edition of this image-editing application. They’re part of a long-term strategy the software developer has used since the touchscreen-enhanced version of Photoshop launched in 2019.

Photoshop for iPad enhanced with smudge and sponge tools

The two features now part of Photoshop for iPad should be familiar to desktop users. Both simulate techniques used when painting.

The Smudge tool lets users mix and blend their work with a smudge effect. It’s like running a finger through wet paint.

And the Sponge tool soaks up or squeezes out color with a brush stroke. It’s helpful to get the desired vibrancy and shade of colors, saturate or desaturate areas, and intensify or remove color.

Steady improvement

The iPad version of Photoshop started off with a fairly minimal feature set, and was criticized for it. But Adobe has worked to steadily add to its capabilities. Most recently, it added support for working with raw photos, allowing users to make adjustments to images right out of the camera.

It’s available now from the App Store. Photoshop for iPad is free to download but requires a $9.99 monthly subscription or a $79.99 yearly subscription.

Source: Adobe

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