GoKawiilDeveloper releases Smol Gaussian blur technique with interactive WebGPU demo
A developer documents a year-long exploration of blur algorithms sparked by performance issues with Blender's Fast Blur mode, ultimately combining existing techniques into an approach called Smol Gaussian. The method uses a downsample-blur-upsample strategy to handle smoothly animated blur radii and independent horizontal/vertical blur amounts, addressing limitations found in the popular Dual Kawase blur technique. An interactive WebGPU playground is provided alongside the writeup for readers to test the technique.
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This work addresses a practical gap in real-time graphics: existing fast blur methods like Dual Kawase struggle when blur radius changes smoothly over time or differs between axes, which matters for animation and compositing software like Blender. By publishing both the technique and an interactive demo, the developer could influence how blur effects are implemented in future rendering pipelines or compositor tools.
- A new blur technique called Smol Gaussian combines downsampling, blurring, and upsampling for smoother animated results
- It aims to overcome limitations of Dual Kawase blur, specifically variable radius and asymmetric horizontal/vertical blurring
- An interactive WebGPU playground lets developers test the technique directly in-browser
Source: aras-p.info, 2026-10-02
Published there as: “Fast Blur with Animated Radius”
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