Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
when you let go of the mouse, your source point snaps back to where it started. If the
tool's Aligned checkbox is turned on, your source point stays where you stopped.)
5.
Continue clicking until you've covered the area
.
With the Clone Stamp, unlike the Healing Brush, what you see as you click is what
you get—Elements doesn't do any further blending or smoothing.
The choices you make in the Clone Stamp's Tool Options are important in getting the best
results:
▪
Brush
. You can click this brushstroke thumbnail for a drop-down menu that lets you se-
lect a different brush style (see
Chapter 12
for more about brushes), but the standard style
usually works pretty well. If the soft edges of the cloned areas bother you, you may be
tempted to switch to a harder brush, but that will likely make your photo look like you
threw confetti on it, because hard edges won't blend with what's already there.
▪
Sample All Layers
. When you turn on this checkbox, Elements samples replacement
material from all the visible layers in the area where you set your source point (step 3
above). When it's off, Elements samples only the active layer.
▪
Size
. Choose a brush that's just big enough to select your sample without picking up oth-
er details that you don't want in your repair. It can be tempting to clone huge chunks to
speed things up, but most of the time you'll do better using the smallest brush that gets
the sample you want.
▪
Opacity
. Elements automatically uses 100 percent opacity for cloning, but you can re-
duce this setting to let some details of the original show through.
TIP
You gain more control by placing your cloned material on another layer (see the Tip
in step 1 above) and adjusting
its
opacity setting in the Layers panel than you do by
adjusting the
Clone Stamp's
Opacity setting.
▪
Mode
. You can choose any blend mode (
Image Views
)
for cloning, but Normal is usually
your best bet for repairs and corrections. Other modes can create interesting special ef-
fects.
