Clone Stamp

[DanK5]

This has probably been asked a zillion times, but I can't seem to get the Clone Stamp to work. Yes, I followed the instructions in the paint.net documentation (which shows an apple with a stripe of orange). Can someone tell me what I may be doing wrong, or provide a link to a tutorial? I did find a tutorial, but the link didn't work in Chrome or Explorer. I'm using paint.net 4.0.3 with Windows7 and Chrome.

 

I downloaded paint.net specifically for its cloning capabilities. Would sure like to get it to work. Thanks for any help!

 

Dan Kap,

Whittier, CA

[pdnnoob]

First, press enter, esc, or ctrl+d to make sure there are no active selections messing you up.

ctrl+click to select the spot you wish to clone from, then paint like you would with the paintbrush.

[skullbonz]

Don't feel bad, I have had paint.net for almost 5 years and still have never been able to make it work.

[Goonfella]

Me too. I find the clone tool one of the trickiest ones to get used to so I rarely use it. When I was first learning PDN though I found this video very helpful. I know it is nearly 7yrs old now and he is obviously using a much older version of PDN but the principles are the same as the Clone tool has not changed much,if at all, in all that time.Hope it helps.

 

 

 

 

[Seerose]

Me too. I find the clone tool one of the trickiest ones to get used to so I rarely use it. When I was first learning PDN though I found this video very helpful. I know it is nearly 7yrs old now and he is obviously using a much older version of PDN but the principles are the same as the Clone tool has not changed much,if at all, in all that time.Hope it helps.

 

 

" I found this video very helpful." Thanks a thousand.

[skullbonz]

Same here, Thanks  

[Asyncritus]

Personally, I found the cloning tool incredibly easy to use, even though I have never used a graphics program that had something like that in it. It took me just a few minutes to get the hang of it, though I am still learning tricks to do it even better.

 

The commonest mistake at first was not using the "ctrl-click" to anchor it. The next common mistake was not having selected the correct layer. (If you have a lower layer selected than the one you are looking at on the screen, you will have the impression that you aren't doing anything. But you are, and it may well be something you wish you weren't doing...) As long as you do things "by the rules", though, it is easy to use and very powerful.

 

What I like is the ability to anchor it to one layer, then switch layers and clone to another. That makes it possible to do some really neat photo retouching.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

If users really can't come to grips with the Clone Stamp tool, then this is quite a neat alternative http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/19117-the-subterranean-copypaste-blues/.  Unfortunately the images have died - but there is a downloadable PDF attached.

[Asyncritus]

I actually use both those methods. I was used to the "copy-paste" system with the old software I had, and I still use it a fair amount. It has the big advantage of being able to flip a selection sideways (left-to-right inversion) to break up patterns when you're filling in foliage or something. That was easier with the old software (maybe I just haven't found the way to do it easily with PdN; in the old program, as long as something that had been copied and pasted was selected it was considered as being on top of the picture until you shut off the selection, and "flip horizontally" just reversed it the same way putting it into a different layer and flipping the whole layer does it with PdN, with a few less manipulations to boot) but works wth PdN, too.

 

Still, I love the clone tool, and as long as you make sure you're aiming at the right layer (both for anchoring and for drawing), I really don't see how it's hard to use.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Asyncritus

[TechnoRobbo]

Hi  Dank5,

Here's a few tips:

First select the Clone Tool

1. Set your brush size to something you can see - try 100. The cursor's circle will increase.
2. Holding the Ctrl Key down will make a small anchor appear in the center of the circle. 
3. While holding Ctrl left click to mark the point to start copy. 
4. Click (no Ctrl) on the point you want to start the paste.
5. Set the hardness slider to a low number like 25 to get really good feathering - less destructive - better blending.
6. As you hold down the mouse you will notice that the copy circle and paste circle move together, 
7. to change their relationship repeat step 2.

Here's a video example I did while having coffee this morning

I slowed down the important parts

Click on full screen for better viewing

[skullbonz]

Why is it with updated programs that are made to be easier actually get harder to use and take more steps?

[TechnoRobbo]

 

 

Why is it with updated programs that are made to be easier actually get harder to use and take more steps?

It's called progress   . 

 

If you don't build a better mouse trap how else do you catch a better class of mice?

[nitenurse79]

Great video walk through of Clone Stamp TR. Very useful. Thank you  

[Tomokatu]

If you don't build a better mouse trap how else do you catch a better class of mice?

 

 

... and what we all need SO desperately is better mice.

 

Of course we do, even if we haven't noticed yet.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

This thread is almost a year old Tomokatu. The conversation has long since gone cold