Creating Masks Manually

Creating precise masks is fundamental to guiding AI operations in Fater's Image Editor. While AI can assist with masking, you often need to create or refine masks manually using the tools available in the Inpaint Toolbar.

Masks define the areas where AI will apply its changes, such as inpainting new content or removing objects. Remember, you can only draw masks within the current Generation Area Bounding Box.

Selecting a Masking Tool

All manual masking tools are selected from the Inpaint Toolbar (typically floating on the left of the canvas):

  • Click the icon of the desired tool. The icon will highlight to indicate it's active.

  • Clicking an active tool icon again deselects it, returning you to a neutral/pan mode.

1. Mask Brush Tool (🖌️ Brush icon)

The Brush tool allows you to paint freeform mask areas directly onto the canvas.

  • How to Use:

    1. Select the Brush tool from the Inpaint Toolbar.

    2. Paint (Left-Click & Drag): Click and drag your mouse on the canvas to paint the mask. By default, this adds to the masked area (shown in a semi-transparent blue).

    3. Erase (Right-Click & Drag or Alt + Left-Click & Drag): To remove parts of the mask, either:

      • Hold down your right mouse button and drag.

      • Or, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard while left-clicking and dragging.

  • Adjusting Brush Size:

    • Hold down the Shift key and scroll your mouse wheel up (increase size) or down (decrease size).

    • The brush cursor on the canvas will change to reflect the new size.

  • Brush Color: The color of the painted mask is currently fixed. The "Brush Color" setting in the toolbar (if visible) typically applies to the Pencil tool for layer editing, not the mask brush color itself.

2. Mask Rectangle Tool (▭ RectangleHorizontal icon)

This tool lets you quickly define rectangular mask areas.

  • How to Use:

    1. Select the Rectangle tool from the Inpaint Toolbar.

    2. Define Rectangle (Left-Click & Drag): Click on the canvas where you want one corner of the rectangle to be, hold the mouse button down, and drag to the opposite corner. Release the mouse button to create the rectangular mask.

    3. Erase (Alt + Left-Click & Drag): Hold down the Alt key while defining the rectangle to remove that rectangular area from the existing mask.

  • Preview: As you drag, an outline of the rectangle will often be shown.

3. Polygonal Lasso Tool ( PolygonalLasso icon)

The Polygonal Lasso tool is for creating precise masks with straight-edged segments.

  • How to Use:

    1. Select the Polygonal Lasso tool from the Inpaint Toolbar.

    2. Start Polygon (Click): Click on the canvas to set the first point of your polygon.

    3. Add Points (Click): Move your mouse and click to set subsequent corner points. Straight lines will connect the points.

    4. Close Polygon (Double-Click): When you have outlined your desired shape, double-click to close the polygon (connecting the last point back to the first) and fill the enclosed area as a mask.

    5. Erase (Alt + Click to Start): Hold down the Alt key before your first click to start an erasing polygon. Subsequent clicks will define the erasing shape, and double-clicking will remove that polygonal area from the existing mask.

  • Preview: As you click points, a preview line will show the segment you are about to create. An outline of the full polygon will appear as you add points.

Important Masking Tips:

  • Zoom In: For precise masking, zoom into your canvas using the mouse wheel.

  • Undo/Redo: Use the Mask History controls (CTRL+Z & CTRL+Y) to correct mistakes while drawing masks.

  • Combine Tools: You can use different tools in combination. For example, make a broad selection with the Rectangle tool, then refine the edges with the Brush or Polygonal Lasso.

  • Saving Masks: The mask state is not saved within the project, in case you would want to save a mask, the current workaround is to use the scissors button to create a new layer based on the mask shape. Clicking the wand layer action will indeed restore such mask.

By mastering these manual masking tools, you gain fine-grained control over which parts of your image are affected by AI operations.

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