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Masks

Masks decide where an edit happens: which pixels get smoothed, graded, replaced or cut out. This group covers the whole life of a mask, from cleaning up a rough AI selection, to softening and tightening its edge, to extracting a hair-quality cutout, to checking the result.

Mask basics in plain language

  • Binary mask: each pixel is either fully selected (1) or not at all (0). Fast and simple, but edges look hard and cut-out.
  • Soft mask / alpha matte: pixels along the edge hold in-between values, such as 0.5 for a pixel that is half subject, half background. This is what makes hair and fur blend into a new background.
  • Feather: a controlled soft transition across the edge. It hides the seam, but a plain blur can also eat into the subject.
  • Trimap: a hint map with three values, 0 = sure background, 0.5 = unknown, 1 = sure subject. Matting only has to solve the grey band, which is why hair edges come out so much better than with a simple threshold.
  • Closed-form matting: a method that solves the whole soft alpha at once, using the photo's own colours as a guide. It powers Alpha Matte.
  • Guide image: the original photo, given to a mask node so the edge can follow real boundaries in the picture.

Pick the right mask tool

Your problem Use this node
The mask has small floating specks or tiny holes Mask Cleanup
The edge is hard and looks like a sticker Sub-Pixel Mask Refiner
The edge is jagged or wobbly but the shape is right Mask Edge Smoother
The mask edge sits a few pixels off the real subject edge Edge-Aware Mask Refiner
Hair, fur or glass needs real transparency Trimap Builder, then Alpha Matte
The mask is too big or too small by a few pixels Mask Morphology (dilate or erode)
You need only an outline band around the edge Mask Morphology (gradient)
You want to add, subtract or overlap two masks Mask Combine
You want a mask of only the sharp, textured areas Detail Mask
You want a mask of shadows, midtones or highlights Luminosity Masking
You want to see what the mask actually covers Mask Preview
You want to measure how much an edit changed the image QA Image Diff

  • Mask Cleanup

    Removes specks, fills small holes and feathers by distance.

  • Sub-Pixel Mask Refiner

    Turns a hard mask into a feathered one that stays solid inside.

  • Edge-Aware Mask Refiner

    Snaps the mask edge onto the real edges of your photo.

  • Mask Edge Smoother

    Smooths jagged edges with a bilateral filter, optionally photo-guided.

  • Trimap Builder

    Makes the sure-subject, unknown and sure-background map for matting.

  • Alpha Matte

    Hair-quality soft alpha from a trimap and the photo.

  • Decontaminate Colors

    Removes green-screen or sky colour from a cut-out's soft edges.

  • Sky Mask

    Soft mask of the sky without an AI model.

  • Mask Morphology

    Grows, shrinks, closes or outlines a mask.

  • Mask Combine

    Adds, subtracts, intersects or multiplies two masks.

  • Detail Mask

    Selects the sharp, detailed parts of a photo.

  • Mask Preview

    Shows a mask as an overlay, heatmap, black-and-white view or cutout.

  • SAM One-Click Mask

    Segment Anything: one point, a face box or a rough mask gives a clean object mask.

Typical chains