Working with Selections¶

In Rebelle you can easily select an area on the canvas to perform specific operations only inside this selected area. Selections serve as masking tools that block off the areas of the canvas you do not wish to change.

Operations that can be performed on the selection in Rebelle include painting, transforming, cutting, copying and pasting. It is also possible to create a stencil from a selection.

When a selection is active it is outlined on the canvas by dashes. Everything inside the area outlined is selected, and everything outside is unselected.

Paint within Selection¶

Create a simple mask on the canvas using the selection tool. Choose between rectangular, elliptical, polygonal, freehand or magic wand selection and create a selection on canvas. You will paint within the selection while the outside area will stay untouched. To paint on the areas outside the selection, click the 'Invert selection' button in the Selection Properties panel.

Note

You can quickly view your current selection via the 'Paint Selection' button in the Layers panel or by tapping the Q shortcut. The non-active area on the canvas is colored red.

Transform Selection¶

Select specific parts of your painting using the selection tool.

To transform the selection, click the Transform tool in the Tools panel or shortcut Ctrl + T on Windows or Cmd + T on macOS.

You can move, scale selection propotionally, rotate or flip selection horizontally or vertically.

Use Shift to scale the selection horizontally, vertically or both.

Use Alt to scale the selection relative to its center.

Use Shift to enable lock rotation at a 15-degree angle. You can change the default angle in Preferences > Tools > Transformation.

More about transform can be found in the Transform Tool Properties section.

Cut, Copy and Paste Selection¶

You can perform simple cut, copy and paste functions on the selected area of the canvas, either using the Edit menu or keyboard shortcuts.

Use Ctrl + X / Cmd + X to cut selection and Ctrl + V / Cmd + V to paste selection. You can cut and paste also from the Edit menu. Your selection will be pasted to a separate layer.

Use Ctrl + C / Cmd + C to copy selection and Ctrl + V / Cmd + V to paste selection. You can also copy and paste from the Edit menu. Your selection will be pasted to a separate layer.

Note

By default, the selection is kept after pasting a clipboard image. You can change this via Preferences > Tools > Selection where you deselect "Keep selection after pasting clipboard image".

Select All / Deselect All¶

Select the content of the current layer using the Ctrl + A / Cmd + A shortcut, via the Selection properties panel or via Select menu > Select All.

Deselect the current selection by hitting the Ctrl + D / Cmd + D shortcut, via the Selection properties panel or via Select menu > Deselect All.

You can change these shortcuts anytime via Preferences > Keyboard > Select.

Select All Visible¶

Select all non-transparent pixels of the selected layer using one click. Use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + V on Windows or Cmd + Alt + V on macOS or go to Select menu > Select All Visible.

You can also hold down the Ctrl key on Windows or Cmd key on macOS and click on the layer's thumbnail in the Layers panel to select the non-transparent pixels of that layer.

Invert Selection¶

Invert the current selection. The selected area will become inactive. Invert selection using the Ctrl + Shift + I / Cmd + Shift + I shortcut or via Select menu > Invert Selection.

You can change the shortcut anytime via Preferences > Keyboard > Select.

Paint Selection & Show Selection Lines¶

Paint Selection allows you to create or modify a selection using any brush from any painting tool. Activate it via the Layers panel, from the Select menu, or by pressing the Q shortcut.

If no selection is active when you enable Paint Selection, the entire layer will be selected by default, allowing you to paint a new selection directly on it.

If a selection already exists, it will become visible, and you can continue editing it. While in Paint Selection mode:

Use white to add to the selection.
Use black to subtract from the selection.

Use Paint selection to see which parts of the canvas are outside the current selection either via the Select menu or by using the Q shortcut. The color and the opacity of the 'Paint Selection' mode can be adjusted in Preferences > Color > Selection.

Show or hide the lines (marching ants) of the selection either via the Select menu or by using the Alt+Q shortcut. The selection lines cannot be hidden when in the Selection tool.

Quick Fill Selection¶

Use Quick Fill to instantly fill the active selection with the currently selected color directly from the Selection tool. Click the Quick Fill button in the Selection tool's Properties panel or Shift + Q shortcut to apply the currently selected color without switching to the Fill tool. While the selection remains active, you can change the color and adjust its opacity by entering a value in the Opacity box interactively.

Create Stencil from Selection¶

In Rebelle you can create a stencil from your selection via the Assets panel menu. Draw your selection on the canvas and confirm the selection, then go to the Assets panel menu and click "Create Stencil from Selection". The new stencil will be automatically created and added to the Assets panel, under stencils. This way you can mask out the specific area of the canvas (similar to using masking fluid).

Crop Canvas from Selection¶

Change the format of the image by cropping the area outside the current selection. Draw your selection on the canvas and confirm the selection, then go to the Edit menu and select "Crop Canvas". The canvas will be cropped and a new image format will be created.

Restore Last Selection¶

Rebelle remembers the last selection created during the session. You can restore this last selection from the Select menu > Restore Last Selection.

Open & Save Selection¶

You can save your selections as PNG files and reopen them anytime in Rebelle.

To save a current selection, go to the Select menu and select "Save Selection As...".

To open a previously saved selection, go to the Select menu and select "Open Selection...".

Create Selection from Stencil¶

Rebelle lets you create a selection from the currently active stencil. Add a stencil on canvas, go to the Select menu and select "Create Selection from Stencil". A selection will automatically be created on canvas.

Create Selection from Path¶

Rebelle lets you create a selection from the currently active path. Add a path on canvas, go to the Select menu and select "Create Selection from Path". A selection will automatically be created on canvas.

Adjust Opacity of Selection¶

Use the Opacity setting in Selection's Properties panel to control the transparency of the active selection. Opacity is applied as a selection filter, just like Expand, Contract, Feather, and Rough Feather (Roughness).

When you switch from the Selection tool to another tool, all current selection filters are baked into the active selection. This preserves the selection exactly as it appears, while resetting the filter controls to their default values for any future adjustments (e.g., for Paint Selection).

Example:

Create a rectangular selection and set its Opacity to 50%.
Use Quick Fill or switch to the Fill tool to fill the selection. Both tools will respect the 50% opacity.
After switching to the Fill tool, the 50% opacity becomes part of the active selection itself.
If you return to the Selection tool, the Opacity control will show 100%, even though the selection remains at 50% opacity (visible through the Paint Selection (Q) overlay).
At this point, you can reduce the opacity further, but you cannot restore it to a higher value because the previous adjustment has already been baked into the selection.

The same behavior applies to the other selection filters. For example, if you apply a Feather value of 50 px, then switch to a painting tool and later return to the Selection tool, the Feather control will be reset to 0 px. However, the active selection will remain feathered, and the feathering cannot be removed from that selection because it has already been baked in.

Expand Selection¶

Increase the size of your active selection by a specified number of pixels (0–100). Create a selection first. To expand it, navigate to Select > Expand/Contract.... A dialog window will appear where you can set the Radius, which determines how many pixels the selection will grow. Click Apply to confirm the adjustment, or Cancel to close the dialog without making changes.

You can expand a selection also interactively directly from the Selection tool's Properties panel.

Contract Selection¶

Decrease the size of your active selection by a specified number of pixels (-100-0). Create a selection first. To contract it, navigate to Select > Expand/Contract.... A dialog window will appear where you can set the Radius, which determines how many pixels the selection will shrink. Click Apply to confirm the adjustment, or Cancel to close the dialog without making changes.

You can contract a selection also interactively directly from the Selection tool's Properties panel.

Feather...¶

This tool allows for gradual transitions between selected and unselected areas, providing a soft and natural blending effect. Whether refining edges or creating nuanced transitions, you can achieve seamless selections with enhanced control. Create a selection first. To feather it, navigate to Select > Feather.... Set up the radius from 1-100. Click Apply to apply the changes or Cancel to remove the changes.

You can feather a selection also interactively directly from the Selection tool's Properties panel.

Rough Feather...¶

This tool adds subtle texture and irregularity to selection edges, creating more natural and painterly transitions. It is especially useful for watercolor, textured masks, and atmospheric effects, helping selections blend seamlessly into the canvas surface and impasto.

Create a selection first. To rough feather its edges, navigate to Select > Rough Feather.... Set up the radius for Feather from 0-100. Set up the Roughness from 0-100. Click Apply to apply the changes or Cancel to remove the changes.

You can adjust the roughness of the selection's edges also interactively directly from the Selection tool's Properties panel.

Note

The Expand/Contract/Feather/Rough Feather controls in the Select menu and the Properties panel are synchronised. Changing a value in one location automatically updates it in the other.