This makes it easy to see that I have some problems. Now, you might notice there, that I made an unwanted adjustment, so let's undo for a second and go back into quick mask mode. And darken them down a little and click okay. Just to desaturate those a little bit, so they don't stand out as much, as that yellow building does. And now, just the other parts of the building are selected, giving me the ability to modify those. Holding down the option key, I can remove parts of the sky. That works out well, and I'll grab one of my tools here, in this case the paint selection tool, and I want to subtract. Now I've selected everything outside of the building front. This allows you to quickly change things. Remember, as well, it's quite useful with the ability to simply invert a selection. And what I wanna do here, is modify this, putting more saturation in the front. The size command will expand or contract, as needed. This'll put you back in the quick mask mode temporarily, but gives you the easy controls to feather that edge, for a softer transition, as well as smooth out any bumps in your selection, if there's jagged edges. Additionally, with your active selection, you can click and choose to refine that selection. (mouse clicks) You'll see that it becomes an active selection. Let's hold down the shift key, and draw that line. Working in quick mask mode here, is a great way to be precise. And you can use that to refine that edge there, so it's more accurate. Holding down the shift key, as you click with the paintbrush, is a great way to paint a straight line. This allows me to fill in any problem areas. In quick mask mode here, I can grab a paintbrush tool, zoom in a little bit with command plus, and simply paint, using black, I can add to that mask. After this, you can always choose to refine things a bit. So, if I choose to edit and quick mask mode, I get a pretty good idea of what's selected. Once I make my initial selection here, it may also be helpful to visualize that. This'll ensure that we have a gentler transition. If I grab the polygonal lasso and, I click here, on the menu, we can work with smooth edges. For this one, I'd like to show you a couple of options. Let's open up this one here called, refining a selection, and take that fullscreen. For best results, don’t be afraid to experiment with other tools.- You have a couple different ways to refine a selection, you can set an initial refinement before you start, or make a change afterwards. It all depends on how badly damaged the original image is. Sometimes, you might need to use selections, image adjustments or different tools. Your own images might look different, but the basic tools for restoring images are the Repair Tool and the Clone Stamp Tool. Experiment with the sliders until you are happy with the look. In the Effects Browser (View > Show Effects Browser), double-click the Soften thumbnail to apply the effect. Duplicate the “Restored” layer by choosing Edit > Duplicate. Select a soft, mid-sized brush and paint over the area to blur.Īdd some final touches. The Blur Tool helps to smooth pixels that are really small and scattered. Experiment with the brush size to heal areas smoothly. To repair these complicated scratches, use the Repair Tool again. It’s always a good idea to zoom in to view the image in detail. If you need more help using the Clone Stamp Tool, click here. To cover areas seamlessly, use a soft-edged brush. The Clone Stamp Tool is perfect for covering larger areas, such as the torn paper in this tutorial. If you need more help using the Repair Tool, click here. Use a hard-edged brush for better results. Click to select the Repair Tool and paint the area you want to heal. The Repair Tool is great for repairing small spots and areas. Choose Edit > Duplicate and name the new layer “Restored.” Layers, the Repair Tool, the Clone Stamp Tool, the Blur Tool and the Soften effect are used in this tutorial.ĭuplicate the Background Layer to apply changes non-destructively. With Pixelmator’s Repair Tool and Clone Stamp Tool, it’s easier than ever. Restore your old family photos to keep them for future generations.