Photo 11: Introduction to Digital Imaging
Instructor: Sue Leith, sleith@csus.edu Office Hours Monday 1 -2 MRP 2011
Clone Transform Exercise
The goal of this exercise is to practice copying one area of an image into another using the clone stamp tool. This includes matching and/or changing the shape, size, rotation and dimensions of that object using the Transform command. We will also use a “sandwich” technique to make the image more realistic.
Instructions on how to do this exercise are on the back but, as usual, try to do it yourself before looking.
Open “Red Door” and “Lamp” images.
1. Copy the actual light fixture from the Lamp image using the Clone Stamp tool to a new blank layer in the Red Door image. After copying, close Lamp image without saving.
2. Use a mask to hide all residual areas of the wall around the lamp, leaving only the lamp visible. If you prefer, select and delete the wall area.
3. Resize the lamp and rotate it, so it looks like it’s swinging sideways.
4. Position the lamp over the window to the left of the door.
5. Make a copy of the entire window and hide the glass using a mask, so it looks like the lamp is behind the window. Careful not to hide any of the green area of the pane – only hide the glass area of the window. Leave some of the glass area partially visible so the window looks more like dirty glass in some areas.
Save as yourname.clone.psd and drop in drop box.
Instructions follow but don’t look until you try to do it yourself first.
How to do the Clone Transform Exercise
1. --With the Red Door image targeted, add a blank new layer by clicking on the new layer icon in the bottom of the layers palette (looks like a folded sheet of paper - 2nd from right) or go to Layer > New Layer in the top menu bar. Name the layer Lamp.
----Use the Clone Stamp Tool and Opt click inside the Lamp image at the top left of the lamp post – making sure you see the tool turn into the circle with the cross in it (so you know you’ve targeted the source) Move to the Red Door image, making sure you are working on the new empty layer you just created, hold down your mouse. As you move the mouse a copy of the lamp should appear in the Red Door document. Don’t worry about the size or where you put it for now.
2. -- Add a mask to the Lamp layer and paint with black to hide the wall area. If you prefer, use any selection tool you like, select the wall area and hit delete on your keyboard to delete it.
3.--Use the Free Transform command (Command T) to scale the lamp to a smaller size. Grab the corner anchor point and drag in. Holding Shift, or Shift and Opt, will keep the proportions. (It is your choice if you want to keep or change proportions – be creative!)
Next, move your mouse outside the selected area in the corner until you see a double-headed arrow, use that to rotate the lamp. When you have it the way you like, click on the green arrow in the options bar to make it so.
4. –-Use the move tool on the lamp layer to reposition the lamp.
5. --Using any selection tool you like (rectangular marquee will work especially well) and MAKING SURE YOU ARE WORKING ON THE BACKGROUND LAYER, make a broad selection around the window. It’s ok to include part of the wall.
----Command J will copy then paste the selected area of the window to a new layer. Position the new layer above the lamp layer in the layers palette. Name it window copy.
----Make sure you are working on the window copy layer and add a layer mask by clicking on the layer mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette (2nd from left – looks like a rectangle with a circle in it).
----Paint with black, on the layer mask, in the glass area to hide. (Do not paint over the pane, if you do, switch to white and paint back the pane in the layer mask.) You can either paint freehand or select and feather, and then paint. Make sure to paint some areas with gray (a lower opacity of black). You could also paint areas of the mask black then Edit > Fade Brush Tool to lower the effect making the glass look dirty.