Go to the Option Bar and remove the checkmark from the box that says "align"
Mike,
That is how the clone tool works. Look at the top of the screen and you will see a box that says aligned.
When it is ticked: The clone tool will, after the initial sample, always stay in a relative position to the initial sample even when you stop and then start again. Check it out by sampling one point and then using the clone tool like a brush … stop and start several times and see what happens.
When it is unticked: The clone tool will start each stroke from the same point you sampled. Again try using the clone tool like a brush and stop and start several times then see what happens.
When using the clone tool it is better to frequently reset the sample point this means you don’t stray into areas that you don’t want to use. Sorry its not easy to explain but if you try it out you will see what I mean.
So there is nothing wrong with your clone tool .. it is simply the way it works … you will get used to it.
Wendy
Thanks girls, it worked just fine – but I don’t see the point of Aligned (the Help is as clear as mud on the subject – obviously written by a programmer).
Mike,
Aligned works very well if the tonal range you are cloning doesn’t vary widely or varies in a uniform way. For instance, cloning a wire out of a sky shot works well with aligned provided the changes across the sky are uniform.
Of course, un-checking aligned and then dragging puts you right back in aligned mode.
Dick
Mike,
Say you had a photograph and a flower was on the left hand side and you wanted to put it into the middle of you photograph then using aligned means no matter how many times you stop cloning the image will start again from where you left off. So it will all line up in its new place.
Its difficult to explain but if you try it on a photograph you will see what I mean.
Wendy
Mike,
I offer another suggestion related to the clone tool. Open a new layer at the top of the stack and do the cloning on that layer. Be sure that there is a check mark in "use all layers." This maneuver allows one to refine the process with the opacity slider, etc.
Ken
Thanks Dick, Wendy and Kenneth (I just love a good workaround and yours is a gem). I tried your suggestions and of course they worked just fine, but I am still puzzled by the fact that in its default mode the clone tool changes its stamp image at will. Specifically, it picks up a part of an adjacent object (which object part varies with every two or three clicks – I am not painting by dragging). Wendy said that’s the way the tool operates and I agree, but it must be a bug not a feature, no?
