Those new to the wonders of Photoshop absolutely fall in love with the handy, dandy Clonestamp tool. And why shouldn’t they? It’s simply a blast to remove people from photographs, fixing up damaged photographs or just having a grand old time adding bits and filling things in. In short, the Clone tool is an amazing tool to have for Photoshop newbies and veterans alike. It’s also fantastic for retouchers. So, how does this thing work?

The Clone Stamp tool samples pixels from one area of an image and copies them to another part of the image. You use your brush to actually “paint” areas using another area you have set to be “cloned.” The tool allows usage of any brush tip or shape, which allows for very precise control over both manipulated areas. You can also sample from one image and apply the clone in another image, so long as both reside in the same color mode.

Look at the sample image below. We are going to remove the butterfly from the background. The results will be the same with any image and object you choose.

1. Open up your image in Photoshop.

2. Select the Clone Stamp tool ().

3. On the tool options bar, open the Brush pop-up palette and select a medium-sized brush with a medium-soft edge. For this example, we’ll set the brush diameter to 200 pixels and the hardness to 50%. It’s a good idea to use a soft-edge brush, otherwise you will see a very hard line where the cloning takes place. You want it to seem as natural as possible, after all.

4. Make sure that the Aligned option is selected.

Now set a sample point in the area you want to duplicate and clone to the next area. When you select Aligned in the options bar, it means you will reuse the most current sampling point no matter how often you stop and resume painting. This is important because if it is not checked, then you’ll end up reusing the same pixels every time you paint.

5. Move the Clone Stamp tool pointer to the dark area on the left side of the butterfly. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and the pointer becomes a set of cross-hairs. Click once to set that point as your sampling point. Release the Alt or Option key. Easy peasy.

6. Click and drag the Clone Stamp tool over a small area of the butterfly’s wing. As you drag the cursor, the wing will start to disappear as it is replaced with the pixels you’re sampling from. The cross-hairs that appear to the right of the Clone Stamp tool indicate the source area of the image that you are replicating as you drag. It may sound complicated but once you get to this step it will make perfect sense.

7. Release the mouse button and move the pointer to another part of the butterfly wing. The cross-hairs will maintain the same spatial relationship to the Clone Stamp tool pointer that it had when you made the first stroke. This is the beauty of clicking on the aligned option at the beginning of the process. You did do that, right?

8. You can reset the sample area anytime by performing this procedure. Simply hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key and click once. You will need to do this several times to completely remove the butterfly. Don’t forget to re-size your brush as you go. Keep cloning until you have removed the side of the butterfly on the dark side of the moon tar macadam.

9. Reset the sample point and do the same thing as before on the white side until you have cloned “out” the rest of the butterfly. To finish the area where the butterfly sat, take samples above and below.

That’s it! Not so hard right? Don’t be afraid to keep re-sampling as you go on. And don’t worry. As you clone more and more, the shortcuts will begin to become second nature. Eventually it will be like riding a bike. Below, feast your eyes on the finished product.

The following list are sets of great websites that you can easily clip cool color gradients from. Most of the research was done using DeviantArt so alongside each link there will also be a link to the user’s profile. You never know when they might make something else interesting.

Also, be choosy. Don’t just go around downloading gradient sets hully gully. Take your time to find the best ones. Your design will thank you for it. Without further adieu, 36 great color gradient sets:

LadyOak

LadyOak features 67  free gradient sets for Photoshop. You’ll have to register though.

Ultimate Web 2.0 Gradients

File these gradients under “oldies but goodies.” Useful and quick pre-made gradients.

Official Adobe Website – Gradient Section

The one. The only. The official. A handy set of free gradients by the company that started it all. It’s all organized to make it easiest for the users so have at it.

BrushesDownload

This site features hundreds of free gradient sets, in addition to brushes, icons and more. A really great discovery.

Free Photoshop : Free Photoshop Gradients

17 very good gradients can be found here. They support Photoshop (R) CS 3, CS 2, CS 7, 6 and Photoshop (R) Elements 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, PC + MAC OS X.  There are also free styles, brushes, shapes, plugins here.

1000 Free Gradients – Web 2.0 Gradients

It is what it sounds like. 1000 free gradients. Knock yourself out

Free4Photoshop – Free Photoshop Gradients

This site features nine free sets with 30 gradients each.

BioRust – Photoshop Gradients

Biorust is another site that commands registration but it is worth it. The website also offers free fonts, actions, shapes, patterns, website templates – be sure to check them out too in download section.

Gradient Image Maker

DeviantArt sets:

BOLD gradient pack by Kip0130

Shattereds Gradients by shattereddesigns07

Gold gradient by ademmm

Apple Gradients by mppagano

Soft gradient by ademmm

4 gradients by Kip0130

MP: Underwater Gradients by millepetit

50 Golden Metal Gradients by Adoralyna

Web 2.0 Photoshop gradients by verbaska

Emerald Dragon Ps Gradients by ElvenSword

Landscape Ps Gradients by ElvenSword

Ocean Breeze Psp Gradients by ElvenSword

Chic Sparkles by ElvenSword

Vintage Photoshop Gradients by ElvenSword

Heritage Platinum Ps Gradients by ElvenSword

AKLPs Gradient Pack 1 by AKLP

20 soft yellow gradients by KumquatsLair

20 soft blue gradients by KumquatsLair

20 soft orange gradients by KumquatsLair

Vintage Gradients by ARTiK-NL

51 Gradient Varieties by Liasmani

88 Gradient Varieties by Liasmani

66 Gradient Varieties by Liasmani

43 Gradient Varieties by Liasmani

Gradients 003: Skin Brightener by purplefeen

Retroactive Gradients by magdalena-stock

12 Gradients by kazugfx

That’s it for now! Enjoy, and remember: Each useful gradient pack is like a rare and mysterious unicorn.

Thank goodness for icon sets that include their PSD counterparts. No muss or no fuss! Some icon sets are limited, however with the use of .psd files you can stretch those limitations into affinity. Following is a list of a whole gad of graet icon sets that are in PSD format. Good luck and happy hunting.

Radium Icon PSDs

Flavours Icon Set PSDs

Proxal Icon Set v2 PSDs

9 .PSD Icons Vol. 1

5 .PSD Icons Vol. 2

6 .PSD Icons Vol. 3

6 .PSD Icons Vol. 4

Radium Neue PSDs

openPhone PSDs

Peely Icons PSDs

iKons 4 CS4 PSDs

E-maniacs RSS Icons PSDs

Setup Icon PSDs

Glossy Icons in 4 Colours PSDs

On-Stage Vector PSD Icon Set

Designers Icons PSDs

Medien Konvergence Icons PSDs

Minimalistic Icon Set

Second Free PSDs Icon Pack

PSD Fox

Folder Icon Template PSD

Simple Elegance – Folder Icon PSD

Preview Icon Template PSD

Talk icon PSD

Apple Mail PSD

Filetype Icon PSD

Bookmark Icon PSD

PSD-Icons

StormTrooper Icon PSD

Free PSD Avatar Icon Set

Bevel And Emboss – PSD Icons

Folder Icon PSD

Trendy Mail Icon PSD

iPod Touch PSD

iPhone 3G-3GS PSD

Airport Express PSD

Product Box PSD

PLASMA TV PSD

Hard Disk Icons PSDs

DVD Icon Template PSDs

Headphones PSD

Zune 30GB PSD

Magnifa Pro Icon PSDs

RIM Blackberry Icon PSD

XBOX 360 Icon PSD

Wall Phone PSD

Basketball Icon PSD

Lifebelt Icon PSD

iPhone Icon PSD

Ganato.com – 24 Psd Icon Sets

Logos aren’t always what they seem. Some contain hidden information about the brand, or iconic imagery, or even just fun and kooky stuff. Some can even be downright mysterious. Join us on a journey into the surreal world of branding as we go over 23 brilliant logos with hidden messages:

Big Ten

The Big Ten founded in 1896, since then it has grown to 11, with the inclusion of Penn State. Big Eleven doesn’t have the same ring to it so they embedded a hidden “11″ in the text of the logo. Not bad, guys!

Amazon.com

Nothing too overt here, but see that yellow swoosh? It’s there to indicate their unabiding love of customer satisfaction. Also, it indicates that they have everything under the sun, or everything from “A to Z.”

Eighty-20

Eighty-20 is a small consulting firm. Most people think that the logo has nothing to do with the brand name. But the trick is to view the dark squares as 1’s and the light squares as 0’s. Then the top line reads 1010000 and the bottom line reads 0010100, which represent 80 and 20 in binary.

FedEx

If you look ever so closely, you can see an arrow formed by the letters “E” and “X.” Why the arrow? Speed and precision, of course. FedEx love both of those things more than I love pizza.And that’s saying something.

Continental

This is the tire company, not the airline. Notice how the “C” and “O” form a tire. It’s a bonafide 3D image. I’m not how how two letters could form an airplane, though. Sorry other Continental.

Toblerone

Toblerone is a chocolate-company from Bern, Switzerland. Bern is sometimes called ‘The City Of Bears’. See the bear hidden in the mountain, poised to strike? Stephen Colbert would not be happy with this one.

Baskin Robbins

This old logo from the popular ice cream chain features the numbers 31 hidden in the letters. That was to indicate how many flavors they offered up at the time. They have more now, sigh. Innovation ruins everything.

Sony Vaio

Sony Vaio is a well known brand of laptops. But did you know that the name Vaio logo also had a hidden meaning? Well, the first two letters represent the basic analogue signal. The last two letters look like a 1 and 0, representing the digital signal. Computer geeks, rejoice!

Eight

Every single letter and every single piece of information in this logo is made of the letter 8. Kind of cool, right?

Carrefour

Carrefour is a huge European retailer. Also, the word means “crossroads” in French. The whole logo sort of resembles a crossroads and the letter “C” is hidden in one of the spaces.

Roxy

Roxy is a company that makes snowboarding and skateboarding equipment and clothing intended for girls. The company is a derivative of the Quiksilver brand and if you look closely, you’ll see the Roxy logo is just two Quiksilver logos squished together.

Unilever

Unilever is one of those companies that rule the world by making just about everything imaginable. Every object embedded in the “U” represents something the company makes. For example: the heart represents love, care and health -  feeling good, a bird is a symbol of freedom.

Northwest Airlines

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This logo has all kinds of cool stuff going on. Firstly, the letters “N” and “W” are hidden in the circle to the left of the brand name. Also, less obvious, is the circle makes a compass that is pointing towards the northwest. Pretty sneaky, guys!

Milwaukee Brewers

The fabulous Milwaukee Brewers have a neat little logo going on here. The glove is actually formed using the letters “M” and “B.” These two letters, for the totally clueless, are the letters that start each word of their name.

Hartford Whalers

Another day, another professional sports team. This logo also uses a negative space to create the letter H. You can see three different parts: the letter H and W and a whale’s tail in blue.

Tostitos

The middle letters here actually form two people enjoying chips and salsa. Kind of cool. This is used to represent the oh so social nature of the popular corn chip brand. Chips ARE fun, though.

Formula 1

This logo, first and foremost, communicates the feeling of speed. That’s because Formula 1 is a racing organization, duh! Also, there is a “1″ hidden in the negative space between the two characters. Vroom, vroom.

Elefont

Think you are looking at a simple ole “E?” Think again. Thar be an elephant trunk hidden in that letter. And as we all know, elephants never forget.

Sun Microsystems

The Sun logo is one of the most famous ambigrams in the world. You can read the brand name in every direction; both horizontally and vertically. This logo was designed by professor Vaughan Pratt of the Stanford University. In that case you hadn’t figured out, he’s pretty smart.

NBC

NBC may have fallen on hard times, but their logo is still as timeless as they come. I think most of you have already seen the peacock in this logo. The peacock has 6 different tail feathers, referring to the six divisions at the time that this logo was created. The peacock’s head is  flipped to the right to suggest it was looking forward. Never look back.

GreenLabs

I know this logo looks like a simple, boring green tree, but if you look at the tree crown, you’ll see that it can also be interpreted as a brain. The logo lays emphasis on the strong intellectual capabilities of the company’s staff and also reflects ‘green’ and ‘labs’ parts of their name.

Presbyterian Logo

If you think the previous logos were rife with double and triple meanings, then take a look at this one. It’s the seal of the Presbyterian church and it has several hidden messages. There are too many to name here, so  take a look at this article.

Twins

Notice the hidden “2″ inside the letter “N.” That’s because, according to myth, a set of twins comes to around two. The bold type face is also used to show the boldness of the company’s ideas. I wonder if one arm of the company can feel when the other arm is in pain or something. Get it? That’s what twins experience.

Are you ready to get retro? The Beatles! Key parties! The Great Depression. Retro is cool, and using the right retro brush on your Photoshop project can make all the difference in the world. But there are so many out there, and let’s face it, some look like a Lifetime movie set in the 1960s and not like the actual 1960s. Here are 28 of our favorite sets that are sure to have people doing the time warp again:

10 Retro

Retro Revival v2

Retro Revival v4

Large “Retro”

HighTech Circles

Drearetro II

retro II

Retr0

Retro Circles

Retro Circle

Rusty 80´s Arcades

Space Invaders

Newspaper Ads From The 60´s

Retro Funk

Retro Symbols

I LUV DESIGN Pro Grunge

Banner No.15

WallPaper Sized

Retro Vectors

Retro Line

240 Retro Dynamic

36 Vector

Hi-Res Retro

Wild Surf

Flying Vector Stars

Retro Vector

The hilarious and ubiquitous Photoshop mash-up is truly a site to behold. Here are a trio of links that take the idea further than just about anybody else.

Nicholas Cage as everyone – Ever wanted to see Nic Cage as Catwoman? Abe Lincoln? Even Rodney Dangerfield? Well this site has you covered. It features literally hundreds of Photoshop marvels featuring everybody’s favorite kinetic actor in a variety of ridiculous scenarios.

Keamy’s Paradise – This short-lived Internet meme featured a minor character from the hit TV show LOST in a hodge podge of pop culture scenarios. Very similar to the Nicholas Cage site but, it should be noted, came first.

Lol Cats – Of course, the feisty felines that started it all. These simple Photoshop creations feature cats saying silly things as they do silly things. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. But within the limited framework some hilarity is to be had. Check it out and fall in love all over again.

Even you Photoshop experts out there could stand to learn a thing or two, right? Of course! With that in mind, we present to you a trio of tutorial links to help you achieve Photo manipulation nirvana.

A Little Photoshop – This set of tutorials is useful for photographers. Love to take photographs and use Photoshop to get them looking their best? Then this is for you.

Abduzeedo – This website offers tutorials to really bring the style and flare out of your Photoshop sessions. Just look at some of their in-house artists. Amazing!

Pixel2Life – These tutorials run the gamut from beginning Photoshop tips to expert advice. They really do it all. To you blossoming web developers, the site offers flash tutorials as well.

Adobe has been having some trouble getting Apple to adopt flash on their best-selling iPhone. This has not stopped the company from giving away six million copies of their Photoshop iPhone app since it was released last October. It’s the second most popular free photography app in the entire Apple  app-verse.  It allows you to do basic photo editing on your iPhone, including cropping, rotating, filters, effects, and borders. You can also view your finished work, be it video or still image, at Photoshop.com.  This app is also available on Android phones and Windows Mobile. Happy Photoshopping!

Love Photoshop? Of course you do! But, who among us can say we are the world’s most renowned expert on the popular photo adjusting program? Who among us can say we no longer have anything left to learn? None of us. That’s right. You heard me. We all could stand to learn a thing or three. The program can do a lot, yaknow?

To help with this self-imposed education, here are a trio of helpful websites that focus on Photoshop tutorials.

Photoshop Tutorials.ws

Photoshop Lady

Good Tutorials

Check them out and don’t forget to email your teacher an apple. It’d be the proper thing to do.

We get by with a little help from our friends. The kind folks over at PhotoshopUser TV have been serving up weekly video podcasts for a while now. Some are serious. Some are humorous. They all have the intention of teaching us all a thing or two about our favorite photo manipulation program. Who among us can say we are “done” learning all there is to know about Adobe’s wonderchild? It is not I who will cast the first stone!

Seriously though, it’s a neat site and I’ve already picked up a few little things. They will even put the episodes on DVD for a nominal fee. Not bad guys. Not bad