Feather, smooth, tighten, expand, and increase the contrast of a connected matte before compositing.
Where: Flowgen → Add → Image & Vector → Matte → Matte Grow / Shrink
Key ideas
- Matte Grow / Shrink is one graph step: Feather, smooth, tighten, expand, and increase the contrast of a connected matte before compositing.
- Typed sockets: Inputs: Mask / mask_in — a grayscale or alpha matte.. Outputs: Mask / mask_out — the refined matte.. Settings stay on the node rather than masquerading as extra wires.
- Card and Properties agree: The compact card and selected-node Properties sidebar expose the same persisted controls: Feather: 0–32 px.; Smooth: 0–10.; Contrast: 0–255.; Shift Edge: −16 to 16 px..
- Execution behavior: This browser-local pure operation previews automatically after a short pause while a control changes, then overwrites one durable result file after the value settles. Deselecting the card or starting a downstream flow flushes the pending save. A terminal error exposes Retry; there is no normal Run button.
- Cost and privacy boundary: It calls no generation provider and charges no Sparks/Flowies. Processing happens in the open browser, so it cannot execute in a headless/server-only flow and the source must be readable by the page.
- Matte Grow / Shrink card: PureOpNode uses the authored shared-card path. Feather, smooth, harden, grow, or shrink a matte.
- Properties sidebar: Card-owned operation controls; common properties shell
- Opened surfaces: Mask preview
Steps
- Connect a mask.
- Use Shift Edge to remove a halo or restore clipped coverage.
- Add minimal Smooth for noisy contours.
- Feather for the intended composite scale.
- Raise Contrast only if a firmer matte is required.
- Review over both light and dark backgrounds.
Inputs
- Mask / mask_in — a grayscale or alpha matte.
Outputs
- Mask / mask_out — the refined matte.
Controls
- Feather: 0–32 px.
- Smooth: 0–10.
- Contrast: 0–255.
- Shift Edge: −16 to 16 px.
Important behavior
- Negative Shift Edge shrinks the selected region; positive values grow it.
- Feather softens the boundary while Smooth removes small edge noise.
- Contrast hardens gray transitions toward black/white.
MCP authoring
- Create with create_node { type: "matteRefine" }.
- Connect exact handles with connect_nodes when the node has more than one input or output.
- Use set_props with the complete opParams bag and let the open Flowgen client preview/save it; there is no normal run_node step.
Matte Grow / Shrink controls and presets
- Add path: Flowgen → Add → Image & Vector → Matte → Matte Grow / Shrink.
- Card: PureOpNode.
- Properties: Card-owned operation controls; common properties shell.
- Controls: Feather; Smooth; Contrast; Shift Edge.
- Opened surfaces: Mask preview.
Tips
- Test the operation on one representative asset before placing it inside a List iteration.
- Keep the untouched source upstream so the operation can be changed or bypassed later.
- Judge edges and color at the intended delivery size as well as at full preview size.
Limitations and important notes
- This node changes the entire mask edge uniformly; it cannot paint one local correction.
- Large grow/shrink values can merge nearby regions or remove thin detail.
Troubleshooting
A bright or dark fringe remains
Adjust Shift Edge before adding more Feather; excessive feather often makes a halo wider.
FAQ
Does this open the full Image Editor?
No. This is a focused Flowgen node. Use Image Editor when you need layers, selections, paint, paths, or several edits in one document.
Can I use it in a List iteration?
Yes. Wire the current row field into the typed input, collect the exact output handle, and test one row before scaling the run.