Note: This excerpt does not include the lesson files. The lesson files are available with purchase of the book.
The Clone Stamp tool uses pixels from one area of an image to replace the pixels in another part of the image. Using this tool, you can not only remove unwanted objects from your images, but you can also fill in missing areas in photographs you scan from damaged originals.
Clone Stamp Tool Photoshop Definition
The Idea Behind the Clone Stamp Tool. Here’s what the Clone Stamp Tool does. It uses a brush to take a sample of a specific area of an image. Then, it remembers that sample and allows the user to place it anywhere else on the image. When the user does that, they have the ability to paint a larger and larger area, so a duplicate (or clone. The Clone Stamp Tool / Clone Tool and the Healing Brush Tool are both very useful photo editing tools in image fixing. This Free Clone Stamp Tool can be used both as cloning brush and healing brush, so it allows you to duplicate objects or correct imperfections in an image easily and quickly. The Clone Stamp Tool is located in the Tool Bar and can be accessed by clicking on it or using a Keyboard Shortcut (s). There are two Clone Tools to choose from the Clone Stamp Tool and the Pattern Stamp Tool. Most replacement work is accomplished with the Clone Stamp Tool. The Clone Stamp is constructed to pinpoint two locations, a Source. The clone stamp is an indispensable tool for retouching and repairing images. Though the name may give the impression of a complex tool only fit for advanced users, the clone stamp is surprisingly easy to work with, once you get the hang of it.
You’ll start by replacing a bright white area of the wall—a hot spot—with cloned bricks from another area of the picture.
Clone Stamp Tool Photoshop Tutorial
- Select the Clone Stamp tool () in the Tools panel.
- In the options bar, open the Brush pop-up menu, and set the size to 21 and the Hardness to 0%. Then, make sure that the Aligned option is selected.
- Choose Window > Clone Source to open the Clone Source panel. This panel gives you greater control over the area you’re cloning from (in this case, the bricks).
- Select Show Overlay and Clipped in the Clone Source panel. Then, make sure Opacity is set to 100%. The overlay lets you see what you’re cloning before you stamp it.
- Move the Clone Stamp tool over the darker bricks just to the right of the hot spot on the wall. (You may want to zoom in to see the area better.)
- Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) to start sampling that part of the image. (When you press Alt or Option, the pointer appears as target cross-hairs.)
- Starting at the area just to the right of the girl’s hat, drag the Clone Stamp tool to the right, over the hot spot on the bricks. The clone overlay lets you see what will appear there. This is particularly useful for keeping the bricks in a straight line.
- Release the mouse button and move the pointer to another area in the hot spot, and then start dragging again.
Each time you click the Clone Stamp tool, it begins again with a new source point, in the same relationship to the tool as the first stroke you made. That is, if you begin painting further right, it samples from bricks that are further right than the original source point. That’s because Aligned is selected in the options bar.
- Continue cloning the bricks until the entire hot spot is filled in.
If necessary to help make the bricks appear to blend in naturally with the rest of the image, you can adjust your cloning by resetting the sample area (as you did in step 6) and recloning. Or, you can try deselecting the Aligned option and cloning again.
- When you’re satisfied with the appearance of the bricks, close the Clone Source panel, and choose File > Save.