Clean-up: removing unwanted objects

[Bobbie Gee]

I don't know if I am over stepping the rules, by asking a complicated question:

I am using Affinity Photo for Beginners to learn the process.  The instructor uses the Inpainting brush tool to remove objects from images.  However, it isn't working for my needs.  Perhaps I am asking too much from the tool to remove the milkshake cup from my image.  Please advise.

[wonderings]

You can ask your most difficult questions on the forum, no rules against it. Lots of knowledgable people here who I am sure will be able to help you out. I tried using the inpainting brush, but think it is a bit to complicated for that tool. Not a power user of the software so no solutions for you. The easy way in photoshop is using generative AI, but unfortunately Affinity does not have this now/yet. This is literally a 1 minute job with AI, and that includes opening the app. 

[carl123]

Unfortunately, when removing the milkshake, I accidentally spilt it all over the guy's shirt, which didn't look too good, so I had to get him another one.

 

 

 

 

[Ldina]

@Bobbie Gee I used mainly the Clone/Stamp Tool (shortcut "K") on a new pixel layer, setting it to Current Layer and below. The Inpainting tool is great, but it picked up too many surrounding areas in this image. I did numerous sample points with the clone tool, over and over, to paint out the straw and cup. The Right and Left Arrow Keys come in handy because they allow you to rotate what you selected with the Clone Brush Tool before applying it (you can see a live view before applying it).

That left it a bit blotchy, so I used the Healing Brush tool to clean up the transitions after I was done cloning. I didn't bother finishing it because the purpose was to share how it could be done. It came out fairly well, except I didn't have much of anything for the button-down area of the central character's shirt. You could clone that from another image if you have one, or try to reconstruct it from other portions of his shirt collar.

Remove Cup and Straw.afphoto

[Bobbie Gee]

Wow!  Thank you so much for the lesson.  Yes, I will work with it and apply your techniques.  It is a family picture, and I really want to be able to use the photo.

[Ldina]

You're welcome. They man in the middle looks a bit like Dick Vitale (basketball sports commentator).

You'll probably need to sample representative points over and over again. Brush hardness makes a difference, so experiment with that. 100% hard clone brush will leave noticeable hard edges, and a 0% hardness tends to cause a lot of blurriness and loss of detail. Try something in the middle, maybe 50-80%. I used the clone brush to do the major reconstruction, then used the Healing Brush (or the InPainting Brush) for cleanup.

 If you Clone/Heal/InPaint on a new pixel layer (non-destructively), you will leave your original intact and unmodified, so you can start again if needed. Good luck.

[Alfred]

9 minutes ago, wonderings said:

I tried using the inpainting brush, but think it is a bit to complicated for that tool.

One major thing missing from the Inpainting Brush Tool is the ability to restrict the source of the pixels used. In a case like the one currently under discussion, it would obviously be really useful to be able to ignore the people on either side of the guy whose torso is partially obscured by the milkshake cup 

[NotMyFault]

2 minutes ago, Alfred said:

One major thing missing from the Inpainting Brush Tool is the ability to restrict the source of the pixels used. In a case like the one currently under discussion, it would obviously be really useful to be able to ignore the people on either side of the guy whose torso is partially obscured by the milkshake cup 

absolutely. I often deconstruct the source layers, make a copy and delete unwanted parts. But pinpointing dies not handle semitransparent areas well and occasionally creates semitransparent results.

Prefer to work with patch tool where you manually select source areas with much more control. Patch tool does the otherwise impossible job of color/lightness blending.