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Known Participant
May 23, 2011
Open for Voting

P: Image Hose - Extend Clone Stamp tool

  • May 23, 2011
  • 70 replies
  • 3218 views

Nearly all other serious digital paint programs have some kind of randomized image "stamp" feature (Painter calls it Image Hose). This is seriously lacking in Photoshop. I can see a very sooth implementation by extending the Clone Stamp tool. You already have multiple clone sources - in its simplest implementation, it should be fairly straightforward to allow the user to define multiple clone sources and then randomize which one is being used each time the brush is "stamped" onto the layer. Add angle and size jitter and other randomization features like we find in the brushes palette and we're off to the races.

A better user experience would be to define "stamp sets". This would require a new palette which would open into a kind of "tree view". For each Stamp Set you could add multiple pixel-based images, similar to the way you define brush presets. Their thumbnails would then be visible, indented under the Stamp Set in the "tree view".

When a particular Stamp Set is selected, you have your jitter controls and other behavioural controls which get saved with that stamp set. Stamp sets can be saved like Brushes and other Preset Manager items. You could even offer a nice automation tool for importing a sequence of PSDs into a single stamp set.

You could extend this even further by exposing the same Layer Effects to your Stamp Sets. Unlike a layer effect, which applies, for example, a Drop Shadow to all the pixels of the layer at once; the Stamp Set effects would apply the effect(s) to each instance of a stamp. As an example, the difference would be that if you apply a drop shadow to your Stamp Set, if you stamped one item over top of another, its drop shadow would overlap the previous item, whereas if you just applied the Drop Shadow to the entire layer, there would be no "depth" between two "stamp" instances on the same layer.

Note that I'm not suggesting that each instance of a stamp would be an editable object or a smart object instance. Just like when you use the Brush tool, the results are "merged" into the active layer's pixels more-or-less instantly (or at least, once the mouse button is released to terminate the brush stroke).

70 replies

Inspiring
November 24, 2015
Would also really like this idea being implemented - an RGBa brush system in Photoshop with the ability to apply Brush Panel controls such as scatter and shape dynamics. Combined with some way to select multiple different tip presets and randomly alternate between them as you paint.

Closest thing I've found at the moment is the Deco Fill command, but it lacks the ability to sample multiple pattern presets.

I've tried doing this with scripting and pasting different images from an array of images stored in a folder and it almost broke Photoshop !
Inspiring
November 23, 2015


I have been hoping for 7+ years that Photoshop would add a randomized brush tip feature. Similar to paintshop's picture tube, this new brush option would be able to solve repetitive and tedious processes, such as grass, leaves, map features like mountains, tangled hair, etc. Secondly, this would be able to create many other interesting and unique brush techniques that would normally take hours to make. The brush would work as follows: a button in the brush panel will permit a brush timeline to be created; and series of panels with a slider will replace the brush shape image and the panel window will widen to accommodate the space; images can be loaded or painted to create custom brushes. Opening a new project window when selected; a time slider will appear on the bottom so the brush tips can be compared and tweaked; within the brush panel; there are options for random and sequential actions for the brush. I believe this tool is long overdue, and will be one of the best improvements to the brush tool that can now be done.
Known Participant
October 13, 2015
totally. If you have other workflows you would like to share, please post back here in a comment and let us know what's working for you!
romantic_image0D4D
Participant
October 13, 2015
This is what I am waiting for since years and years, a tool like the Painter one, why Adobe doesn't integrate it to new versions of Photoshop?
Please please please!!!!!!
Participating Frequently
October 13, 2015
I just incorporated other programs into my work flow. I will never stop using photoshop, but they are not the only game in town anymore. easier to learn something new than keep barking up this tree. sorry.
Known Participant
October 13, 2015
Brandon, it's time to come back and keep this feature request alive, by voting and promoting it to your social networks!
Known Participant
October 13, 2015
Be sure to vote and promote this topic in your social networks.
Known Participant
October 13, 2015
Hi Samy, welcome to the Image Hose thread. Please help give this request visibility in your Social Networks by sharing the link and encouraging your network to vote.

Higher votes on this topic (scroll to the top and vote, yourself!) will increase the likelihood of the Adobe Team seeing this feature request and maybe including it on their roadmap some day.

Thanks!

Tom
Known Participant
October 13, 2015
Totally. The key is that, unlike the current Brushes, which are only greyscale, this brush would "stamp" the full RGB pixel information to the canvas, similarly to how the Clone tool currently works. I think, though, that the real value (as we have seen in other software packages that do this) is when you can create a multi-brush "sheet", where you can define multiple "stamps" and then every time the image is stamped down, it selects from one of those multiple "stamps".

Imagine a "sheet" of leaves - instead of just stamping multiple copies of the same leaf, you have defined a "set" of multiple leaves. As you draw, a different leaf is selected each time, so you get a more "natural" collection of leaves on your canvas.
Participating Frequently
October 12, 2015
Actually, you should be able to pick up any selection on the canvas to use as a temporary brush. Just like Clone Stamp. Make a selction, hit a button and paint with it like a brush. Then apply the usual brush parameters in the brush panel if desired. Sounds like a no-brainer, no?