Mend can solve innumerable problems in images by helping you adjust corrections to fit into a target. The following example should act as both a tutorial for those who have purchased the tool, and a demonstration for those who want to see what Mend can do. The example assumes that those following along have already installed the Mend tool.

1.

Select an image to use for correction. The image pictured below can be downloaded from the US Army website by clicking the Sample Image link.

Coutesy US Army.

Note the glare on the cheek and the damage to the helmet (mostly scratches). Because of the contour it is difficult to find a simple replacement to clone that would work with the Clone Stamp alone.

2.

Zoom in to an area of the image that you want to correct. Lets start with the damage on the helmet in the upper left of the image (viewer's perspective). Zoom in far enough to see the damage, and a replacement area.

The area diagonal and up to the left can be used to Mend the scratch.

3.

Locate the Mend tool (it will be found on the Effects palette by selecting Mend from the drop list). Double-click Mend's Set-up icon. This will kick off an action that creates a new layer called Clone, and selects the Clone Stamp tool. Be sure the Clone Stamp is using the following settings and options:

• Normal Mode
• 100% Opacity
• Aligned (checked)
• Use All Layers (checked)

4.

Choose a brush size that will easily cover the damage at the widest point. Use the brush preview by rolling the tool over the image to check to see that the brush is large enough. The illustration below shows the proper sizing for this application. When you have selected a brush size, note the diameter as you use that during the action that applies the tool.

The brush easily covers the widest area of damage so it can cover in one pass.

5.

Sample the area that you will be cloning from. To do this, hold down the Option/Alt key and click directly over the area where you want to sample.

Sample from a clean area set the donor area of the image.

6.

Apply the tool in a single swipe to cover all the damage that you want to correct. To do this click over the damage (this sets the cloning angle), and continue to hold the mouse button down as you drag over the damage.

Click and drag to make the clone.

When you are finished with this step the clone need not match exactly, but the damage should be covered.

7.

With the clone sample in place, double-click Mend's Apply icon. This will kick off an action that run through a series of steps to compare the sample with the target area and effectively blend color and tone. Compare the image below with the one above.

The Mend tool adjusts the tone to the original area and applies the donor texture and color.

After the Apply finishes up, the image will have two layers above the background called Color and Tone. You can adjust these layers separately, if necessary, to make the Mend an even better fit to the image. The need for correction should be the exception rather than the rule if you are using the Mend tool correctly. Use Levels (command/Ctrl+L) and the center Output slider on the Tone layer and Hue/Saturation (Command/Ctrl+U) and the Hue and/or Saturation sliders on the Color layer. When you are satisfied with the corrections, press Command/Ctrl+E to flatten the layers and commit the change.

8.

Continue to make corrections to the image. In this example, you will note (above) that the sample angle actually ended up duplicating some damage during the clone. This area and several smaller spots were cleaned up using a single application of Mend, but sampling from different angles and applying various clones before clicking the Apply icon.

Additional applications can be done all at once to cover and correct the minor spots and damage.

After several more applications of Mend, you can do quite a bit of cleanup on the image that would be very difficult otherwise. The image below shows before and after with only a few minutes worth of work.

This image toggles between before and after correction. The helmet damage and reflection are both removed while remaining true to contour and color.

Mend will help you save hours of labor on corrections by helping you to make clean adjustments to damage. Get your copy for Elements for only $10 (buy Mend).

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