Adobe Photoshop CS2 Clone Stamp Tool Tutorial

Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2
Subject: Clone Stamp Tool
Difficulty: Intermediate

The clone stamp tool, as the name suggests, is used to clone areas of an image. This means that when using it you can subtly copy and paste areas of the image to cover or alter other areas as you wish.

For this tutorial I am using the following image (click the image to open in new window):

Original image from:
http://www.fotothing.com/aljd/photo/938401311d9584921a334b5c1d8da1f6/

You can choose to use this one or experiment with another image of your choosing.

Once Photoshop is opened the first task is to click and drag the image in to Photoshop to be edited. Open your browser and navigate to your chosen picture, then click and drag the picture on to the main screen of Photoshop. Alternatively, click and drag a file from your computer in the same way:


Once your image is in Photoshop, select the Clone Stamp Tool from the toolbar located on the left of the screen by default:


Once the tool is selected turn your attention to an area you wish to remove from the image. For this tutorial we will get rid of the man on the beach. In order to get rid of him we will clone areas around him and stamp them over his image. To clone an area, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard. The cursor will now turn to a crosshair when placed over the image. Position the mouse over an area of sand near to the man and click:


The tool has now sampled that area of the image and is ready to clone it. Release the Alt key and click and drag over a small area of the man while keeping relatively in line with where you sampled the sand. The man will begin to disappear:


Continue to resample different areas by holding the Alt key and clicking to ensure that the same bit of sand is not cloned too often. Take your time and work a little bit at a time. Try to work horizontally and sample areas similar to what would appear behind the image you are removing. For example, in this image ensure you sample the water when water will appear behind his legs, lighter sand for the rest of his legs and the bluer sand for where his torso would is:


This tool will allow you to completely remove the man from the image. Take your time and try to be as accurate as possible and nobody will be able to tell that he was ever there. You should end up with an image like this:


This technique can be used to remove almost anything from images as long as there are enough areas to effectively sample from. It also has many other uses. It’s commonly used in beauty magazines to remove wrinkles or to make people look thinner.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Gleam Effects Tutorial

Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2
Subject: Adding Gleam Effects
Difficulty: Easy

Gleams are the effects of light beams shining off a surface. When light hits a surface some is reflected and this effect is what the gleam intends to replicate. In real life, this effect is most noticeable on metal, liquid or glass surfaces and adding this effect to textures in Photoshop can add a further level of depth to these types of surfaces if you are trying to recreate them.
This tutorial will show you how to create a gleam effect on a flat colour.

To begin, open Photoshop and choose File > New from the menu bar:


The new window options box appears. Change the width and height to 500 pixels, or values of your choice, and choose a new name for the window if you wish. Then click OK:


A new window will appear in which you can use to create many graphics and designs in. The working area is known as the canvas. For this tutorial we will be creating the gleam effect on the canvas:


Select the ‘Rectangle Tool’ from the toolbar located on the left of the screen by default:


Drag a rectangle shape out on to the canvas in the new window. Then right click the ‘Shape 1’ box on the right under the layers tab. Select ‘Delete Vector Mask’:


The rectangle will now fill the canvas and a warning box will appear. Click ok to continue:


Next, click the colour box on the toolbar, located on the left, to open the colour picker window. Select a lighter shade of colour to that of your rectangle by clicking in the colour box on the area of colour you require. Then click ok:


Select the Brush tool from the toolbar, located on the left. Click the arrow on the options bar at the top of the screen and select a large brush diameter while ensuring that the hardness is at 0%. Here 300 pixels has been selected which is suitable for the size of the canvas. Also, reduce the opacity to 50%:


Now take the brush and sweep it across the canvas to create a thick and slightly lighter line than the canvas itself. It should look something like this:


After doing this, reduce the diameter of the brush from the option bar:


Sweep another stroke of the brush over the previous line. Continue to reduce the size of the brush after every stroke until you get something that looks like this:


Although this looks quite good it can be improved by smudging the lines together to get a better blending effect which ensures the individual lines you have drawn are not visible at all. To do this, select the Smudge tool from the toolbar. You may have to hold down the tool selection icon to select the Smudge tool from a list of other tools:


Alter the diameter of the smudge tool so that it is large enough to cover the lines you have drawn. Do this in the same way that you altered the brush diameter. Then sweep the smudge tool over the lines. This should create a smoother finish and should look something like this:

Macromedia Flash 8 Masking Tutorial

Software: Macromedia Flash 8
Subject: Masking Animation Technique
Difficulty: Intermediate

This tutorial will guide you through the process of using the masking technique in Flash. Using masking you can create movie like transitions or use the effect to control what parts of the animation the user can see.

To begin, open Macromedia Flash and begin a new Flash document.



You will be presented with a blank new document. From this screen you will be able to do everything needed to create a masked animation.

You must first import an image to your stage. This means bringing an image in to Flash so that it can be used as part of the animation. To do this choose File > Import > Import to Stage or press Ctrl+R. Browse your computer and find the image which you want to import and open it. You will now see the image in Flash.

You can edit the size of the image using the image properties at the bottom of the screen when you have the image selected. Try to match it to the size of the canvas and align it so that it is covering the canvas.



Next, on the timeline, located at the top of the screen, insert a frame at frame 60. To do this right click at 60 on the timeline and from the menu select Insert Frame.



Rename that layer on the timeline as ‘Image’ and then lock it. Do this by double-clicking Layer 1 in the layer panel to the left of the timeline and typing in the new name and then clicking the dot underneath the padlock icon. Locking this layer means that it cannot be edited by accident as you progress.

Once you have done that add a second layer. To do this click the new layer button located to the bottom left of the layer panel (circled below). Rename this layer ‘Mask’. Your layer panel will now look like this:



On this new layer you now need to create a circle somewhere near the centre of your image. Select the oval tool from the tool menu at the left of the screen. Select any fill colour for the circle.



Now hold shift to create a perfect circle and click-and-drag out a small circle in the centre of your image.



Select the circle and press F8 to convert to a symbol. This means that it will be saved into the library and can be used again at any time. In the pop-up box that appears name the symbol ‘Circle’ and choose the graphic type.

Next on the mask layer insert a keyframe at 60 on the timeline. Right click on the mask layer under 60 on the timeline and choose Insert Keyframe from the menu.



Keep the 60th frame selected and click on the circle. Go to the menu bar and select Modify > Transform > Scale, then drag out the circle so that it covers the whole image as follows:



To get this shape to mask the image click the first frame of the mask layer and in the properties at the bottom of the screen select motion from the tween options.



After the motion tween is set right-click the mask layer in the layer panel and select ‘Mask’ from the menu. The image is now masked and is revealed as the circle gets bigger.

Press Ctrl+Enter to view your animation in a new screen. It should look something like the animation below:

Macromedia Flash 8 Morphing Tutorial

Software: Macromedia Flash 8
Subject: Morphing Animation Technique
Difficulty: Easy

This tutorial will guide you through making an animation which will gradually change one shape into another by using the morphing technique. Using this function in Flash allows you to morph 2 images easily and with minimal effort.

To begin, open Macromedia Flash and begin a new Flash document.



You will be presented with a blank new document. From this screen you will be able to do everything needed to create a morphing animation.

Firstly, select the rectangle tool from the tool menu on left of the screen:



The next step is to create a square on the animation canvas in the centre of the screen. The canvas is where all the animation happens. Once you have selected the rectangle tool alter the colour properties at the bottom of the screen. Choose the pencil colour and choose no colour in the top right of the selection window (circled in the below screenshot). Underneath the pencil colour you can choose a fill colour of your choice. For the tutorial I have chosen to use blue.



Now move your cursor to the canvas, hold down shift, which ensures you create a perfect square, and click-and-drag to create a square on the canvas. You should now have a square on the canvas.

Next you must create a blank keyframe somewhere on the timeline. To do this you must first look for the timeline at the top of the screen. Then right click under 20, or a frame of your choice, and choose to ‘Insert Blank Keyframe’ from the list which appears. This creates the frames which Flash will use in the morphing process.



Once the blank keyframe has been added to the timeline the canvas will go blank. You now need to create the second shape which the square will morph into.

Use the oval tool located next to the rectangle tool which you used previously to create a circle. Ensure that you alter the properties again so that the pencil has no colour and choose a fill colour of your choice. For the tutorial I have chosen to make a green circle.

Hold down shift, to ensure you create a perfect circle, and click-and-drag a circle in the same place on the canvas as you created your square. You should now have something which looks like this:



You now have both shapes which are going to morph. In order to get them to morph you must utilise the morphing technique. To do this, click on the timeline anywhere between the first and last frame and then go to the properties box at the bottom of the screen. Open the drop-down box labelled ‘Tween’ and choose the ‘Shape’ option.



You will now have an animation in which a square morphs into a circle. Press Ctrl+Enter to view your animation in a new screen. It should look something like the animation below:



You could expand this by following these steps to make the circle morph back into the original square or another shape.

Aims

This blog aims to provide people with simple to follow tutorials for various programs which I currently use or am hoping to use in the future.

Having followed a few online tutorials myself I know that sometimes they are not always easy to follow or very accurate. I hope to make my tutorials as simple to follow as possible and allow people with very little experience with the programs to be able to understand what to do.

If there are any software programs or techniques you need an easy to follow tutorial for please leave a comment and let me know what you need and I will attempt to create a tutorial for you.