Frequently an image that otherwise looks good has a small flaw. The flaw can be dust on the lens, a car that drives unexpectedly into the frame, or a traffic sign that is inconveniently located. Inconspicuous removal of areas in images is one of the most frequent issues that arise. A good result depends on knowing the right tricks, having suitable plugins, and not needing to rely so heavily on the more archaic Eraser tool.

Because these problems occur often, you have an entire palette of options for removing troublesome areas as inconspicuously and seamlessly as possible. Gimp offers a series of tools, and special plugins expand these capabilities. The G'MIC plugin collection contains filters for editing out these types of problems.

The basic solution always involves the same approach: The editor responds by trying more or less to cover the problem part of the image automatically to create the impression of a homogeneous area. The simplest way to do this is with a Clone tool. Gimp has three of these, and they all work pretty much alike.

[...]