Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
TIP
For larger areas, you may want to start by using the Content-Aware Fill command
(
Content-Aware Fill
)
instead of the Healing Brush. If that doesn't do it, then give the Spot
Healing Brush's Content Aware option a try. If
that
attempt fails, then go with the regular
Healing Brush instead. And sometimes you'll want to use both healing brushes. For ex-
ample, in
Figure 9-4
, the regular Healing Brush does a good job hiding the lamppost
where it was in front of the water and the ground, but you may want to try the Spot Heal-
ing Brush's Content-Aware option to get a good transition line between the two.
The basics of using the Healing Brush are similar to that of the Spot Healing Brush: Drag
over the flaw you want to fix. The difference is that, with the Healing Brush, you first need
to Alt-click/Option-click where you want Elements to look for replacement pixels. The repair
material (which Elements calls the
source
) doesn't have to be nearby; in fact, you can sample
from a totally different image if you like (to do that, just arrange both images in your work-
space so you can easily move the cursor between them). Here are the details:
1.
Activate the Healing Brush
.
Click the tool's icon (the Band-Aid) in the Tools panel's Enhance section or press J,
and then choose it on the left side of the Tool Options area.
2.
Find a good spot to use in the repair and Alt-click/Option-click it
.
When you Alt-click/Option-click the good spot, your cursor temporarily turns into a
circle with crosshairs in it to indicate that Elements will retrieve your repair material
from this spot. (If you want to use material from a different photo, the source photo
and the one you're repairing have to be in the same
color mode
—see
Selecting a Col-
3.
Drag over the area you want to repair
.
You can see where Elements is sampling the repair material from because it puts a +
in that spot. As with the Spot Healing Brush, the area you drag over shows the source
material until you release the mouse button.
When you let go of your mouse, Elements blends the sampled area into the problem
area. You often won't know how effective the tool was until Elements is through
working its magic (it may take a few seconds for the program to finish its calculations
