Technical data

52 Working with Paint and Text
q Try using the tool to smear a painted line outward, or create a mix
of two colors (using a semi-transparent setting). Experiment with
the effects of both a hard-edge and a soft-edge brush tip.
q For best results when using extended strokes, set the brush tip’s
Spacing property to 1.
Using the Clone tool
Like the preceding tools, the Clone tool uses a brush, but it’s
really a high-tech version of a pantograph—that
device with two connected stylus points, one that
traces an original drawing, the other that draws an
exact duplicate somewhere else. For example, you
can use the Clone tool to brush away skin
blemishes by cloning some “good skin” over them, or remove an
unwanted object from an image by extending some foliage to cover it.
Or you can easily clone a sheep...
To clone a region, select the tool from the Tools toolbar and set its
properties. Then Shift-click where you want to begin copying; we’ll call
this the “pickup point.” Click and begin dragging somewhere else—
even in another image window—where you want to begin placing the
copied pixels; let’s term this the “putdown point.” You’ll see a
crosshair cursor appear back at the pickup point. As you drag, pixels
from the pickup region are cloned in the putdown region by the tool’s
brush tip. The crosshair and brush tip cursors move in sync. The result?
A perfect copy.
q You really should try this firsthand. Choose the Clone tool and
(working on either layer), follow the procedures just described.
You’ll see the best results if you clone a region that’s well painted
over, rather than just a thin line. Remember: Shift-click to pick up,
click and drag to put down. Watch the cursors and what’s
happening will be evident.