Small Texture
Softens or sharpens fine detail.
Use carefully on skin and noisy footage.
← Fusion node reference
Stylize & BlurIntermediate
SoftenAndSharpen
Multi-scale texture control
Adjusts fine, medium and large image texture separately so an image can be softened or sharpened by spatial scale.
SoftenAndSharpen
DaVinci Resolve · Fusion
SoftenAndSharpen provides more nuanced texture shaping than a single global sharpen slider because detail bands can be controlled independently.
Overview
What SoftenAndSharpen does
Small Texture affects fine detail such as pores, hair and high-frequency edges. Medium Texture influences broader local detail, while Large Texture affects larger structures and contrast transitions.
Small Texture Size changes the scale considered fine detail, which is useful when matching the effect to image resolution and subject size.
The node is useful for beauty, cleanup and finishing, but over-sharpening any band can create halos and an artificial crunchy image.
Mental model
Think of the image as three layers of detail size—fine, medium and broad—and adjust each layer independently.
Common uses
Subtle portrait softening
Restore texture after blur/denoise
Control mid-frequency skin detail
Sharpen graphics without over-emphasizing large contrast
Finishing pass before grain
Flow anatomy
Inputs & outputs
The port structure shows how this node fits into a Fusion graph.
Input
Source image for the operation.
SoftenAndSharpen
Fusion node
Output
The image after multi-scale texture adjustment.
Inspector
Important parameters
Start with these controls before reaching for more complicated workarounds.
Medium Texture
Controls mid-scale detail and local texture.
Often the most visually significant range for faces and fabrics.
Large Texture
Controls broad detail and larger contrast structures.
Aggressive values can change the perceived shape/contrast of the image.
Small Texture Size
Defines the scale assigned to the small-texture band.
Tune it to the resolution and size of the subject in frame.
Practical setup
A reliable workflow
- 1
Connect the clean image.
- 2
Adjust Small Texture at 100% view.
- 3
Balance Medium Texture for the subject.
- 4
Use Large Texture sparingly.
- 5
Compare before/after in motion and add FilmGrain after finishing if needed.
Typical node chain
Source→
SoftenAndSharpen→
FilmGrain / Merge→
MediaOut
Examples
Where this node fits in real work
Portrait finish
Reduce fine texture slightly while retaining medium structure.
MediaInSoftenAndSharpenFilmGrainMediaOut
Graphic crispness
Increase small/medium detail modestly on a rendered graphic.
GraphicSoftenAndSharpenMerge
Troubleshooting
Common mistakes
Sharpening noise instead of useful texture.
Using strong small-texture reduction and creating plastic skin.
Judging sharpening at fit-to-window rather than 100% zoom.
Production notes
Practical tips
Use masks to restrict beauty softening to skin.
Add grain after the texture pass, not before.
Small changes across several bands usually look better than one extreme slider.
Related nodes