So uh why does the clone stamp tool move?

[Question]

I clone on area of the picture then start applying the clone to an area....and as i do so, the source of the cloned area moves along with my mouse...why is it doing that?

 

I just do ctrl + click to select source then left click to apply the clone area....but the source is moving....

[Pixey]

Hi @Question - yes, that's the way it works.  Here is a link to the explanation of how it works.

[Question]

But i dont want it to move, it makes it much harder to clone stuff.

[pdnnoob]

Select the area to be cloned, copy, and paste.

Making the clone tool return to its original position every time you release the mouse button would be redundant.

[david.atwell]

But i dont want it to move, it makes it much harder to clone stuff.

Then you're not looking for cloning, you're looking for filling with an image.  If you search the forum for "Fill from file" you'll find a BoltBait plugin to do just that.

[Question]

? I dont want the clone tool to move, at all.

 

Copy and paste doesnt work since it doesnt give me a brush like tool to paste over exact areas. What i want to do is clone an area, and then i can use a brush like tool to slowly paint over an existing area with the area i just cloned. I dont want the brush's properties to change at all when i am doing this (and since the clone tool constantly moves, what i can paint with the brush keeps changing). Think of how the color picker works...the color picker sets the brush color to something, and it never changes afterwards until you change it yourself. But the color picker only lets me select one color, instead of a whole area to work with.

 

I did a search for "fill from file" but the only result on the forums is in this thread?

Edited April 26, 2014 by Question

[pdnnoob]

Try the Custom Brushes Mini plugin.

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

Here is a fill plugin I managed to find : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/20976-fill-from-clipboard/

I haven't used it before though, so I don't know how well it works.

[david.atwell]

? I dont want the clone tool to move, at all.

 

Copy and paste doesnt work since it doesnt give me a brush like tool to paste over exact areas. What i want to do is clone an area, and then i can use a brush like tool to slowly paint over an existing area with the area i just cloned. I dont want the brush's properties to change at all when i am doing this (and since the clone tool constantly moves, what i can paint with the brush keeps changing). Think of how the color picker works...the color picker sets the brush color to something, and it never changes afterwards until you change it yourself. But the color picker only lets me select one color, instead of a whole area to work with.

 

I did a search for "fill from file" but the only result on the forums is in this thread?

I understand that's what you want, and that functionality exists, but it's not called the clone tool; it's called Fill from File or Custom Brush.  A clone tool is what Paint.NET's clone tool is.  That's the way it works on Photoshop, GIMP, etc.

 

You're only getting search results from this thread because that's what the search bar defaults to from within the thread.  Here's the link to Photo Flood Fill: http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/28149-paint-4-photo-flood-fill-plug-in/?p=407315

[Question]

So apparently the fill from brush tool only lets you copy and paste in square/circle areas and it doesnt let you use a brush to finely overwrite areas. Any more ideas?

 

And just in case anyone is still confused about what im trying to do :

 

This is not a very good example, but lets say i have this picture here :

 

 

I want to clone the wavy line underneath the word "CELLA" so i clone stamp it and then start overwriting the red portion with the wavy line.

 

Except that because the cloned area is moving as i do this, instead of simply overwriting the red areas with the wavy lines, i get an atrocity like this :

 

 

And you can see the cloned area moved all the way to the top right, whereas i wanted it to stay fixed on the wavy lines.

[BoltBait]

What you're trying to do is not what the clone stamp is designed to do.

You wouldn't try to use a screwdriver to nail two boards together... you'd use a hammer.

If you don't know what a tool is for, just ask.

If you need a tool to do a certain function, ask what the proper tool is to do what you want.

 

So uh why does the clone stamp tool move?

It moves so that the painted area is seamless. That is the beauty of the clone stamp tool. It is very powerful in this regard.

For the example you showed above:

Why not make a selection of what you want to copy, press Ctrl-C to copy it and Ctrl-Shift-V to paste it to a new layer.

Then you can position, stretch, copy-and-paste again, clone, etc. that area to your heart's content.

Or, make a custom brush out of your selection. That way you can paint with that brush all you want.

[MikeRobe]

Yeah, you can use the Clone Stamp tool for removing things from pictures or cleaning up a seam, but you don't use it if you want the original position to stay still.

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

Looking at your example picture, I think the clone stamp tool would do what you want it to do with that wavy line, but it looks like maybe you aren't using it the right way. Unfortunately, using the clone stamp tool isn't my talent either, so I can't explain to you good techniques on how to use it. It's a nice tool, but for me personally, it's not always user friendly, and that's not just with Paint.NET, clone stamp tools in any photo editing software are a bit finicky for me.

So, I like to do things differently. I know you said you don't want to copy/paste, but that's honestly what I prefer to do most of the time when I do image manipulations. I'm not sure how you copy/paste things, but this is how I do it :
1) Select the desired object using one of the selection tools , or use a cut-out object method, then copy the object :Copy: (ctrl+c).
2) Add a new layer :AddNewLayer:, and paste :Paste: (ctrl+v) the object.
3) Move the object to the new spot.
4) Deselect the object :Deselect: (ctrl+d), then blend it's edges. The best way to blend edges varies per image and object. I like to gradient blend, use the Alpha Blur plugin, or use the Feather plugin. (if you need better details on blending edges, let me know, as I realize it can be confusing without images.)
5) Repeat the process as needed.
6) Erase or delete any excess parts that aren't wanted. For example if you have a circle image, and you want to keep everything in the circle, erase/delete anything that sticks out of the circle.
 
I don't know what areas of paint.net you are familiar with, such as how to use layers or cut out objects, so, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
 
-------------------------
The plugins mentioned for blending edges :
Alpha Blur -- http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/24280-alpha-blur-v2-2012-03-05/
Feather -- http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/2140-feather-plugin-now-with-source/

Edited May 25, 2014 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles