Understand how Healing Brush works?

ME
Posted By
mexican_equivalent
Aug 5, 2006
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1058
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3
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Once in a while, I use the healing brush to remove an object from a photo. It could be a photo smudge, or a piece of trash, grafitti, a pimple, or whatever. Sometimes, it seems to work perfectly. The object I painted over is completely replaced.

Othertimes, the object I’m trying to remove isn’t replaced. Instead, the Healing Brush merely blends the object with the sample area I had designated. The object doesn’t disappear; it becomes blurry and smudged.

What are the factors affecting this seemingly random behavior? Right now, I’m using Healing Brush strictly on a trial-and-error basis. I can’t for the life of me predict if or when it will work. The tool would be much more useful and intuitive for me if I actually understood how and why it works.
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M
Misifus
Aug 11, 2006
wrote:
Once in a while, I use the healing brush to remove an object from a photo. It could be a photo smudge, or a piece of trash, grafitti, a pimple, or whatever. Sometimes, it seems to work perfectly. The object I painted over is completely replaced.

Othertimes, the object I’m trying to remove isn’t replaced. Instead, the Healing Brush merely blends the object with the sample area I had designated. The object doesn’t disappear; it becomes blurry and smudged.

What are the factors affecting this seemingly random behavior? Right now, I’m using Healing Brush strictly on a trial-and-error basis. I can’t for the life of me predict if or when it will work. The tool would be much more useful and intuitive for me if I actually understood how and why it works.

Have you tried the cloning tool? I believe the healing brush is more about textures than concealing objects.

-Raf

—
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
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D
Dave
Aug 19, 2006
On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:56:31 -0500, Misifus
wrote:

wrote:
Once in a while, I use the healing brush to remove an object from a photo. It could be a photo smudge, or a piece of trash, grafitti, a pimple, or whatever. Sometimes, it seems to work perfectly. The object I painted over is completely replaced.

Othertimes, the object I’m trying to remove isn’t replaced. Instead, the Healing Brush merely blends the object with the sample area I had designated. The object doesn’t disappear; it becomes blurry and smudged.

What are the factors affecting this seemingly random behavior? Right now, I’m using Healing Brush strictly on a trial-and-error basis. I can’t for the life of me predict if or when it will work. The tool would be much more useful and intuitive for me if I actually understood how and why it works.

Have you tried the cloning tool? I believe the healing brush is more about textures than concealing objects.

-Raf

I tend to think the healing brush is kind of a cloner. It is as if the healing brush somehow refers back to the color underneath; that is why I (sometimes), delete the color to be replaced completely before cloning new color. A habit which was critized by Johan.

Johan Elzenga explained it once here in a discussion where I was involved as well and made it very understandable – maybe he will explain it here to you as well.

Dave
K
KatWoman
Aug 20, 2006
wrote in message
Once in a while, I use the healing brush to remove an object from a photo. It could be a photo smudge, or a piece of trash, grafitti, a pimple, or whatever. Sometimes, it seems to work perfectly. The object I painted over is completely replaced.

Othertimes, the object I’m trying to remove isn’t replaced. Instead, the Healing Brush merely blends the object with the sample area I had designated. The object doesn’t disappear; it becomes blurry and smudged.

What are the factors affecting this seemingly random behavior? Right now, I’m using Healing Brush strictly on a trial-and-error basis. I can’t for the life of me predict if or when it will work. The tool would be much more useful and intuitive for me if I actually understood how and why it works.

I answered this to someone else in the other PS NG
the healing tool pulls pixels into a swirl as far as I can tell**, which works well in areas of solid or similar color, for let’s say fixing a blemish.

If you are near the edge of a contrasty color it will pull that into it, so either make a selection so it won’t change those areas or re-sample the tool in an alignment with the stripe or line, moving in the same direction as you go…not sure I am ‘splaining this right

sometimes it just pisses me off and I switch back to the clone tool, often a better choice for certain areas.

** I am sure someone on here will give a more tech explanation

what Dave said would only happen if you have USE ALL LAYERS checked make sure to pay attention to this check box when using heal or clone!!!!!!

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

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