How To Blur Images, Graphics, And Text In Canva

Sometimes your image or graphic needs a bit of a blur to put the focus on a specific object. You may have text on a classified document that needs to be blurred out. You might even need to blur a person’s face out if you didn’t get their permission to photograph them. The good news is that you can blur images, graphics, and text in Canva!

This is one of those graphic design skills that’s great to have in your back pocket so you can break it out whenever you need it. Today you’ll learn how to blur an image, graphic element, or text, so it looks as professional as possible.

How To Blur An Image In Canva

To blur an image in Canva, click on the image and select Edit Image in the upper options bar. Then within the Adjustments section, click “See All” to reveal the blur slider. Moving this slider to the right will gradually increase the blur intensity of your image.

Let’s break this down with some more visual examples.

To blur your entire photo, click on your image and then click Edit Image. On the left of your screen, you will find a list of adjustments you can make to your image under Adjust.

To find the adjustment you need, click on See All to expand the list of options. The one you’re looking for is Blur.

You can adjust the amount of blur in your photo with the Blur Slider. If you move the slider to the right, your image will be completely blurred.

If you drag the Blur Slider to the left, your image will become sharper. So sharp that your photo will almost have an emboss effect on it.

This effect is not ideal if you’re looking to blur your image.

A blur from 2 to 6 is usually strong enough to blur most images, but it depends on the project you’re working on.

How To Blur Parts Of An Image In Canva

What if you don’t want to blur your entire image but only part of it? Canva makes this easy with the Blur App.

To find the blur app, select your image and click on Edit Image. Scroll down to find an app called Blur. Click on it, and when you are prompted to accept using the app, click on Use.

There will be no immediate change to your image. You will be “painting” the blur onto your image this time.

To do this, select Blur. Left-click and hold as you use your mouse to blur the area you wish to censor. An opaque red color will represent the affected areas. Let go of your mouse to reveal the blurred effect.

If you feel like your blur effect looks off somehow, you can adjust your settings to make your blur brush weaker or stronger.

The Intensity determines how much blur will be painted on. Essentially, it determines the transparency of the blur
The Spread determines how far you want the blur to reach
The Brush Size determines how big or small your brush will be

However, there is a problem with the brush settings. Adjusting the settings for the blur brush does not affect the blur you currently have on your image.

So to test if your brush settings are how you want them, paint a test line, adjust the settings and paint another line to see if it fits your style. Then press Control + Z (Win) or Command + Z (Mac) to undo the brush strokes.

The most crucial option for the blur settings is the Intensity. The strange part about this option is that it doesn’t work quite as you think.

If you drag the Intensity Slider just a little bit to the right, the intensity of the blur will be light enough to see through but still intense enough not to see through it.

Here’s the strange part about the Intensity option. If you crank the Intensity Slider to 100, the blurred area won’t appear more intense but more see-through. Nothing will happen if you attempt to fix it by adjusting the spread.

To achieve a more traditional blur effect that will completely hide your subject, aim for a blur between 30 and 60.

Once satisfied with the result, click on Done to close the Blur app. Click on Apply to make the blur effect official.

How To Blur Graphic Elements In Canva

When blurring images in Canva, sometimes you need a sharp edge to your blur that the round blur brush just can’t do. In those cases, the best way to blur an element in your image is to duplicate your image, blur the image and resize the copied image where you need it.

First, you need to duplicate your image. The easiest way to do this is to select your photo and click the Duplicate Button.

Canva will place the duplicated image on top of your original photo. Select the copied image and line it up with the original one. As you line up the picture, Canva will help you by snapping it into place.

Once you line up your duplicated image, click on Edit Image. Scroll to the Adjust section and click on See All.

With the complete list of adjustments now open, use the Blur setting to blur the duplicate image as much as you need it to be.

With your duplicated image blurred, your goal is to use the handles on the image to crop it.

Click on the image to bring up the Top, Bottom, and Side Handles. Pull each handle down to the edge of the element you wish to blur.

How To Blur Text In Canva

If you have a document with sensitive material, you can blur it out in Canva!

Select your document or image to start the process, and click on Edit Image. Scroll down the left panel to find the Blur app.

An easier way to find the Blur app is to type “blur” in the search bar, and the Blur app should be the only one that pops up.

Click on the Blur app, then click on Use when prompted.

Click on the Blur button to blur out specific text on your canvas. You will now use the blur “brush” to blur out the text you need to.

However, there is a catch. Blurring out text in Canva is not the same as blurring out an image. You need to ensure the brush’s settings are tailored for small objects.

Intensity: Keep the Intensity between 4 and 7 for blurring the text. If you set the intensity too high, the final blur effect may become so strong that it becomes an eyesore.
Spread: Keep your spread at zero. The blur effect will be too small to handle the spread and will make the spread effect look see-through.
Brush Size: The size of your brush depends on the size of the text you’re blurring. Set the Brush Size to whatever you need it to be, but keep in mind that the larger your brush size, the more you will need to adjust the other settings.