# AI Inpainting

> AI inpainting is image editing where you mark an area inside a picture and an AI model repaints only that area — replacing, fixing or removing what is there — while matching the light, perspective and texture around it. The frame stays the same size; that is the difference from outpainting, which paints outside the edges. On Kenerate you inpaint in Edit Studio with Change Region: tap or brush the area, describe what should appear, and press Generate. Default model Seedream 5.0 Pro, 13.5 credits per result.

URL: https://kenerateai.com/ai-inpainting
Publisher: Kenerate AI (https://kenerateai.com)
Last updated: 1 November 2026

## Key facts
- What it does: Regenerates a marked area inside the frame
- On Kenerate: Change Region in Edit Studio (/app/edit)
- Mark the area: Smart select (tap or name it) · Brush 4–120 px
- Default model: Seedream 5.0 Pro · 9 models to pick from
- Credits: 13.5 per result (Seedream 5.0 Pro)
- Removal only: Magic Eraser (same mask, no prompt)
- Free start: 25 starter credits on sign-up
- Watermark: None

## Steps
1. Open Edit Studio — Go to /app/edit in any browser and pick Change Region. Sign in free for 25 starter credits.
2. Upload the photo — Drop in a JPG or PNG — the picture you want to keep, apart from one area.
3. Mark the area — Tap it with Smart select, type its name, or switch to the brush (4–120 px) and paint over it. E erases the mask.
4. Describe what goes there — One clear sentence about the new content, its material and light. The studio adds the keep-everything-else instructions.
5. Generate and compare — Press Generate, check the edges, try another model on the same mask if needed, then download with no watermark.

## In depth

### What is inpainting?
Inpainting began as a restoration term: conservators filling the damaged parts of a painting so the gap disappears [1]. In digital images it means reconstructing a missing or unwanted region from what surrounds it. AI image models made it generative — the filled area can be something new, not just a continuation of the background [2].
People now use the word for three related jobs: replacing something (a new sky, a different outfit), repairing something (a hand, a scratch, a blown-out patch) and removing something (a person, a sign, a wire).

### Mask-based vs prompt-based inpainting
There are two ways to tell the model where to work:
- Mask-based — you paint or select the area. Exact, works on odd shapes and on one of several similar objects. Kenerate: Change Region and Magic Eraser.
- Prompt-based — you name the area in words (“the sky”, “the red mug”). Faster, no selecting, but the model decides the edges. Kenerate: AI Edit, default Qwen Image 3.0, 9.9 credits with one photo.
- Start with words when the area is obvious; switch to a mask when the model touches the wrong thing.

### What makes an inpaint look seamless
The patch has to agree with the photo in four ways: light direction, perspective, colour and grain. Change Region asks for all four in its instruction, but the mask and description decide most of it. A mask that hugs an object too tightly leaves a halo of the old edge; a description that skips the material or the light gets a patch that looks pasted on.
Big areas are harder than small ones: the more the model has to invent, the more it can drift from the scene. Inpaint large changes in two or three smaller passes.

References:
[1] Wikipedia — Inpainting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inpainting
[2] Adobe — What is inpainting?: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/inpainting.html

## FAQ
Q: What is inpainting in AI?
A: Inpainting is AI editing that regenerates a marked area inside an image. You select the area — by painting a mask or describing it — and the model fills it with new content that matches the surrounding light, perspective, colour and texture, while the rest of the picture stays as it was.

Q: What is the difference between inpainting and outpainting?
A: Inpainting works inside the frame: it replaces or fixes an area, and the image keeps its size. Outpainting works outside the frame: it paints new area past the edges, so the image gets bigger. On Kenerate, inpainting is Change Region and Magic Eraser in Edit Studio; outpainting is Expand Image.

Q: Do I need to paint a mask to inpaint?
A: No, but it helps. Prompt-only editing (AI Edit) works when the area is easy to name, such as “the sky” or “his shirt”. A painted mask (Change Region) is better when there are several similar things, odd shapes or exact edges, because it tells the model precisely where to work.

Q: How does Kenerate's Change Region inpaint?
A: When you press Generate, the model gets three images: your photo, a copy with the marked area washed in red, and a white-on-black mask of that area. With them goes an instruction to change only the marked area into what you described, blend it with matching lighting, shadows, perspective, colour and grain, and keep every other pixel the same.

Q: How much does inpainting cost on Kenerate?
A: Change Region with its default model, Seedream 5.0 Pro, uses 13.5 credits per result. GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst uses 20.7 and Nano Banana 2.1 uses 21 at 1K. New accounts get 25 starter credits, credit packs are one-time with no subscription, and a failed run is refunded automatically.

Q: Can inpainting remove objects?
A: Yes — removal is inpainting with “what would be behind it” as the new content. Kenerate has a dedicated tool for that, Magic Eraser: same mask, no prompt, and it also takes out the object's shadow and reflection.

Q: Can I fix hands or faces with inpainting?
A: Yes. Mark only the hand (or the eyes, or the teeth) and describe it plainly, for example “a relaxed left hand with five fingers resting on the table”. A small, tight mask and one area per run give the best results; try a second model if the first attempt isn't right.

Q: Will inpainting change the rest of my photo?
A: The instruction is to leave every pixel outside the area identical. Because the model returns the whole image, very fine detail elsewhere can differ slightly, so compare the result with your original before you use it.

## Related pages
- Outpainting: https://kenerateai.com/outpainting
- Magic Eraser: https://kenerateai.com/magic-eraser
- AI object remover: https://kenerateai.com/ai-object-remover
- AI paint color visualizer: https://kenerateai.com/ai-paint-color-visualizer
- AI image editor: https://kenerateai.com/ai-image-editor

## Sources
- Adobe — What is inpainting? (Photoshop): https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/inpainting.html
- Wikipedia — Inpainting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inpainting
- Wikipedia — Stable Diffusion (inpainting and outpainting): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_Diffusion
- Kenerate Edit Studio: https://kenerateai.com/app/edit