Feather Brush - a fast, local, non-global edge softener (Aperture equivalent)

Bring the Feather Brush Tool to Capture One!!

Please add a Feather Brush that lets us soften/blend the edges of an already-painted mask by brushing only where we want the transition, without changing global mask feather, swapping tools, or erasing. This was a core productivity tool in Aperture and remains missing in modern RAW editors.

I’m an Emmy-winning photographer and longtime Aperture user who chose Capture One because its UI gets closest to Aperture’s speed. Many Aperture favorites have landed in C1 (thank you for Stacks and Faces). A Feather Brush would remove a daily source of friction and make local adjustments much faster and cleaner.

What the tool does (behavior/spec)

• Local edge softening: After painting a normal mask (even quickly/rough), switch to Feather Brush and brush only the edges you want to smooth. No whole-mask feathering.

• Pressure/flow aware: Light (fewer) strokes = subtle blend; heavy (repetitive) strokes = stronger blend.

• Non-destructive: Re-feather or un-feather any area at any time.

• Tool parity: Works with all adjustment types (dodge/burn, saturation, exposure, etc.).

• Speed UX: One-key toggle from the regular Brush; on-canvas HUD to adjust feather amount/size without opening panels.

Real-world use cases

Contour a cheek or lift a catchlight in an eye: paint fast → feather just the edge for a natural roll-off.

Add hair shine or clothing highlights: lay down a rough mask → feather only where the transition should breathe.

Dodge/burn on faces: keep structure intact while avoiding halos - no eraser shuffle, no panel diving.

Its ability to quickly soften mask edges gracefully in Aperture was a dream. Basically it allows me to make a hard brush mask (sloppy and fast) to lay down an idea or adjustment, then "feather brush" out any hard lines or imperfections, making the results fast and pleasant. This is Modern contouring that doesn't exist anymore.

Prior art / precedent

Some editors (e.g., ON1 Photo RAW) include refine-edge brushes like Blur/Chisel that work along mask edges after painting. That’s the closest modern precedent to Aperture’s localized feathering - but it’s still an “edge refine” toolset rather than a true paint-on feather that lets you selectively blend only the spots you touch. Bringing a dedicated Feather Brush to Capture One would leapfrog global-only feather/refine by enabling fast, local, pressure-aware edge softening without tool-hopping—perfect for portraits, fashion, product, and any work that needs natural roll-offs.

Small bonus asks (Aperture parity)

• Pop-up tool HUD that auto-appears/disappears on invoke (keeps us on the image, not in panels).

• Faces: add search/sort by faces to finish the parity you’ve started.

Capture One already nails so much of the fast, on-image workflow we loved in Aperture. A true Feather Brush would be a huge quality-of-life win for portrait, fashion, and product retouching—and a headline feature in release notes. Thank you for considering it!