What clearing a mask does in Blender

Clearing a mask in Blender removes the selection or visibility restriction you've applied to part of your model or scene. When you mask an object, you're telling Blender to hide or isolate certain geometry — edges, faces, or vertices. Clearing that mask shows everything again and returns your workspace to normal editing mode.

The exact steps depend on which masking tool you used. Blender has several: you might have used box select to isolate geometry, applied a boolean modifier that created a mask-like effect, or used the mask mode in sculpting. Each one clears differently, and this guide covers the most common scenarios you'll encounter.

Key Takeaways

  • In Edit Mode, press Alt + A to deselect all geometry and clear a selection mask instantly.
  • If you used box select or circle select to hide geometry, press Alt + H to unhide everything at once.
  • Sculpt Mode masks clear by pressing Alt + M to toggle mask visibility off.
  • Boolean modifiers that created mask-like effects must be removed from the Modifiers panel, not through a keyboard shortcut.
  • If you cannot see your geometry after masking, check the outliner on the right side of your screen to see which objects are hidden.

Clearing a selection mask in Edit Mode

If you selected specific geometry using box select, circle select, or lasso select and now want to see and work with everything again, you need to deselect all. The fastest way is to press Alt + A. This removes the selection highlight from every vertex, edge, and face in your model.

After you press Alt + A, the orange or white highlighting disappears from your geometry. Your model is still visible and fully editable — you've just cleared the selection, not hidden anything. If your geometry is still not showing, the problem is not a selection mask but a visibility mask, which requires a different step.

Unhiding geometry you've hidden

When you select geometry and press H, Blender hides it from view. This is different from deselecting. The geometry still exists in your file, but you cannot see it or edit it until you unhide it. To bring hidden geometry back, press Alt + H while in Edit Mode.

Alt + H unhides everything at once. If you hid multiple objects or groups of geometry at different times, they all reappear. There is no way to unhide only one hidden object from within Edit Mode — you either unhide all or you unhide nothing. If you need to unhide specific objects, use the outliner panel on the right side of your screen and click the eye icon next to the object name.

Clearing a mask in Sculpt Mode

Sculpt Mode has its own masking system separate from Edit Mode. When you paint a mask in Sculpt Mode, you're creating a red overlay that protects certain areas from your sculpting brush. To clear this mask entirely, press Alt + M. The red overlay disappears, and your entire model becomes available for sculpting again.

If you want to keep your mask but just hide the red overlay temporarily so you can see your model clearly, press M instead. This toggles the mask visibility without removing it. Press M again to see the red overlay return. This is useful when you want to check your work without the mask getting in the way visually.

Removing a boolean modifier that acts like a mask

If you used a Boolean modifier to cut away part of your model, that modifier creates a mask-like effect by hiding geometry. Clearing it requires removing the modifier itself, not using a keyboard shortcut. Look at the right side of your screen for the Modifiers panel — it looks like a wrench icon.

Click the Modifiers panel, find the Boolean modifier in the list, and click the trash icon next to it. The modifier disappears, and your original geometry returns. If you have multiple modifiers stacked, make sure you're deleting the right one. Hover over each modifier name to see what it does, then delete only the Boolean.

Checking the outliner when geometry won't show

Sometimes you clear a mask but geometry still does not appear. This usually means an entire object or collection is hidden, not just a selection within an object. Look at the outliner panel on the right side of your screen — it shows a tree list of all objects in your scene. Next to each object name is an eye icon.

If the eye icon is closed or grayed out, that object is hidden. Click the eye icon to toggle it open and make the object visible again. You can also click the eye icon while holding Shift to hide or show all objects in a collection at once. This is separate from the masking tools and often the reason geometry seems to have disappeared.

Frequently Asked Questions

I pressed Alt + A but my geometry is still hidden. What do I do?

You likely hid the geometry with H rather than just selecting it. Press Alt + H to unhide. If that does not work, check the outliner on the right and look for closed eye icons next to object names. Click them to unhide those objects.

Can I clear only part of a mask instead of the whole thing?

In Sculpt Mode, yes — you can paint over the red mask with the mask brush set to subtract mode to erase parts of it. In Edit Mode, you cannot partially clear a selection; you either deselect all with Alt + A or unhide all with Alt + H. Select only what you want to work with instead.

What is the difference between hiding geometry and masking it?

Hiding geometry removes it from view completely. Masking it (especially in Sculpt Mode) protects it from your tools while keeping it visible. In Edit Mode, a selection mask just highlights what you've chosen. They clear differently: use Alt + H for hidden geometry, Alt + A for selections, and Alt + M for Sculpt Mode masks.

I deleted a Boolean modifier and now my model looks wrong. Can I undo it?

Yes. Press Ctrl + Z to undo the deletion. The Boolean modifier reappears and your model returns to how it looked. If you pressed Ctrl + Z multiple times and went too far back, press Ctrl + Shift + Z to redo and move forward through your undo history.