Correction, 2026-10-01: an earlier version told you to use 8frame's mask brush and to mask regions for Nano Banana Pro. The 8frame canvas has no mask brush: its edit tools take an image and a written instruction. It also said Flux Kontext is particularly strong at mask edges and that one pass is usually enough, which we have not measured. The 8frame section is rewritten below.
Inpainting is the process of editing a specific region of an existing image while leaving the rest of the image unchanged.
In its classic form, you supply the original image, draw a mask over the area you want to change, and write a prompt describing what should fill that region. The model generates new content that fits the masked area and blends with the surrounding pixels. Everything outside the mask stays as it was.
How inpainting works
You start with a source image and a mask. The mask is typically a white-on-black shape that marks the region to replace. The AI model receives three inputs: the original image, the mask, and a text prompt.
During generation, the model treats the unmasked pixels as hard constraints. It has to match their colors, lighting, shadows, and texture at the boundary. Inside the mask, it generates freely, guided by your prompt. The denoising process runs only on the masked region, conditioned on the context the unmasked area provides.
The quality of the blend depends on how well the model was trained on inpainting tasks and how precisely the mask covers the intended region. Sloppy masking leaves visible seams. A tight mask with a clear prompt gives the model the best chance at a natural result.
A newer route skips the mask: instruction-based editing models take the whole image plus a sentence ("replace the red jacket with a navy coat") and decide for themselves which pixels to change. That is faster to set up, but nothing forces the rest of the image to stay identical, so you check it.
When you use inpainting
Remove an object. Mask the unwanted element (or name it, with an instruction model) and prompt with what should replace it: "stone wall, same texture and lighting as surroundings." The model fills in what was behind the object.
Change wardrobe or product details. You have a lifestyle photo and want to swap a shirt color or replace a bag with a different model. Select or name the item, describe the replacement. The lighting and pose should stay; only the selected piece should change.
Fix a generation artifact. An image came out nearly perfect except for a garbled hand or a smeared logo. Target the problem area and re-prompt it specifically. You keep the rest of the composition without running the full generation again.
Swap backgrounds within a tight crop. If the subject is complex to cut out cleanly, target the background region instead and replace it with a new environment while the subject stays put.
Inpainting on 8frame
8frame has no mask brush, so region edits on the canvas are instruction edits: you name the region and the change in words. Afterwards, compare the result with the original outside the area you meant to change.
Flux Kontext tool. Takes one image and an instruction: "replace the red jacket with a navy trench coat, same fabric weight and lighting, keep the pose and background." It starts on FLUX.2 [pro] edit, about 7 credits for a 1-megapixel input (the price rises with the input size); Kontext Max is selectable at 13 credits.
Nano Banana. Attach the image as a reference and describe the edit, for example removing a distracting prop or replacing a garbled hand ("replace the left hand with a relaxed open hand, five fingers, same skin tone and lighting"). Nano Banana 2 is 11 credits an image at 1K; Nano Banana Pro is 21.
Reve Edit. Reve's edit mode takes one image and an instruction, at 34 credits per edit.
Through the MCP connector. If you work from Claude or another MCP client, the "Edit image (smart inpainting)" tool also works from an instruction rather than a mask. It costs 33 credits and returns a 1024 x 1024 square whatever the input shape.
If an edit needs a hard boundary, mask it in an image editor that supports masks and use 8frame for the generation steps around it.
FAQ
Does 8frame have a mask brush? No. The edit tools on the canvas take an image plus a written instruction.
What does an image edit cost on 8frame? About 7 credits for a 1-megapixel image on Flux Kontext (FLUX.2 [pro] edit), 13 on Kontext Max, 11 on Nano Banana 2 at 1K, 34 on Reve Edit.
Related concepts
- Flux Kontext Prompts for Editing Existing Images covers how to write edit prompts for Kontext, including phrasing for local edits versus full-image restyles.
- Nano Banana vs Seedream vs Flux compares the image models available on 8frame.
Sources
- Edit tool inputs (no mask input in the canvas UI), Flux Kontext, Nano Banana and Reve prices, MCP smart edit (33 credits, 1024 x 1024 output): 8frame tool registry and MCP connector config, read 2026-10-01
Ready to try it? Open the 8frame canvas, upload your image, add a Flux Kontext or Nano Banana node, and describe the change you want.
Try it without signing up: the 8frame canvas opens on a real board. The canvas is free and unlimited; generation is paid from $19/month.