Vector masks¶
Draw exact shapes with the pen tool, curve their edges, and use a closed shape as a stencil that keeps the brush inside it.
The brush is right for organic, feathered coverage. The pen is right when the edge has to be exact — a window reveal, a doorway, the straight run where two projectors meet, the outline of a prop. A path is a series of points joined by curves, stored as geometry rather than as painted pixels, so you can move any point or re-shape any curve at any time without repainting anything.
Switch to the pen¶
Set Tool to Pen in the Properties sidebar, or press P. Press B to go back to the brush. The pointer becomes a small dot, and points, curves and handles become clickable.
Everything else about the paint area is unchanged: scroll to zoom, middle-drag to pan, and the shape you draw is measured in the selected projector's pixels.
Draw a shape¶
- Click on the paint area to place the first point. If nothing is selected, this starts a new path.
- Click again for each following point. Straight segments appear between them.
- To curve a segment as you go, click and drag instead of clicking — dragging pulls a pair of curve handles out of the point you are placing, and the segment bends to follow. Release when the curve looks right.
- To close the shape, click the first point — it is drawn larger and in red. A shape needs at least three points before it can be closed.
Closing a shape does not paint anything on its own. It makes the shape usable as a stencil, and it is the state most useful for the work below.
Plan for straight-then-curve
Placing every point as a simple click and adding curves afterwards is usually faster than trying to get each curve right on the way round. Any corner can be turned into a curve later.
Read the drawing¶
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Blue outline | A path that is not selected |
| Green outline | A selected path |
| Brighter outline, thicker | The path under your pointer |
| Large red point | The first point of the path — click it to close the shape |
| White points | The other points |
| Orange dots on orange stalks | Curve handles for a point |
Edit an existing shape¶
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Move a point | Drag it. Its curve handles travel with it. |
| Re-shape a curve | Drag a handle. The opposite handle mirrors it, so the curve stays smooth through the point. |
| Break a smooth point into a corner | Hold Alt while dragging a handle — only that handle moves, and the two sides of the curve become independent. |
| Turn a corner into a curve | Hold Alt and drag the point. Handles are pulled out of it as you drag. |
| Add a point to a closed shape | With that shape selected, click where you want it. The point is inserted into the nearest segment, not on the end. |
| Continue an open path | With that path selected, click where the next point goes. |
| Delete a point | Hover it and press Del or Backspace. |
| Delete a whole path | Hover its outline and press Del or Backspace, or select it and press Del with nothing under the pointer. |
Two details worth knowing. Deleting a point from a closed shape that leaves fewer than three points re-opens it, and deleting a path's only remaining point removes the path entirely.
Select paths¶
Click a path's outline — or anywhere inside a closed shape — to select it. Clicking a selected path again deselects it, so click builds up a selection rather than replacing it. Press Esc to deselect everything.
Selection matters for three reasons:
- New points go to the path you selected most recently.
- Del removes every selected path when the pointer is not over anything in particular.
- Only selected, closed shapes act as stencils for the brush.
Use a shape as a stencil¶
This is what makes the pen worth the effort on site.
- Draw a closed shape around the region you want to work in, and leave it selected.
- Press B to switch to the brush.
- Paint. Strokes are clipped to the inside of the selected shape — drag right across the boundary and nothing lands outside it.
Every selected closed shape contributes, so you can stencil several regions at once. Deselect (Esc, or click the shape again) and the brush is free to paint anywhere.
This gives you a hard, exact edge on one side and a soft brushed falloff on the other, which is hard to achieve freehand: run a closed shape along the architectural line you must not cross, then feather the coverage inside it with a soft, low-opacity brush.
A stencil the brush ignores
If strokes are still landing outside your shape, check the two conditions: the shape must be closed (click the first point to close it) and it must be selected (green, not blue).
Undo¶
Ctrl+Z steps back through your path edits — each point you place, each drag of a point or handle, each deletion, each close — up to 50 steps.
Undo follows the tool you have selected. On Pen it takes back path edits; switch to Brush and it takes back brush strokes instead. There is no redo in the Mask tab, so step back deliberately. See Layers and undo.
What is stored¶
Paths are saved with that projector's mask, alongside the painted coverage, and they come back the next time you open it. Reset Mask in the sidebar clears both the paths and the painting, and cannot be undone.
Shortcut summary¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| P | Pen tool |
| B | Brush tool |
| Alt + drag a point | Give the point curve handles |
| Alt + drag a handle | Move one handle alone, breaking the curve |
| Click an outline or a closed shape | Toggle its selection |
| Del / Backspace | Delete the point or path under the pointer, or the selected paths |
| Esc | Deselect everything |
These are listed in the app too, under Shortcuts at the bottom of the Properties sidebar, along with the brush shortcuts.
Where to go next¶
- Brush masking — size, hardness, opacity, and painting inside a stencil.
- Layers and undo — how paths and painted coverage combine into one mask.
- Locks — why another operator's pointer cannot touch a mask you are editing.