How do I repair a tattoo stencil?

Use Repair lines when the generated stencil is broadly usable and needs a few local corrections. The Pen can reconnect a broken contour, and the Eraser can remove a stray mark or an unwanted bridge. Compare the affected area with the original image, make a small change, and zoom out to check that it fits the neighboring lines before selecting Apply repairs.

A repair is easiest to judge when you know what the missing or unwanted mark represents. An eyelid corner, a petal edge, or a letter opening gives you a specific shape to follow. If the entire output is crowded or faint, compare the source handling or style before tracing many individual strokes. Save a copy of any version you want to keep before generating another treatment.

Decide whether the problem is local

Find three areas in the preview and compare them with the source. If the same defect appears throughout the image, changing the overall treatment is usually more efficient. For example, every filled shape outlined twice may call for a different source mode. A single detached leaf tip on an otherwise clear flower is a good candidate for a short repair.

Check whether the missing feature was present in the selected subject. Background removal can exclude a fine stem or separate mark before line extraction begins. Correct the selection first if that happened. A local drawing patch would otherwise hide a source selection problem, and a later generation could lose the feature again. The settings answer explains the order for checking selection and extraction.

Open the editor and find the working area

Select Repair lines above the generated result. Move to the defect and adjust Zoom until the nearby contours are easy to distinguish. Turn on Show original beneath when you need a reference for the missing shape. Compare a landmark on either side of the gap so you can tell how the intended line should connect.

Choose a Brush size that fits the surrounding marks. A short repair in a narrow gap needs more control than an erasure in an empty margin. Before making a long stroke, try a small section and check its width. On a touch screen, select Scroll to move around the zoomed image without drawing, then return to the drawing tool when the area is positioned.

Reconnect a contour with the Pen

Use the Pen to join the endpoints of a broken edge when the source shows how the edge continues. Begin with a short stroke that overlaps the existing line slightly. Follow the curve in the original beneath, keeping the new section close to the weight of the surrounding contour. Zoom out to see whether the repaired curve changes the apparent shape.

For a petal corner, a straight bridge can turn a rounded fold into a sharp notch. For a letter, a heavy repair can close the opening inside the character. Make one small change and review it before adding another. If the intended path is unclear even in the original image, keep the ambiguity visible and consult the artist or improve the source rather than guessing through a larger section.

Remove a mark with the Eraser

Use the Eraser for an isolated speck, extra edge, or accidental connection that has no role in the guide. Start with a brush that fits inside the unwanted area. Remove a little, compare with the reference, and stop when the meaningful lines are separate. Enlarging the brush can be convenient in an empty margin, but it can also remove nearby contour pixels.

Consider a stem beside a petal with a small generated bridge between them. Erase the bridge while preserving the stem edge and petal tip. Then zoom out and follow both shapes through the junction. If either line ends abruptly, use Undo and try a smaller brush. The readability answer helps decide which marks describe an overlap and which marks only add noise.

Use Undo and Redo to compare decisions

Select Undo after a stroke that changes the shape or removes too much detail. Redo lets you inspect the same change again if you want to compare it with the earlier version. Use these controls for individual decisions while the editor is open. A reversible short stroke is easier to evaluate than several large changes made before checking the result.

Keep track of what each change was intended to accomplish. You might reconnect the top contour, open a letter loop, and remove one speck. After the third change, return to the first area and see whether the overall guide still reads consistently. If you cannot explain why a mark was added, compare it again with the source before keeping it. That review is particularly helpful around dense texture.

Inspect at two viewing scales

Check the repaired area close up for continuity, then look at the whole image near the intended print size. Close inspection reveals a jagged join or an accidental dot. A smaller view shows whether the line is too heavy or whether the repaired detail competes with the main outline. Use both views before approving the result.

For example, a new short curve can look smooth at high zoom yet turn into a dark lump on a small proof. Try a narrower stroke or keep fewer interior marks in that area. When the surrounding source detail is already too dense, a different style or a simpler source may give a better base. A local repair can restore a useful edge, while the size answer helps judge whether the whole composition has enough room.

Apply the repair before downloading

Select Apply repairs when you are ready to use the edited result. Use Cancel repairs to leave the current editing session without applying those changes. Once repairs are applied, the workspace keeps the repaired output for download. Check the visible preview and the chosen size and direction before saving PNG or PDF.

If you later change extraction settings, the workspace can preserve the repaired result until you choose Reprocess and replace repairs. That action generates a new result and replaces the current repairs. Restore generated lines returns to the generated version available in the workspace. Download the repaired copy first if you want a stable file to compare with either of those versions.

Proof the exported result and keep a reference

For a repeatable repair check, choose a small motif with one obvious gap and save the generated copy first. Repair that gap, apply the change, and export a second copy at the same dimensions. Compare both files in one viewer and then on paper. You should be able to identify the intended correction without seeing changes elsewhere in the image. If other areas differ, check whether you changed extraction settings or exported another version during the comparison. Keep the successful repair copy with a clear version label.

Open the downloaded file and inspect the area you repaired. A PDF can be printed at the chosen physical size, and a PNG can be opened in a compatible image or printer app. Use the external viewer or app to make a plain-paper proof. Check the repaired edge with a ruler reference nearby so you are judging the copy at the expected scale.

Save the original image, repaired export, and intended dimensions together. A note such as “reconnected left wing tip and removed border speck” makes the change easy to explain to an artist. If the export looks correct but the paper proof loses that same detail, inspect the print setup before editing the line again. The failed stencil answer shows how to compare stages without losing a good repair.