Healing brush smearing

[Homerus]

Hi,

I've been using Affinity Photo for a few years now and I really like it, however I still struggle with the healing brush tool. In most cases when I try to use around the edges of an object it "smears" (see images). 

Is there a way to do this properly or will this ever be fixed? Due to time constraints I'm now forced to go back to Photoshop again...

   

[GarryP]

Since we don’t know what you started with it’s difficult to know what’s happened.
If you show us a ‘before’ image, and an ‘after’ image, with a full-screen screenshot showing the Healing Brush Tool settings you used, then someone can probably help.

[Homerus]

Hi Garry, the pictures provided are the before and after images (the cross in the second picture is the source of the healing brush). As I said I'm trying to use it around an object, in this case a red blob, but there is noticealbe smearing in the second picture. I'm using the standard settings, but it seems to try to "blend" the colors of the source and the space I want to replace (see picture). No matter what option I use I get this smearing. 

 

[GarryP]

I don’t often use the Healing Brush Tool myself, and when I do I’m probably not using it as well as I could, so I’m not the best person to advise.
Using the “standard settings” could be the cause of the problem but I don’t know what you should change those settings to.
Hopefully one (or more) of the experts in this area will see this and give you some good advice.
P.S. There’s a chance that you could be using the wrong brush if you are trying to “blend” things so, in the meantime, you could try other brushes.

[Dan C]

Hi @Homerus,

1 hour ago, Homerus said:

I'm using the standard settings, but it seems to try to "blend" the colors of the source and the space I want to replace (see picture).

From your description, the tool is working as intended, the following is taken from the helpfile -

Quote

The Healing Brush Tool paints samples from one part of an image onto another. It's useful for removing defects and for general photo retouching. In many respects it works like the cloning, however, it blends the target pixels with the sample pixels by matching the texture, tone, and transparency of the sample pixels with the target pixels.

If you're wanting to copy parts of your image without this blending, then I recommend using the Clone Brush Tool with a reduced Hardness setting to avoid obvious edges on your cloning.

I hope this helps

[Homerus]

Right, I guess I always used the healing patch tool in Photoshop in a "clone" setting (replace), that's why I missed it in Affinity Photo 😅

 

Thanks Dan!