5 Practical Tips with Photoshop's Clone Stamp Tool
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Download the Practice File: www.f64.co/5Clone
The Whole Cleanup Tools Course: www.f64.co/cleanup
The Clone Stamp Tool, love it or hate it, it’s fantastic!
I have conducted many tutorials that in some way shape or form involve the Clone Stamp Tool, but I don’t think I have ever given my “down and dirty” practical tips for it. Recently I created a course called Photoshop foundations: Cleanup Tools, and it focuses on all the primary cleanup tools in Photoshop.
The Clone Stamp Tool, while valuable, is not the primary star in this show. The course covers the Patch Tool, the Healing Brushes, Custom Selections, Content Aware and much more!
While I was recording the course, it occurred to me just how much I love the Clone Stamp Tool. I used it to show how to remove a car and a few people in the image below. While I was editing the video, I continued to Clone, and Clone some more, until I had cloned out all the cars and all the people using only the data available in the image.
Needless to say, It was AWESOME! I had so much fun. Yes, I need to get out of the office more…
So because I am still on cloud nine from all that cloning, I have some advice for you today with the Clone Stamp Tool. These are five efficient tips that will have you mastering the Clone Stamp Tool in no time!
You can watch the whole tutorial below or snag Cliff’s Notes here:
Keep it Simple. Keep the brush simple don’t overthink it. A nice soft round brush is all you need.
Always Clone on a New Layer. I typically do all my cloning first before my significant edits in PS, and I do them on a new layer.
Find Similar areas to clone with. Try to find areas that are similar, so the cloning looks natural but avoid at all costs my next point.
Avoid Repeated Patterns. Any patterns that repeat over and over in an image where there shouldn’t be repeated patterns is a dead giveaway you used a tool you weren’t very good with.
Clone on Multiple Layers. Cloning on multiple layers allows you to move and manipulate pieces while you edit. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
This was a brilliant video. My clone stamp tool skills just increased exponentially.
Sweet! Thanks for watching :)
Great tips, especially about the new layer, which I hadn't considered. When working with a scan, I find it immensely helpful to oversample the dpi more than necessary, to make aiming the brush easier, and less crucial to hit one pixel accuracy. Of course the size of a digital photo is what it is, and upsampling has its own issues. If the image has significant noise in it, a harder brush or linear blending, will reduce the overlap around the brush where the noise is averaged out, revealing the stroke of the brush.
Thank you so much for this tutorial! Especially the fifth tip is awesome! I will use this technique from now on! Great!
You do a great job and how you explain everything step-by-step. Thank you
Thanks, Paul!
Second time I watch this video after some testings and yes I needed to be reminded to use multiple layers😅. Thx 4 these tutorials. I'm going to replay the 5 tone heat map now.
Awesome! Thanks for watching. I am just glad I can help
Great tutorial, especially where you pointed out the importance of multiple cloning points, excellent work.
Thanks, Keith!
Good video. Can u tell me how to turn on and off the brush preview that shows the clone source .
Absolutely the best class on Cloning! Keep up the great work!
Thanks! I really appreciate that :)
Fantastic tips!
How did you enable the preview with the clone stamp tool? Is it a setting, shortcut or perhaps version specific feature?
Wow just wow! Thank you much!!! Great video, excellent audio, and mix of screen time and dialog and most important Awesome instructions!!!!!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Great tutorials sir myself Rony an animation CG VFx student from India
Really helpful , ill keep this lesson as my go to guide thanks terrific help.
Blake ! you are a freakin' GURU ! I love your vids man .
Thanks so much, Rob! That is awesome :)
Hi Blake, thank you for your video, I appreciate what you do. I have two other methods that work well in some circumstances. To reduce the amount of spill over using a soft brush, I often make a very simple selection (Rectangular or lasso tool) and then choose my best target point and clone within the selection, once done, I just deselect and move on to the next edit. Another trick is to make a same type of quick selection and fill with content aware. This works best on shrubs, grass and some leaves etc. Deselect when done. The best part of your list is to make multiple layers, that is so handy and really deals with lights and shadows well! Another option would be to try to crop out some of undesirable parts of the photo. I also often use two shots a split second apart and choose from the one picture and paint on to the one below it.
Thanks Blake, love your channel.
Moonpie
Thanks, Moonpie! You are exactly right, everything you mentioned here is covered in the extensive course that covers all the ways to clean up an image. This was just tips for the Clone Stamp Tool not Content Aware or anything else. There are a ton of different ways to clean an image. That is why I love Ps so much.
When you start to get good with all these techniques it really gets a bit scary how good you can make them. Your example, before and after is a fine demonstration! I really would had to have thought twice before challenging that monster!!!! Your results are stunning!!! Look forward to getting your material!
Thanks Blake!
It was a lot of fun and rather quick. I recorded all the videos for the course, while I edited the videos in the background, I worked on the image. It was about 45 minutes of work or so. A lot faster than I expected.
I think, the more you do this kind of work, the faster it goes, then it becomes a standard part of your workflow and wala or ta-da!!! I like to do compositions, once I make the correct decisions on which photos will work best together it goes pretty fast. The whole process including shadows, color, blur, contrast and light direction become instinctual to my preference or style . I can usually get to the point where I need to leave it alone in about an hour. PS is amazing.
Moonpie
great info, thanks
Thanks, good info.
Thank you very much for the video!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
Great video Blake, the only question I might ask is would you use the same selections when clone stamping on a model when it comes to the brush and the flow ? Thanks again for such an amazing tutorial.
Yeah, I would. The thing is, the opacity and flow are always set to 100 for me because if I need to, I can always go into the layer and reduce the Opacity or the Fill. But a brush set to 80% will only be 80 % unless clicked repeatedly.
I found I fiddle too much with the brush settings if I try to start there when everything I need is already in the layer. If I need a reduction, I adjust the Opacity of the layer rather than the Opacity of the brush.
Does that make sense?
f64 Academy Most concernly does. I've seen difference tutorials where the instructor change those settings and as a new user to Photoshop I am trying to establish the best methods so I'm more efficient with my edits. Thank you again.
OK, i've yet to find someone to explain the 'aligned' option. so what's up with this? checked or unchecked? critically important, or highly insignificant? thanks!
Great.........Thanks.
Amazing as always!
Blake, what part of the image have you used to recreate the curb covered by that bus?
Would the following be correct: create a new layer, find the curb that is closest to what's missing in terms of light, shadows and texture, clone, rotate, resize, put in place, adjust color?
Hey Chuck , hope Thomas didn't diss you too much , lol.
You are dead on! Throw in a warp too. the Warp tool can be used to match the curve using even a straight curb.
Thanks a million, Blake!!!!!
Great video , the only question I might ask is Can you tell me how to copy and paste on non-straight borders or lines. Once the area copied I don't know how to paste on another area which is not aligned. For example a vault .Thank you
Do it on a new layer, then free transform it to fit.
@@f64Academy Thanks again for such an amazing tutorial on multiple layers
A good video, however I have a question.
What about a scenario where the thing you are cloning out is patterned or complex shape and you want to preserve that pattern/shape by removing the thing obscuring it?
I've had this problem, for example, trying to remove some wire mesh in front of some archtecture with an art display.
The problem I found was the mesh broke up so much of the thing behind it replacing it as tedious and difficult as well as severely limiting what could be cloned without just replicating the mesh. It also brought in issues of lighting (if it passed by a lit source the pattern was lit in those shades and light fall off was impossibly difficult to blend in) which restricted further where I could pull from as well as perspective (lines in the buildings converging as they moved away from my cameras POV.)
On some areas I just resorted to painting the nearest colour pixel over, but still it did not look right.
The advice clone like areas on a separate layer and to manipulate the curve for blending is well received but I feel I'm no closer to editing the photo that has sat idle on my hard drive of the Victorian Market in London with flying books coming at the camera all suspended from that accursed metal rigging which I would dearly love to click into oblivion.
I am a firm believer that no matter the photo, there is a way. Even though your description of the photo is helpful, I cannot say what to do without seeing it.
Sometimes you have to reconstruct areas from other areas. Here I had to reconstruct the curb where the bus was using other curbs and warp them to match the curve. In the course, I talk about things like this. What to do in one area when you have seemingly nothing to stamp from.
That is where custom selections come in which are not covered here. This is a quick 10-minute video, the course is over 100 minutes with a lot more ways to look at the photo that needs fixing.
Question and comment: I download the image as you suggested but it does not seem to be same as you presented on your screen in the video especially when I try to remove the lamp, the car or the person with umbrella. The image from your website is highly pix-elated especially when I try to zoom in on the objects as you did in your video and It starts after 150% zoom.
Let me know what I am doing wrong? I think video photo is 16 bit vs 8 bit photo give out to work on not quite the same?
Not sure wht it should be the same image.
Helpful tutorial!
Awesome, glad I could help!
Thanks!
You are welcome!
Please please someone enlighten me how do i keep anchor point fixed in one area instead of moving around???
With the exception of the light pole, why would you want to clone to a separate layer?
Something to do with non destructive editing perhaps???
Interesting tutorial none the less.
Yes, that way you don't destroy the original image. For instance, if you made the wrong clone selection, you could turn off the layer or use masks to help clean it up. I usually do flatten it down or make a layer stamp that goes on the top when I am all done.
The separate layer is more temporary but important during the cloning phase.
every time i use clone tool i get some kind of stairs like cloned up pattern in my image. any suggestion.
Routinely alt click on other areas before stamping to increase the randomness.. If you click and drag without resampling often you'll get hideous patterns.
good sharing
Thank you! Cheers!
Good advice. My challenge with the clone stamp is that I must first flatten all the layers before it will let me use the clone stamp. So creating a layer first is counter productive.
There is a setting in the menu bar that selects where you sample from. If you have a blank layer above everything else, set it to current and below and you can clone on a new layer.
my photo that I first edited with clone tool did "really funky things". lol it really is an aggravating tool...
It can, but with practice, it becomes second nature!
even though..always blurry never sharp
I dont get it
omg you're a bag of chips minus the air... A FULL BAG OF CHIPS!
Woah, now that would be awesome! That air really smells funny :)
can i use your practice file to use on my video that will be monetized? Ill give you a link to credit
No. I spend a lot of time curating my images to be used for my demos and this file is mine and may not be used on your channel. Thanks for understanding.
Great tutorials sir myself Rony an animation 3DCG VFx student from India