Lasso Tool

The Lasso tool is the canvas’s dedicated masking tool. It always draws into inpaint mask layers and is designed for quickly defining irregular regions for inpainting.

You can activate the Lasso tool from the canvas toolbar or with the default hotkey L.

Where Lasso Draws

Lasso always targets an enabled inpaint mask:

• If an enabled inpaint mask is currently selected, Lasso draws into that mask.
• If no enabled inpaint mask is available, Lasso creates a new inpaint mask automatically and commits the contour there.

Note

If a disabled inpaint mask is selected, Lasso does not draw into the disabled mask. It creates a new enabled mask for the next contour instead.

Common Behavior

• Lasso always commits a closed contour.
• Hold Ctrl on Windows/Linux or Cmd on macOS to switch to subtractive mode and remove area from the mask instead of adding to it.
• Press Esc to cancel the current lasso session.
• Hold Space during an active session to pan the viewport without discarding the unfinished contour.

Lasso Modes

Freehand

Click and drag to sketch an irregular contour. Releasing the pointer closes and commits the contour automatically.

Polygon

Click to place vertices. Click the first point to close and commit the contour. Hold Shift while placing the next edge to snap it to horizontal, vertical, and 45 degree angles.

Moving and Panning During Drawing

The Lasso tool uses Space for panning in both modes:

• Freehand: While drawing, hold Space to pan the viewport without discarding the unfinished contour. Release Space to continue drawing.
• Polygon: During an active polygon session, hold Space to pan the viewport without discarding the unfinished contour. Release Space and continue placing points.

This is especially useful when drawing large mask regions that extend beyond the current viewport.

Working With Masks

• Use Freehand for organic shapes like hair, smoke, foliage, fabric, and quick blocking.
• Use Polygon when you need straight edges and deliberate corner placement.
• Use subtractive mode to trim or punch holes in an existing inpaint mask.
• Use Lasso when you want mask-first editing behavior without first creating a mask layer by hand.

Practical Notes

• Polygon mode shows the starting point so you can close the contour precisely.
• After at least three polygon points, moving near the start point lets you click it to finish the shape.
• Freehand is faster for loose silhouettes. Polygon is better when edge placement matters.

Summary

The Lasso tool is the fastest way to create and refine inpaint masks on the canvas. Use Freehand for organic regions, Polygon for hard edges, and hold Ctrl/Cmd whenever you need to subtract from the mask instead of adding to it.