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Sharpen

Node icon
Filter

Enhances image detail with Unsharp Mask or edge-preserving Detail Enhance.

People crossing a city square seen from above, soft in the original and crisp after Sharpen's Unsharp Mask, every figure and shadow more defined

Sharpen increases apparent detail by boosting edge contrast.

  • Unsharp Mask is the classic approach: it blurs a copy, subtracts it from the original, and adds the difference back.
  • Detail Enhance uses edge-preserving filtering instead, for a more natural, slightly painterly result.

Texture sets

Section titled “Texture sets”

Sharpen takes a texture set or a library: every map is sharpened with the same settings and the Normal stays a unit direction. The set’s Opacity is sharpened only with Sharpen Alpha on.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Pins

ImagePixels or Texture
InputRequired
MaskMask
InputOptional
ImagePixels or Texture
Output

Filter

ModeChoice
Default: Unsharp Mask
  • Unsharp MaskTraditional sharpening that subtracts a blurred copy to enhance edges. Control amount, radius, and threshold.
  • Detail EnhanceEdge-preserving sharpening that creates a more natural, painterly clarity boost.
AmountNumber
Default: 1.50 Range: 0.00–5.00
Unsharp Mask mode only

Sharpening intensity. 0 = no sharpening, higher = stronger

RadiusNumber · px/%
Default: 1.0 Range: 0.1–25.0 px / 0–100%
Unsharp Mask mode only

Blur radius for the unsharp mask. Small = fine detail sharpening. Large = broader edge enhancement

ThresholdInteger
Default: 0 Range: 0–255
Unsharp Mask mode only

Minimum pixel difference to apply sharpening. 0 = sharpen all pixels. Higher values skip low-contrast areas (reduces noise)

Sharpen AlphaToggle
Default: false

Also apply sharpening to the alpha channel.

Usually left off to preserve smooth transparency edges.

Sigma SNumber
Default: 10 Range: 1–200
Detail Enhance mode only

Spatial extent of the enhancement. Higher = larger area considered for each pixel. Increase for broader detail boost

Sigma RNumber
Default: 0.15 Range: 0.01–1.00
Detail Enhance mode only

Color sensitivity for edge detection. Lower = more aggressive enhancement (more detail amplified). Higher = only subtle details enhanced

Mask

Mask FromChoice
Default: Luminance
Color image connected to the mask input

How the connected color image is read as a mask

  • LuminanceRead the image's brightness as the mask. The default.
  • AlphaRead the image's transparency as the mask.
  • RedUse the red channel as the mask.
  • GreenUse the green channel as the mask.
  • BlueUse the blue channel as the mask.
Mask FitChoice
Default: None (native size)
Mask connected

How the mask is sized when it doesn't match the image

  • None (native size)Center the mask at its native size, with no resizing. Unmasked regions are unaffected.
  • StretchStretch the mask to exactly match the image dimensions. May distort the mask shape.
  • Fit (letterbox)Scale the mask to fit inside the image, preserving aspect ratio. Letterboxes where needed.
  • Fill (crop)Scale the mask to fill the image, preserving aspect ratio. Crops edges if aspect ratios differ.

Usage Tips

Section titled “Usage Tips”
  • For general photo sharpening, use Unsharp Mask with a small Radius (0.5 to 2.0).
  • Raise Threshold to keep noise in smooth areas like skies from being sharpened, or wire a mask to sharpen only the regions that need it.
  • Detail Enhance gives an image a slightly stylized, crisp look.
Section titled “Related Nodes”