Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual

Applying Patterns

In addition to solid colors, Elements lets you add patterns to your images, too. Quite a few patterns come with Elements, and you can download more from online sources (see Free Stuff from the Internet) or create your own. You can use patterns to add interesting designs to your images, or to give more realistic textures to certain repairs.

You can use either the Healing brush or the Pattern Stamp to apply patterns. The Healing brush has a pattern option in the Options bar. The Pattern Stamp shares a Toolbox slot with the Clone Stamp, and it works very much like the Clone Stamp, but puts down a preselected pattern instead of a sampled area.

TROUBLESHOOTING MOMENT: Keeping the Clone Stamp Under Control

The Clone Stamp is a great tool, but it sometimes has a mind of its own.

If you suddenly see spots of a different shade appearing as you clone, take a look at the Options bar's Aligned box. It has a tendency to insist on staying turned on, and even if you turn it off, it can turn itself back on.

Once in a great while, the Clone Stamp just won't reset itself when you try to select a new sampling point. Try clicking the tiny down arrow on the left end of the Options bar and choosing the Reset Tool option, as shown in Figure 9-6. If that doesn't work, exit the Editor and restart it (go to the Welcome window to restart it, if necessary) and delete Elements' preferences file. Here's how: hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift immediately after launching the Editor. You get a dialog box asking ...