Photoshop Elements >

Pattern Stamp Tool

The Pattern Stamp tool is in the tool family with the Clone Stamp tool.

The two tools paste something.

The difference is the source of the something-to-be-pasted.

When using the Clone Stamp tool—you take part of the photograph—and paste it on another part of the same photograph.

With the Pattern Stamp tool—you're pasting something on to your photograph.

But—the something comes from another photograph.

Let's say you're editing a photograph of an aardvark.

You remove some brown grass by cloning some green grass from elsewhere in the aardvark photograph.

You use the Pattern Stamp tool to qwerty

	Source	Destination
Clone Stamp Tool	Aardvark photograph	Aardvark photograph
Pattern Stamp Tool	Other photograph	Aardvark photograph

Try It Out

Do the following.

1) Go to the Pattern Stamp tool.

2) In the options bar, open the Pattern Picker.

Pattern Picker

3) Select one of the patterns.

4) Click the tiny x to close the window.

5) Brush on your photograph.

6) In the options bar, open the Pattern Picker, again.

7) Click the double-triangle icon.

8) Select one of the other libraries of patterns at the bottom of the window.

9) Select a pattern.

10) Click the tiny x to close the window.

11) Brush on your photograph.

Make a Pattern

You can make your own pattern.

Do the following.

1) Open a photograph that's the destination for the pattern.

2) Open another photograph that's the source for the pattern.

The source photograph should be the same size as the destination photograph.

Why?

If the source photograph is smaller or bigger, what you paste may be too small or too big.

Or, the edge of the source photograph may be visible when pasted.

With experience, you can use photographs that have different sizes.

Or, you can resize a source photograph.

Go to:

• Resampling/Resizing Introduction

• Camera Phone Resampling/Resizing: Make It Bigger

• Save for Web Resampling/Resizing: Make It Smaller.

3) Go to Edit > Define Pattern.

4) Go to the Pattern Stamp tool.

5) In the options bar, open the Pattern Picker.

6) Scroll down and double click on the tiny image of your source photograph.

7) Click the tiny x to close the window.

8) Brush on your photograph.

Use a Blank Layer

You can paste on a blank layer, rather than pasting on the destination photograph.

There are many advantages to pasting a pattern on a blank layer.

You can:

• Delete it.

• Erase parts of it with the Eraser tool.

• Lower the opacity of the blank layer, blending it into the destination photograph.

• Use blending modes.

You can change the blending mode for the layer from Normal to a different one.

For example, the Luminosity blending mode will block the color information.

Only the tonal information will be visible.

If you're new to blending modes, go to Blending Modes.

• Resize it with the Free Transform Tool.

• Modify the blank layer with adjustment layers.

For example:

1) Create a Levels adjustment layer above the blank layer.

2) Press Ctrl + g to group the two layers together.

3) Edit with the Levels adjustment layer.

When you move the sliders in the Levels adjustment layer, only the blank layer is affected.

If you haven't already done so, go to With Blank Layers.

Options Bar

In the options bar, you can:

• Change the blending mode of the brush in the options bar.

• Change the opacity of the brush.

• Select Aligned.

Example of Aligned

Aligned needs to be tried out, in order to understand what it does.

Here's a word example to get you started.

Let's say the source photograph has:

On top	A mountain
In the middle	A village on the far shore of a lake
On the bottom	A lake

Aligned Is Selected

When Aligned is selected, the entire source photograph is pasted.

Here's what happens when you brush on the destination photograph.

When you brush on the top, the . . .	. . . mountain appears.
When you brush in the middle, the . . .	. . . village appears.
When you brush on the bottom, the . . .	. . . lake appears.

Aligned Is Not Selected

When Aligned isn't selected, the center of the source photograph is the "paint" on the brush.

If you click and hold, and brush away, you'll see the source photograph emerge.

The village appears, and then the rest of the photograph.

But—if you release the mouse button—and then brush some more—the source photograph is once again centered as the paint on the brush.

If you brush on the top of the source photograph, the village appears.

If you release the mouse button, and then brush on the bottom, the village appears.

When you brush on the top, the . . .	. . . village appears.
When you brush on the middle*, the . . .	. . . village appears.
When you brush on the bottom*, the . . .	. . .village appears.

* After releasing the mouse button

Go to Aligned on the options bar.

More Patterns

You can find patterns and pattern libraries online.

Here's the Google search for photoshop-elements+free+patterns.