Clone Tool Tutorial

[unit_number_43]

This isn't so much a tutorial as it is a demonstration of just how powerful the clone tool is, when used properly.


Here is the raw photo I took. Look at all the imperfections. I want to project the image of the "American Dream" here, so all these flaws won't work.


And Here is the image after using the clone tool a few times. Notice the power line is taken out from the top of the photo, the steel pole taken out of my neighbours yard, and concrete cleaned up.

It's best to duplicate the layer you're working on before doing any kind of touch-up work on it.

Select the clone tool and use a something around a 21px brush, the smooth one not the solid edge.

Pick out the area you want to touch up, and select something nearby to copy from (using the ALT key). Try to find something with a similar lighting on it. For instance if you're taking a scar off someones face, you don't want to select a dark part of the face, if the scar is on a lighter section.

Dive right in and brush directly over the object.

Now you're likely left with some nasty edges. Just reselect something even closer to your painted over object and brush out those edges by just barely letting the clone tool go over them (use the edges of the brush, if that makes sense) This is kind of a tedious lengthy process of selecting and reselecting areas to clone from, but it's worth it in the end. Just keep reselecting to follow your brushing.

On Some occasions you'll have to totally change the area around your clone to get it to a point where it blends. But as long as the end product doesn't look like an obvious clone then I wouldn't worry about it.

Sometimes that will be enough, other times you'll need to go back over the clone with a white/black brush to correct lighting issues. Just use a regular brush and set the opacity to around 5% and start painting until it matches the surroundings. The Burn and Dodge tools could also be used for this, but I don't like the way they affect saturation.

Hopefully that's enough to get you started using the clone tool, seeing just how powerful and useful it can be for photo touch-ups. If you have any questions or comments I'd be happy to answer them.



This is my final image. With some lighting changes.

[Shigeko]

:blink: Actualy , I don't realy see the use of the Clone Tool over here , could be just me

[Illegalx17]

very nice tut man. this is a great tool, but not many people know about it.

[unit_number_43]

Originally posted by Shigeko@Apr 19 2005, 09:12 AM
:blink: Actualy , I don't realy see the use of the Clone Tool over here , could be just me

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The pebbles on the road are kind of hard to make out, I used a smaller resolution than my actual final product was, to try and spare some bandwith, even though it's still a huge image file. lol. sorry! The most obvious touch up is probably the pole and the weeds on the side of the sidewalk.

[TripelX]

What the diffrence?

[unit_number_43]

Originally posted by TripelX@Apr 19 2005, 11:15 AM
What the diffrence?

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Wow, really? Nobody sees the huge clumps of weeds sticking out of the sidewalk, or the big pole in the yard, or the power line across the top? It's all circled.

[Illegalx17]

yea seriously, theres a freakin diff there, you may not recognize it, you may need a more drastic change to better demonstrate the clone stamp :\

[Samuel]

Well this tool is good for a professinal graphics artists but not for an average user.

[Shigeko]

Owh yeas , now I see. It's little hard too discover but much things are changed , looks good !

[Illegalx17]

Originally posted by bigfatguy6969@Apr 19 2005, 08:35 PM
Well this tool is good for a professinal graphics artists but not for an average user.

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oh i beg to differ. i have used this to get rid of stuff on renders, and fixed up things. this is a great tool for whatever you may be doing.