Question: Need better precision with cloning brush

BD writes …

Is there a way to change my targeting cursor
to give me a better ‘aim’ at where I’m locating it on the target image? Maybe add a crosshair to it, or a single centered point that I can use to be pixel-precise?

Edit – Preferences – Display & Cursors

The stamp clone tool should show the content,
but it doesn’t and it will not:
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@405.i1Jsf6QzCY6.2 @.3bbd3fa4

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann

Complete URL:
http://tinyurl.com/748gw

G.H.

Edit – Preferences – Display & Cursors

I’ll give that a whirl – thanks!

The stamp clone tool should show the content,
That doesn’t bother me – it would be nice, but not essential; I just need some way to ‘aim’ more precisely than a brush-sized circle will allow.

BD writes …

I just need some way to ‘aim’ more precisely than a brush-sized circle will allow.

If the ‘display & cursors’ trick (try ‘precise’) isn’t fine enough granularity what I’d do is use the keyboard shortcuts to increase/decrease the screen magnification so you can fine-tune the clone placement … not sure how advanced a user you are so apologies if you already know these shortcuts, but while in clone mode you can zoom in with cntrl/spacebar/left-click on a PC (do all three) or out with alt/spacebar/left-click, and scroll around by holding down spacebar and holding down the left mouse button as you move around. If you miss placement slightly do cntrl-z to undo and then zoom in further …. these shortcuts let you stay in the Clone tool. By the time you get to about 800% (or a probably less) magnification you can readily see individual pixels (you mentioned ‘pixel precise’ in the first post).

Anyway that’s what I’d try if I really needed precision to the pixel level …

Bill

In article ,
"BD" wrote:

When I select the source image, I get a nice crosshair reticule in my cursor – but when I go to the target and begin the clone, all I get is a circle the approximate size of my brush.

Hit the CAPS LOCK key on your keyboard. CAPS LOCK toggles the cursor into "precise" (crosshair) mode.

—
Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

"BD" wrote in message

Hi, all:

I’m trying to do some fairly exact cloning from one image to another, and am becoming frustrated.

When I select the source image, I get a nice crosshair reticule in my cursor – but when I go to the target and begin the clone, all I get is a circle the approximate size of my brush.

I have to eyeball the exact location in the target image, and am always off by a couple of pixels. Is there a way to change my targeting cursor to give me a better ‘aim’ at where I’m locating it on the target image? Maybe add a crosshair to it, or a single centered point that I can use to be pixel-precise?

Do your normal "Alt Click" on the source image then go to the target image click anywhere to make it "live" and now just hold down "Alt" while you set the precise position… when you have it, release "Alt" to go back to your brush size curser and left click and drag as usual.

A technique I use all the time is to option/alt click to set the source and then KEEP THE MODIFIER KEY DEPRESSED while you place the cursor over the point you’re cloning into. The select-source cursor is a crosshair. Once you have the cursor where you want it RELEASE THE MODIFIER KEY and click. If you want to see brush size while you’re cloning this relieves you of looking away to hit the caps lock again (caps lock toggles crosshair vs. brush size). Just remember not to click until you’ve released the modifier or you’ll simply re-set the source point.
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson Photography

In article , BD
wrote:

Hi, all:

I’m trying to do some fairly exact cloning from one image to another, and am becoming frustrated.

When I select the source image, I get a nice crosshair reticule in my cursor – but when I go to the target and begin the clone, all I get is a circle the approximate size of my brush.

I have to eyeball the exact location in the target image, and am always off by a couple of pixels. Is there a way to change my targeting cursor to give me a better ‘aim’ at where I’m locating it on the target image? Maybe add a crosshair to it, or a single centered point that I can use to be pixel-precise?

Thanks!

Cheers,

BD

increase/decrease the screen magnification

I may try that – But zooming in and out again and again would likely end up being more of a pain than I’d like, if I have to do it repeatedly.

The CAPS LOCK shortcut as described by ‘tacit’ would likely be the best solution for me, if it does what I expect it will. I’ll find out tonight… 😉

On 30 Dec 2005 09:25:11 -0800, BD wrote:

Hi, all:

I’m trying to do some fairly exact cloning from one image to another, and am becoming frustrated.

When I select the source image, I get a nice crosshair reticule in my cursor – but when I go to the target and begin the clone, all I get is a circle the approximate size of my brush.

I have to eyeball the exact location in the target image, and am always off by a couple of pixels. Is there a way to change my targeting cursor to give me a better ‘aim’ at where I’m locating it on the target image? Maybe add a crosshair to it, or a single centered point that I can use to be pixel-precise?

Thanks!

Cheers,

BD

Why don’t you clone source image on empty transparent layer, then you can clean it and put it where you want.

—
"…vrnul se bum makar v lesu…"

Why don’t you clone source image on empty transparent layer, then you can clean it and put it where you want.

Mainly because the stitching process didn’t work 100% consistently between the sets of images. I have to do it region by region, unless I want to spend a lot of time re-stitching the various panoramas that comprise the final image.