PainShop Pro 9 - Healing Tools

Author

Healing Tools

Jan Shim

2007-05-15, 10:18 pm

I work with a couple of professional photographers both using Photoshop CS2
and the one thing that caught my attention is the Healing Tools. I was
perfectly using PSP 9 for a very long time and even after seeing what PSP X
and XI's and experiencing unusual lag when loading images I decided to
persevere with 9. CS' Healing tools are so effective when cleaning up
portraits and I am talking about the one where you select the problem area,
drag it over to another area and it automatically gets resampled - too easy!
I'm wondering if there's a compatible plug-in that does the same?

One can argue that PSP's clone tool produces similar results but with a bit
of a learning curve and I have been using that except I'd like to save some
time using something that employs a more sophisticated resampling algorithms
than what my eyes and limited expertise can manage.

Jan
www.janshim.com

Spandex Rutabaga

2007-05-16, 3:17 am

Jan Shim wrote:
>
> I work with a couple of professional photographers both using Photoshop CS2
> and the one thing that caught my attention is the Healing Tools.

Yes, the healing brush is a very useful and powerful thing.

> I was
> perfectly using PSP 9 for a very long time and even after seeing what PSP X
> and XI's and experiencing unusual lag when loading images I decided to
> persevere with 9. CS' Healing tools are so effective when cleaning up
> portraits and I am talking about the one where you select the problem area,
> drag it over to another area and it automatically gets resampled - too easy!
> I'm wondering if there's a compatible plug-in that does the same?

There is this http://akvis.com/en/stamp/index.php. I have not
used it and I don't know if it does anything like as good a
job as PS. However, there is a limited time demo you can try
so you can decide if it meets your needs.

> One can argue that PSP's clone tool produces similar results

Once can't argue that and be correct I'm afraid. The PS healing
brush maintains the large scale color variation in your image
(i.e. comparable in size to the brush impression) but replaces
the small scale structure under the brush with the small scale
structure extracted from the healing source. Nothing in PSP
can do that.

> but with a bit
> of a learning curve and I have been using that except I'd like to save some
> time using something that employs a more sophisticated resampling algorithms
> than what my eyes and limited expertise can manage.

The sophistication isn't in resampling algorithms. It's in
separation of detail at different scales and in blending that
detail in a natural way (and also one that avoids clipping of
colors). Resampling may, however, be part of that process.

JoeB

2007-05-16, 10:17 pm

"Jan Shim" <janshim@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote in news:4648fb61_3@cnews:

>
> I work with a couple of professional photographers both using
> Photoshop CS2 and the one thing that caught my attention is the
> Healing Tools. I was perfectly using PSP 9 for a very long time and
> even after seeing what PSP X and XI's and experiencing unusual lag
> when loading images I decided to persevere with 9. CS' Healing tools
> are so effective when cleaning up portraits and I am talking about
the
> one where you select the problem area, drag it over to another area
> and it automatically gets resampled - too easy! I'm wondering if
> there's a compatible plug-in that does the same?
>
> One can argue that PSP's clone tool produces similar results but
with
> a bit of a learning curve and I have been using that except I'd like
> to save some time using something that employs a more sophisticated
> resampling algorithms than what my eyes and limited expertise can
> manage.
>
>
> Jan
> www.janshim.com

I have tried the Akvis Stamp plugin to which Spandex directed you, and
my testing of it (and as I have CS2 I was able to compare) indicated
to me that Akvis does the job just as well (or within a tolerence that
wouldn't be noticeable to the average viewer) as the Healing Tool in
Photoshop. By that I mean that it both requires similar user
operations and it provides similar results when blending - to the
extent that it makes me wonder if at least some people involved in the
creation of one tool were also involved in the creation the other.

The only issue I'd mention is that the Photoshop tool can be more
convenient than Akvis can in Paint Shop Pro. This is only because, in
Photoshop, you can start by adding a new layer, then with the Healing
Brush do your sample merged, then clone it on the layer in a
completely different part of the image and it will blend with the
background of wherever you clone. But you can be kind of sloppy about
creating your clone because, being on a separate layer, you can later
erase stuff from the clone, and adjust the softness, etc., of the
eraser, to get rid of the sloppy extra stuff to make the blend look
better, and adjust layer opacity, blend modes, etc.

Using Akvis in PSP, you do you cloning in the Akvis window. In Edit
mode it allows you to erase stuff, but you don't see how it blends
into the image you finalize/apply your clone.

The workaround in PSP, however (which I didn't try but can't imagine
why it won't work), would be to first duplicate your image in PSP,
then start Akvis. Then do your Clone in Akvis, then finalize that.
Now back in PSP, copy the Akvis image and paste as new layer into your
original. Now you can do a rough selection to remove most of the
stuff you don't need from that layer, and then use the PSP eraser and
layer blending modes the same way you would have done in Photoshop.

As I said, it's not as convenient as the native Healing Tool but with
a few extra steps should work just as well in PSP. And at $50.00
rather than the price of Photoshop, if it's a feature you could make
good use of then I would say the Akvis Stamp plugin will likely do the
job for you.

Regards,

JoeB

Spandex Rutabaga

2007-05-18, 10:17 pm

JoeB wrote:

> I have tried the Akvis Stamp plugin to which Spandex directed you, and
> my testing of it (and as I have CS2 I was able to compare) indicated
> to me that Akvis does the job just as well (or within a tolerence that
> wouldn't be noticeable to the average viewer) as the Healing Tool in
> Photoshop. By that I mean that it both requires similar user
> operations and it provides similar results when blending - to the
> extent that it makes me wonder if at least some people involved in the
> creation of one tool were also involved in the creation the other.

That's funny. It makes me think something else, namely that
someone simply reverse engineered the thing or just copied
the Adobe patent. Neither of us knows if we are correct, do
we? :) There is, however, more than one way to skin this cat
and produce similar results. Thus seeing similar results may
not be very significant, especially if you don't test special
cases such as those which transfer multicolored texture into
regions with completely different colors or situations that
can lead to clipping of colors.

JoeB

2007-05-19, 3:17 am

Spandex Rutabaga <SpRu@agabatur.xednaps> wrote in
news:464E3DBB.A0032BBB@agabatur.xednaps:

>
> JoeB wrote:
>
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>
> That's funny. It makes me think something else, namely that
> someone simply reverse engineered the thing or just copied
> the Adobe patent. Neither of us knows if we are correct, do
> we? :) There is, however, more than one way to skin this cat
> and produce similar results. Thus seeing similar results may
> not be very significant, especially if you don't test special
> cases such as those which transfer multicolored texture into
> regions with completely different colors or situations that
> can lead to clipping of colors.
>

Gotta admit that my testing could not, in any sense, be considered in-
depth or very extensive, so you likely have a good point. While I do
like checking stuff like this out (and it's even more time consuming
for me 'cause I don't use CS2 for anything but saving other people's
PSD stuff in a format I can import and use in PSP to complete a
project), it was even a stretch to try out the Healing Brush.

But I'll take your hint to heart and, when future time permits, I'll
likely test situations like the one you mentioned. In the meantime,
the original post put me in touch with the CS2 Healing Brush, which I
now have at least now have some minor experience with and which I may
now be able to use in my workflow.

It never hurts to learn a bit more :-)

Regards,

JoeB

Spandex Rutabaga

2007-05-19, 3:17 am

JoeB wrote:

> the original post put me in touch with the CS2 Healing Brush, which I
> now have at least now have some minor experience with and which I may
> now be able to use in my workflow.
>
> It never hurts to learn a bit more :-)

Especially not here. The healing brush is an exceptionally useful
tool.