Editing
The tools and panels available to edit masks are the same in both editors. Editing of mask splines happens in a way similar to editing Bézier curves or paths in GIMP or other curve editors.
Tips
To get interactive feedback on the resulting mask, a Mask node can be connected directly to a Viewer node in the Compositor, which will then keep updating the compositing result while editing.
Transform
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Move G
Change the location of control points. Control points can also be moved with LMB. The whole spline can be moved by dragging the center dot with LMB.
- Rotate R
Change the location of control points by rotating about a pivot point.
- Scale S
Change the location of control points by expanding the distance between points.
- To Sphere Shift-Alt-S
Morphs the control points to the shape of a circle.
- Shear Shift-Ctrl-Alt-S
Shifts control points along a defined axis so parallel control points move past one another.
- Push/Pull
Moves the control points closer together (Push) or further apart (Pull).
- Scale Feather Alt-S
Will scale the feather size.
Clear Feather Weight
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
Resets the feather weight to zero.
Toggle Cyclic
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
Alt-C
Toggle to create a closed curve or open it again. Close the mask by joining the last control point to the first.
Set Handle Type
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
V
Set handle type for selected spline points.
Recalculate Handles
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
Ctrl-N
Make normals (handle directions) consistent.
Switch Direction
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
Switch Direction handle directions in/out.
Copy Paste
Todo.
Clear Parent
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
Alt-P
Clears any parenting relationship for the selected spline points.
Make Parent
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
Ctrl-P
Parents one or more selected spline points to the active motion tracker.
Animation
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
Masks can be animated with the shape keying system. This can be useful when there are not enough good feature points to track in the footage, or the mask is not based on footage. Mask animation timing can be edited from the Dope Sheet’s Mask Mode.
- Insert Shape Key I
Will insert a shape key for the active mask layer at the current frame. This works on the level of mask layers, so inserting a shape key will keyframe all the splines and points contained in it.
- Clear Shape Key Alt-I
Will clear the shape key for the active mask layer at the current frame.
- Feather Reset Animation
Resets the feather offset across all animated frames.
- Re-Key Points of Selected Shapes
Re-interpolate selected points on across the range of keys selected in the Dope Sheet.
Show/Hide
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
Hide Selected H
Hide Unselected Shift-H
Clear Restricted View Alt-H
Delete
Reference
- Mode
Mask Mode
- Menu
- Shortcut
X
Removes control points.
Miscellaneous
- Slide Spline Curvature LMB
Moves the curve and/or control points by clicking on them and dragging.
- Add Vertex and Slide Ctrl-LMB
Inserts new control points and defines handle orientations by a continued mouse drag. If the last point was selected, double-click will also close the curve.
- Add Feather Vertex and Slide Shift-Ctrl-LMB
Inserts new feather control points that can be transformed independently of the main spline curve. If no feather mask is in use this will create a basic feather mask to the curve.