Clone Tool Part II

Destination Mode

With “Destination” mode selected, the area you select first will be the area that is replicated elsewhere. For instance, if we start with the same selection as before, dragging the selection this time gives us a preview of copying the ball to a new location.

Patch tool destination mode.
After you release the selection, the golf ball is copied to a new area of the image and blended with the surrounding pixels.

Result of “Destination” mode.

The Clone Source Palette

The Clone Source palette (found under Window → Clone Source) is an invaluable resource for professional-quality cloning. This tool gives you much more control over the results and functionality of the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush.
The Clone Source palette contains three primary sections: cloning source, offset adjustment and overlay options.

The Clone Source palette.

Cloning Sources

In the first section in the Clone Source palette, you can define multiple areas of an image as a source from which to clone and/or heal.

Defining multiple sources.
The image above illustrates an example of when you might want to define multiple sources. To save a source, click on one of the five source buttons, and then Option + click (Alt + click) with either the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush. That location will now be saved to that button. Now, select the next button in line, and do the same in another part of the image. Once your sources are loaded, you can quickly shift between them simply by clicking the related button.
Notice that the file name appears just under the clone source buttons. This is because you can actually select a clone source outside of the image that you’re working on. Simply open a different file and set the clone source. Then, when you go back to the primary file to paint with the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush, the pixels from the other image will function as the source of the clone.

Offset Options

The second section of commands in the Clone Source palette really increase the variety of cloned results available to you. You can set exact coordinates for the source, change the size of the cloned result relative to the original source, tweak the rotation of the result and set a precise offset (again, relative to the original source).

Tweaking the cloned results.
You can see these transformation effects in action in the example above. The two bails of hay are actually one and the same, but they look considerably different because of the offset options. First, I set both the width and height to 90%, so that the cloned bail would appear slightly smaller than the original. Then I changed the width to -90% to flip the clone horizontally (you could change the height to a negative number to flip the image vertically). Finally, I set the rotation to 10° to give the illusion of a small hill.

Overlay Options

The overlay options are among the most helpful features in the Clone Source palette. Years ago, cloning involved a lot of guess work because it was difficult to tell exactly what the selected sample would look like without actually applying it. The guesswork has been eliminated with the “Show Overlay” command. When “Show Overlay” is selected in conjunction with the “Clipped” option, your brush is shown with a preview of the clone source inside. This is extremely helpful when attempting to clone inorganic areas with straight edges, such as a brick wall.

An overlay of the source is displayed within the brush.
Note that if you choose to turn on the overlay but turn off “Clipped,” then your entire clone source layer will be shown surrounding the brush.

An overlay of the source is displayed within the brush.
Working this way is actually quite difficult because the source significantly blocks your view of the destination. But if you prefer it, try reducing the opacity of the overlay so that you can see the image below.

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point takes cloning to an entirely new dimension, literally. The tool makes it possible to set up primitive planes across your artwork, which a clone then follows to simulate a three-dimensional space. Vanishing Point has a ton of features and potential applications, and it really merits its own entire article, so this will be just a brief introduction.
When you open up the Vanishing Point dialog (found under the “Filter” menu item), you’ll see a large preview of your image, along with a small set of tools on the left side.

The Vanishing Point dialog.
Grab the tool sitting second from the top to set up your initial plane. With this tool, click once on each of the four corners, outlining the desired plane. Once you’ve created an initial plane, you can Command + click (Control + click on a PC) to extend the plane perpendicularly. Some images, though, like this old barn, won’t have perfect angles. In this case, you’ll have to create a second plane, entirely distinct from the original.

Setting up planes.
Once you’re satisfied with the planes, grab the Clone Stamp (fourth from the top), and Option + click the desired source (in our case, the barn door). Then clone the door onto the front-facing wall using the same method you would use with the normal Clone Stamp tool. Turn “Healing” on in the drop-down menu above the image preview to ensure that the source is properly blended into the destination.

Vanishing Point result.
As you can see, Photoshop interpreted the planes fairly well. Some fine-tuning and clean-up are definitely necessary if we want a believable image; but overall, the result is extremely impressive, given the lack of work required.

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5 Quick Tips For Better Cloning

Now that we’ve examined each tool in depth, let’s close by recalling a few things to keep in mind if we want to clone with professional results.

Take Your Time

As you undertake a cloning project, the quality of the result is directly proportional to the amount of time you put into it. Cloning photographic details can be incredibly tedious work. The world has become well acquainted with Photoshop magic, so never assume that no one will notice your blunders.

Duplicate the Active Layer

The very first step to take when cloning parts of an image is to duplicate the layer you’ll be working on (or to just work on a new transparent layer). Realizing that you made a mistake so long ago that your “Undos” don’t go back far enough to fix it is beyond frustrating. Keeping the original image on a hidden layer gives you the flexibility to revert any part of an image to its original state.

Be Selective With Your Tools

Each cloning tool has its strengths and weaknesses, as outlined above. Never arbitrarily grab a tool and stick with it for the duration of a project. Consider which tool is best suited to the particular area of the image you’re working on. On large projects, no single tool creates believable results on its own. Use two or more tools in synergy to achieve a realistic result.

Watch for Obvious Duplication

Sloppy cloning results in noticeable patterns.
If you’re not careful, duplicated pixels can become painfully obvious. This is especially true of areas that should look fairly organic, like the grass above. Instead of appearing natural, an obvious pattern emerges when you use the same section of an image over and over. To avoid this, make heavy use of the Clone Source palette. Use multiple sources; and change the size, rotation and orientation of the areas you’re cloning to give the illusion of an unmanipulated image.

Avoid Disasters

When retouching significant parts of an image, overlooking certain areas becomes all too easy.


Where did her leg go!?

Conclusion

Cloning in Photoshop is a difficult task that requires significant time, studious attention to detail and an in-depth knowledge of several tools and commands. To improve the quality of your results, invest some time learning Photoshop’s entire cloning arsenal. Experiment with all of the options for each tool to get a better feel for where you can excel.

The whole content is taken from smashingmagazine.com 

Enjoy.

Artzz Luv