Carbon Copy

Click on the Carbon Copy Tool in the Tools Palette or press C on the keyboard to automatically select the tool and open its settings window. Firstly you can choose which ‘Type’ you want to use. The choices are Carbon Copy or Carbon Copy Blended.

• Carbon Copy - creates a cloning effect and is particularly useful when specific areas of a design have to be copied exactly, such as creating a duplicate of a motif but with a softer brush, or copying textured areas from one part of a design to another.
• Carbon Copy Blended - uses the same theory as above but applies extra softening and colour manipulation as you copy. Blended results are perfect for touching up imperfections in scanned images, like a pencil line or hair for example, without needing to rescan. To learn more about how to use this tool, please go to the Carbon Copy Tool: Blended mode article
  
   

Source points used by the Carbon Copy Tool

There are four modes to select from in the source pop up bar which control how where the tool will copy from as you use it.

• Relative - each brush stroke maintains the same distance and angle from its origin. The first click defines how far away you are copying from the start point. All subsequent clicks are made relative to this distance, so it doesn’t matter how many times you stop and start painting, it will still remember where you need to be to complete the information you are copying. 
• Fixed - each brush stroke starts from the original source point you made with ⌥ (option key). This allows you to make lots of copies of the same information very quickly, or copy small areas of texture into a another area within the design.
  
• Same - this setting can be used between two files where the destination is the same as the source. It is often used to correct areas that may have been lost while working on a design, by replacing the information from the original file. The information is copied using the same coordinates in the design to position it correctly. ‘Same’ can also be used within the same document to copy information from one layer to another, where they overprint. This is great for building up tone and texture.
• Crop Box - uses a crop box in another file to define the source point so that a chosen repeat area can be used to copy from. To see instructions for using this method, please see the article 'Putting scanned artwork into repeat'.
• Cross Size - changes the size of the red cross cursor that indicates the source point for the Carbon Copy Tool.
• Automatically hide source cross - ticking this option will hide the cross while you are painting, and can improve the performance of the Carbon Copy Tool when it is being used on Mac®s which have slower graphics cards.
  
   

Working in one document

1. Select a relevant mode from the Source popup menu.  When you are working within one document you can use Relative, Fixed and Same.
2. Hold down ⌥ (option key) - the cursor will change to a target icon. Click on the area you want to copy from. A red cross will appear at the chosen point on the design. The file name will appear in the settings window.
   
3. Begin painting in a new area of the design. As you start painting, the information from the source point will be copied to the new area. Change the size and transparency of the brush as you work to obtain the desired effect.

Copying between layers in the same file

1. If you need to copy information from directly under another layer, set your source point to Same.
2. Activate the layer that contains the information you want to copy, and set the source point by holding down ⌥ (option key) and clicking in the relevant area.
3. Activate the destination layer and begin painting. The information from the source layer will be copied into the same position on the destination layer.

Copying between two files

This technique works on the same principle as copying in one document.

1. Open two files and ensure that the layers or images you are copying from are active.
2. Set the Type to Carbon Copy and choose between Relative or Same modes. Hold down ⌥ (option key) and click on the area of the document you wish to copy from. The source file name will appear in the settings pane.
3. Click on the second file and start painting.

Copying from history

You can Carbon Copy part of a design from a particular stage in your history. The benefit of this is that you can selectively paint effects from an earlier version of the design to the latest version. This can be ideal for retouching or restoring images after applying filter effects for example, thus blending the old with the new.

To carbon copy from a step in history, follow the steps below;

1. Open the History Window from the Window Menu.
2. Identify the step you wish to copy back to, and click on the Carbon Copy icon to the left of the history step. The lock will be turned on automatically.
   
   
3. Select the Carbon Copy Tool and set the mode accordingly.
   
    

Note: If you select the ‘Same’ mode, you can only use it in the original file when carbon copying from a history item and not between two files.

1. Define the starting point of the Carbon Copy function. In the Carbon Copy settings window, the name of the history item will appear to highlight that you are painting from the history.
   
    
2. Start painting on your design and the information from the selected history step will replace the latest information in the areas you paint. In the example below, the image has been desaturated, and the carbon copy tool is being used to paint back some colour into specific areas.
   
3. To remove the carbon copy function from the history item, simply place your cursor over the carbon copy icon and click on it. The icon will disappear.
   
    

Note: After removing the carbon copy function from the history, the history item will remain locked. To unlock it, simply click on the padlock icon and it will also disappear. The Carbon Copy Tool will now work in the usual way again.

Carbon Copy Blended

The ‘Blend’ function is perfect for touching up scans prior to colour separation.  Ideal for removing blemishes and imperfections, Blended can be used with 5 different modes. Which one to use depends on the effect you want.

• Standard - uses the original Carbon Copy mode where information is directly replicated from its source point.
• Colour - takes the colour of the source point and blends it subtly into the detail of the target area (where you paint). This mode creates wonderful affects when used with the standard Carbon Copy mode.
• Intensity - gently combines the contrast levels from the source area into the target area.
• Hue - works best on areas which contain similar hues and is a great way of subtly changing the colour of areas within you design with changing its physical structure.
• Saturation - takes the saturation level from the source point and copies it to the target area. This is a brilliant way of bringing balance to the overall look and feel of a design.

The video below demonstrates how each mode works best.

Stamp Brush

The Stamp Brush Tool allows engravers and designers to quickly develop and enhance textures and designs. Selecting motifs is very simple. Similar to the Carbon Copy Tool, you hold down ⌥ (option key) to select the area you want to stamp throughout your design. Selections can be made in rectangles, ovals and by using a lasso, and once a selection has been made, the selected motif can be resized using the 1 and 2 keys, and rotated as you work using the 3 and 4 keys. Each click of the 3 and 4 keys rotates the angle by 1º. All resizing and changes made to the angle of the stamp can be reset by pressing 0 on your keyboard.

For anyone who is left handed, the [ and ] keys can be used to resize the motif, and the left and right arrow keys can be used to rotate.

• Drag from centre - your selections will be drawn from their centre point as opposed to the top left.
• Snap to selection - snaps your selection to the content within the selection. This option is on by default.
• Set Source From Current Selection - sets any existing selection in the document as your stamp motif.
• Current brush - will use your currently selected brush as the stamp

The movie below shows you everything you need to know.

Automation

The Carbon Copy Tool has many settings, and switching between them can be take up valuable time when editing designs. To speed up your workflow, use a Palette to store your frequently used settings, which can then be recalled at the click of a button.

1. Open a new Palette from File > New > Palette.
2. Select the Carbon Copy Tool from the Tools Palette.
3. Choose the settings you frequently use from the settings pane.
   
   
   
    
4. Drag the settings handler from the settings window to the Custom Palette you opened in Step 1.
   
   
   Your Palette will now look like this.
   
   
   
    
5. Option click on the button to rename it to something more descriptive.
   
   
   
    
6. Select another frequently used setting, and repeat Steps 4 and 5. Your Palette will now look something like this;
   
   
   From now on, you can quickly switch between these settings by clicking on the appropriate buttons.