Tutorial: AKVIS Retoucher

Toolbar

The Toolbar contains a group of tools used to select and retouch images. A tool's parameters can be adjusted in the Settings Panel, or in a pop up window, which appears after bringing the cursor into the image window and clicking the right mouse button.

To draw a straight line, select a starting point by clicking the left mouse button, then, while holding down Shift, drag the cursor with the mouse to a new location on the image, click the left mouse button again and release Shift. If Shift is not released, a new line will be drawn to each point where the left mouse button is clicked.

The tools are divided into four sets. Different tools are visible, depending on the workspace mode Express/Advanced chosen.

Selection Tools:

• The Selection Brush is used to highlight areas and details that need to be retouched. The transparency of lines made with the brush can be changed in the Preferences dialog. Press B to quickly access this tool.

  If the Keep Exclusion Area is activated, the brush can not draw in excluded areas.

• The Exclusion Tool is used to protect areas. Parts of the image marked by this tool will be excluded from the area used for calculation. You can use this tool to mark areas adjacent to a selection to prevent them from being cloned.

  If the Keep Selection check box is activated, the tool can not draw in selected areas.

  Original Image	Selection
  Area to be excluded is marked	Area is excluded from reconstruction
  Result without using the exclusion tool	Result when exclusion tool is used

• The Eraser erases lines. Press E to quickly access this tool. The following modes can be selected:

  - erase all lines;
  - erase only selection area;
  - erase only exclusion area.

• The Selection Bucket fills an area outlined with the Selection Brush (useful for selecting large areas).
• The Magic Wand selects all pixels of the same color. When the value of Tolerance is increased, more colors are included in the selected area.

  If the Contiguous Mode check box is activated, only adjacent pixels of the same color are selected. If it is deactivated, all pixels the same color throughout the image will be selected. This tool is useful for selecting one color objects, text, etc.

Manual Processing Tools:

• Linear Retouch allows you to restore the background in a specified direction: for example, to align the junction of areas or preserve the smooth edges of an object. Lines should be drawn as long as possible, into the red zone or across it.

  Parameters:

  Gradient. If this check-box is activated, areas between the beginning and the end of the line will be restored evenly, with a smooth transition between one part of the image and another. If this is not the result you want, deactivate the check box.

  Original Image	Linear Retouch (Smooth Transition)
  Restoration from left to right ('Gradient' Check Box Not Activated)	Restoration from right to left ('Gradient' Check Box Not Activated)

  Zone of Influence affects the width of the area which is restored. The higher the value, the wider the restored area will be.

  Original Image	Selection	Result without Linear Retouch
  Zone of Influence = 2	Zone of Influence = 8	Result using Linear Retouch

  Search Distance affects the size of the area from which fragments are taken, which are used to restore along a line. A large value increases processing time and may lead to the capture of unwanted fragments.

  Original Image	Selection
  Search Distance = 1	Search Distance = 5
  Result without Linear Retouch	Result with Linear Retouch

• Patch restores by copying similar square fragments from other parts of the image. To apply a patch, bring the cursor over the appropriate area, hold down the left mouse button, then drag the clone into the red area.

  Parameters:

  Patch Size affects the size of the patch used in restoration.

  Patch Size = 15	Patch Size = 50

• Local Run is used to process selected areas of the image individually. Processing begins by clicking on a selected area. You can focus more clearly on individual selections, fine-tuning the parameters to restore each selection more effectively. Press L to quickly access this tool.

Post-Processing Tools (available for Home Deluxe and Business licenses):

• Spot Remover removes small imperfections on an image: stains, dust, etc. You can also use it to retouch portraits, it looks like it "heals" skin problems. Just click with the tool on the defect. Press O to quickly access this tool.
• Clone Stamp copies parts of an image from one area to another while preserving the cloned area's original color palette, shadows, textures, lighting, and other characteristics. Press S to quickly access this tool.
• Chameleon Brush copies parts of an image from one area to another, while taking into account the color palette, shadows, textures, lighting, and other characteristics of the background, onto which the clone is placed. Unlike the Clone Stamp, this tool preserves the texture of the image. Press H to quickly access this tool.

You can change the Size of the tools. For Clone Stamp and Chameleon Brush you can also select the cloning method (Aligned on/off).

Also, for Clone Stamp it's possible to adjust Hardness (blurriness of the fragment's edges) and to mirror a clone horizontally and/or vertically:

Activating the Flip Horizontal check-box allows a clone to be mirrored along the standing axis, i.e. interchanging the left and right sides.

Activating the Flip Vertical check-box mirrors a clone by turning the image upside down.

How to work with Clone Stamp and Chameleon Brush:

Select an area to be cloned by holding down Alt on Windows or Option on Macintosh.

To remove a part of the clone, press the Ctrl-key on the keyboard ( on Macintosh) and, keeping it pressed, draw over the area.

Additional Tools:

• This button activates the Hand tool, which allows you to scroll the image when it does not fit within Image Window at the desired scale. To use it click on the button, bring the cursor over the image, and while keeping the left mouse button pressed move in the desired direction.
• This button activates the Zoom tool, which changes the image's scale. To zoom in left click on the image. To zoom out right click on the image. Press Z to quickly access this tool.

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