Perhaps no editing tool is ubiquitous than the Clone Stamp. It has been around for decades now, and its uses and versatility are nearly infinite. And yet, we have seen an explosion of ultra-advanced AI-powered editing tools in recent months, which leads to the question: is the Clone Stamp finally obsolete? This interesting video essay discusses the topic while looking at some of those new AI tools.
Coming to you from Alister Benn of Expressive Photography, this insightful video discusses Photoshop's new AI-powered tools and if they spell the end of the Clone Stamp. Despite all the advancements over the years, I have generally relied on the Clone Stamp for the majority of my retouching, as it gave me a level of control not possible otherwise, and I could use it to get around most of the issues presented by other tools, such as dealing with repeating patterns in fabrics. That being said, situations such as that could be rather tedious. As I recently learned in an experiment, Generative Fill is the first automated tool I can trust to handle those trickier situations convincingly. It handily extended an intricately woven sweater for me, something that would have take about 15 minutes in the past. Call me impressed. While I haven't totally moved on from the Clone Stamp, I'm certainly using it less. Check out the video above for Benn's full thoughts.
Can we erase this guy? This is a major click bait.
The clone tool is still needed and won't go away. Despite choosing a camouflaged type of subject and turning it into black and white, this guy can't even see the pattern AI did in his video at 7:47. AI won't help you with selections or layers and forget about sharp details when cloning this way. More tools, more options.
I'd say, over 90% of what I used to do with Spot Heal, Healing Brush, and Clone Stamp, I do with the Remove tool. Moreover, 100% of what I did with the Spot Heal, is now done with the Remove tool. I may use Heal and Clone Stamp to maybe blend things a little smoother.
there's still a use for the clone tool. more tools in your arsenal make the jobs easier. the need for the clone stamp tool has been lessened (I do prefer Remove) but there are situations where it's just easier and faster with clone stamping...