Painting over image flaws with the Clone Stamp tool

You can paint over an area in an image, such as one that contains a flaw that you want to eliminate, with pixels from a copied (or cloned) area by using the Clone Stamp tool.

 

To paint over image flaws

  1. Select the Clone Stamp tool or press the shortcut key S.
  2. Right-click (or press Alt and click) on the image to copy the area around where you clicked.
  3. Move the pointer to the spot where you want to paint using the copied area.
  4. Do one of the following:
    • To paint freehand, drag.
    • To paint in a straight line between a starting point and an ending point, click on the first point, move the pointer to the second point, press Shift, and then click.
  5. (Optional) Repeat the previous two steps as needed.

 

To change options for the Clone Stamp tool after selecting it

  • In the tool options bar under the menu bar, change the options as needed:
    • Brush: Select the type of brush tip to use to paint.
    • Radius: Change the width of the brush tip by using the slider or entering a value between 1 and 100 in the associated text box.
    • Opacity: Enter an opacity value from 0 to 100 percent to specify the degree to which color underneath a brush stroke is visible.
    • Blending Mode: Select the way the color of a brush stroke blends with the colors underneath it.
    • Aligned: This setting controls which pixels are used from the copied area each time you paint with them. Select Aligned to resume painting from the copied area at the point you left off the last time you painted. Clear this check box to always start painting from the starting point of the copied area.
    • Sample All Layers: Select to copy an area from all layers when you right-click using the Clone Stamp tool. Clear to copy only from the active layer.
    • Transform: Select to access and then change various transformation settings. You can use these settings to manipulate the area copied by the Clone Stamp tool.
    • Lazy Mouse: Select to access and then change the Lazy Mouse settings, which are used to control the way in which a brush stroke lags behind the pointer as you make a stroke. You can use this, for example, to see exactly where a brush stroke ends and not have your view of the ending obstructed by the pointer.