Mask Paint Node

Mask Paint is the "mask only" equivalent of the Paint node. Instead of painting color on the image, you paint directly into a mask. The brushes paint in white (on a black background = masked areas).

Less structured than a Polygon or B-Spline Mask, but more flexible for complex organic shapes, localized refinements or stylized paint effects.

• Effects Library: Tools > Mask > Mask Paint
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > Mask > Mask Paint

Paint

Paints color on the image (retouching, wire removal, cloning). Output = a colored image.

Mask Paint

Paints into a mask (grayscale/alpha). Output = a mask to connect to the Effect Mask of another node.

Rule of thumb: retouching the image → Paint. Creating a brush-painted mask you can animate → Mask Paint.

• Effect Mask (blue) - optional. An incoming mask to combine with the painted strokes.

Quick freehand roto:
MediaIn → Color Corrector ← Mask Paint (paint over the area)
       → MediaOut

Refining a Polygon:
Polygon Mask → Mask Paint (Apply Mode = Merge, paint to fill holes)
            → Effect Mask

Patching an imperfect bitmap mask:
Bitmap Mask → Mask Paint (Apply Mode = Erase, remove unwanted areas)
           → refined Effect Mask

Soft Brush

Natural soft edges. Ideal for masks with gradual transitions (sky, smoke). The most used one.

Circular Brush

A solid circle with hard edges. For masks with precise edges.

Square Brush

A square brush. For geometric patterns or pixel art styles.

Single Pixel

Exactly one pixel per stroke. Maximum precision for very fine details.

Image Brush

Uses a connected image as the brush (stamp). For custom repeating patterns or stamps.

Color

Paints in white (mask) - the standard mode. Adds to the mask.

Erase

Erases the existing mask - useful for cleanup or to remove areas from a mask that is already there.

Clone

Copies one area of the mask to another (like the Photoshop clone stamp).

Merge

Merges the strokes with the existing mask using a blend mode.

Smear

Pushes the mask pixels in the direction of the stroke (stretching effect).

Emboss / Stamp / Wire

Specialized modes: Emboss for a relief effect, Stamp for repeated stamps, Wire for wire removal adapted to masks.

Write On

The strokes appear progressively - the mask "paints itself" over time. Customizable duration.

Write Off

The reverse - the strokes disappear progressively (animated eraser effect).

Trail

The strokes stay visible for a while, then fade out. A partial persistence effect.

Each stroke has its own timing, editable in the Keyframes Editor. This allows complex stroke-by-stroke animations.

• Quick freehand roto - a complex area that is impossible to trace quickly with a Polygon: paint it directly. Less precise but very fast.
• Refining a Polygon/B-Spline Mask - a Polygon that is too rigid leaves holes or spills over. Mask Paint in Merge/Erase Apply Mode fills or removes them.
• Patching imperfect bitmap masks - an automatically generated mask (from a keyer or a depth channel) with a few artifacts → manual patch with Mask Paint.
• Creative Write On animation - animated strokes appearing frame by frame = a drawing/motion design style reveal.
• Localized skin smoothing - Mask Paint to paint precisely over skin areas (pores, blemishes) and apply denoise/smoothing there.
• Trail effect - strokes with Trail timing = a trail that follows a movement, for a dynamic, evolving mask.

• A graphics tablet for pressure - with a Wacom/XPPen, pressure = stroke thickness. Far more natural than a mouse.
• Ctrl/Cmd + drag for size - adjusts the brush size on the fly in the viewer. Faster than the slider.
• Soft Brush by default - gives the best results in most cases. Circular for hard edges, Single Pixel for extreme precision.
• Multistroke for volume - if you paint a lot of strokes (dust cleanup), Multistroke mode = strokes you can't edit but that are ultra fast.
• Keyframes Editor for timing - each stroke has its own timings. Use the Keyframes panel to set precisely when it appears/disappears.
• Erase for non-destructive refinement - instead of undoing, use Erase mode to remove specific areas. Lets you step back selectively.
• Combine with a Polygon upstream - a Polygon for the rigid overall shape, Mask Paint in Merge for organic refinements = the optimal hybrid workflow.