The Clone Stamp

I like the way that Photoshop has icons that look like objects from a typical old fashioned office.
The clone stamp, which i have found invaluable, is designed like an old rubber stamp with a rounded wooden handle.
One of my friends on the M.A course showed me how to use this tool to close gaps between sections in my symmetrical images. Sometimes I get lazy and even after I have flattened the image, there are still visible little white lines where I have not got the added section to exactly the right angle. Before I used to just delete these in frustration, wasting a great deal of my hard work. But now I can correct my mistakes. I have to make sure I am not lazy though and think it doesn't matter if it is not perfect as I can clone stamp it. I try to make myself strive for perfection from the start.

Here is an example of an image that has 'fault lines' in it.

You can see where I didn't fit the sections together carefully enough, leaving a white line.


First I select the clone stamp and choose the brush style, size and opacity.



In this image there is a very large vertical  fault, to the right, but I will focus on one that is easier to fix, running horizontally, to the left of the centre, in the beige background. (A sandstone wall)

Then, with alt and click, I pick a little disk from as close to beside the fault line as I can.
I go right into the image so I can see the individual  pixels. Using the selected clone disc I run up the line and it is magically filled in!

I love this tool! 

My friend also showed me how to increase or decrease the size of the little disc you select with the clone tool, so you can be even more accurate. If you hold down the space bar then use the left or right bracket key, you can go smaller or larger.