To remove overhead cables in an image in Photoshop, I use the path and spot healing tools with following process, which is easy and accurate:
- create a new path from the paths panel
- draw a path over one of the cables with the pen tool
- with the new path layer selected open the spot healing brush, setting a suitable width, 0% hardness and set the ‘proximity match ‘ option on
- select the stroke path icon; a healing brush stroke appears on top of the path; PS analyses and then removes the stroke and heals the underlying image
- delete the path
Can a similar procedure be used in GIMP? If not what is the most effective way of editing out such cables in the image?
This is a bit short since I am packing in for the day.
Two ways that I use.
(1) Using resynthesizer / heal plugins
Make a selection along the wire using the quick-mask tool and a white brush
Apply heal selection.
(2) Use the gmic plugin http://www.gmic.eu and one of the inpaint filters. Paint in 100% red using the pencil tool If a big image isolate with a selection. Apply inpaint.
06-22-2025, 09:33 PM (This post was last modified: 06-22-2025, 10:31 PM by Zbyma72age.)
(06-22-2025, 09:01 PM)bogaty2005 Wrote: To trochę za krótko, bo pakuję się na cały dzień.
Dwa sposoby, których używam.
(1) Używanie wtyczek resynthesizer/heal
Dokonaj zaznaczenia wzdłuż przewodu za pomocą narzędzia quick-mask i białego pędzla
Zastosuj zaznaczenie heal.
(2) Użyj wtyczki gmic http://www.gmic.eu i jednego z filtrów inpaint. Maluj w 100% na czerwono za pomocą narzędzia ołówka Jeśli duży obraz jest wyizolowany za pomocą zaznaczenia. Zastosuj inpaint.
(06-22-2025, 09:01 PM)rich2005 Wrote: This is a bit short since I am packing in for the day.
Thanks for replying so promptly and so late - this is beyond my expectations in both respects.
You've been the important person on this forum for a long time, so you must have experienced a lot of dumb, and dumber, comments and questions. Forgive me, but I'm dumb, too:
- the useful links you have given me point to 'stuff' that's applicable to Windows. I do have that OS, but my primary desktop is a Linux based one. Are there equivalent links for resynthesizer for Linux?
- the link to the 'how to' mp4 you gave is most useful. Running it in VLC allows me to follow it closely and in detail. When I do so (under Linux) in GIMP 3.0.4 (a .deb AppImage version to which you kindly provided a link) and click on the final 'ok' in G'MIC repair/in-paint no processing takes place: I'm just left with my image and the lasso selection around the painted-over wires. Obviously it's a user error; from my description could you possibly suggest what it is that I am going wrong?
(06-23-2025, 11:30 AM)LateJunction Wrote: ...snip...
- the useful links you have given me point to 'stuff' that's applicable to Windows. I do have that OS, but my primary desktop is a Linux based one. Are there equivalent links for resynthesizer for Linux?
It depends on the linux you are using. Which one is it ?
If you can get this one to work https://www.gimp-forum.net/Thread-Gimp-3...9#pid44349 then it includes resynthesizer and the gmic plugins Otherwise you need a regular installation with a libgimp-dev to compile it.
Quote:- the link to the 'how to' mp4 you gave is most useful. Running it in VLC allows me to follow it closely and in detail. When I do so (under Linux) in GIMP 3.0.4 (a .deb AppImage version to which you kindly provided a link) and click on the final 'ok' in G'MIC repair/in-paint no processing takes place: I'm just left with my image and the lasso selection around the painted-over wires. Obviously it's a user error; from my description could you possibly suggest what it is that I am going wrong?
I put in the selection because for a large image the plugin takes forever. Was the selection inverted perhaps and selected everything except the wires ? Worth a check.
You do need pure red (R=100 % G=0 B=0 ) for the mask, a bit off and the plugin does not work. Use the pencil tool so there is no anti-aliasing which leaves a border.
If having trouble, make a smaller crop around some wires and try without making a selection, as a trial. Try using some of the other inpaint filters, some work better than others.
(06-23-2025, 11:30 AM)LateJunction Wrote: ...snip...
- the useful links you have given me point to 'stuff' that's applicable to Windows. I do have that OS, but my primary desktop is a Linux based one. Are there equivalent links for resynthesizer for Linux?
It depends on the linux you are using. Which one is it ?
If you can get this one to work https://www.gimp-forum.net/Thread-Gimp-3...9#pid44349 then it includes resynthesizer and the gmic plugins Otherwise you need a regular installation with a libgimp-dev to compile it.
Quote:- the link to the 'how to' mp4 you gave is most useful. Running it in VLC allows me to follow it closely and in detail. When I do so (under Linux) in GIMP 3.0.4 (a .deb AppImage version to which you kindly provided a link) and click on the final 'ok' in G'MIC repair/in-paint no processing takes place: I'm just left with my image and the lasso selection around the painted-over wires. Obviously it's a user error; from my description could you possibly suggest what it is that I am going wrong?
I put in the selection because for a large image the plugin takes forever. Was the selection inverted perhaps and selected everything except the wires ? Worth a check.
You do need pure red (R=100 % G=0 B=0 ) for the mask, a bit off and the plugin does not work. Use the pencil tool so there is no anti-aliasing which leaves a border.
If having trouble, make a smaller crop around some wires and try without making a selection, as a trial. Try using some of the other inpaint filters, some work better than others.
You identified the problem exactly - thank you:
- My 'red' was a little bit off.
- The selection was inverted (not easy to spot in GIMP) even though I was sure that I had corrected it (in fact I had inverted it).
Having corrected these errors, the technique works fine and is a little easier/quicker to use than the method I have used in Photoshop. Obviously there is a bit of messing about with the clone tool at the termination of overhead cables, where they run behind a part of a building, for example. Then, even with extreme care, there is some unintended 'healing' of the building edge.
And, as you suggested, the G'MIC plug-in doesn't need the creation of a selection with the lasso tool. The test images I tried were relatively small (40MB tiff) and I have a reasonable mid-range processor (9th gen i7) so the processing took less than a second or so without a selection.
So now, thanks to your guidance, I know how to process this common problem (overhead lines) in my images, in GIMP, allowing me to avoid using any Adobe products.
Yesterday, 08:03 PM (This post was last modified: Yesterday, 08:04 PM by rich2005.)
The old RobA silent9.com site is gone, so I will add the script here. It is for Gimp 2.10 I did have a look at a re-write for Gimp 3 but fell at the first hurdle.
The technique I use most often for this:
Add a new transparent layer. On this layer paint over the cables with any colour which stands out well from the background using the pencil tool.
Still on this layer, do a Select by Colour on your painting.
Select the image layer and use Heal Selection option from the resynthesiser.
When complete, delete the transparent layer.
(2 hours ago)david Wrote: The technique I use most often for this:
Add a new transparent layer. On this layer paint over the cables with any colour which stands out well from the background using the pencil tool.
Still on this layer, do a Select by Colour on your painting.
Select the image layer and use Heal Selection option from the resynthesiser.
When complete, delete the transparent layer.
You can do it faster by painting the selection directly in "quickmask" mode. This also avoids selecting some part of the image that happens to have the color you picked.
