Selections, transforms & paste

Rectangle, ellipse and lasso

Select Rectangle Selection with M, Ellipse Selection with Shift + M, or Lasso with Q. A selection defines the eligible canvas area for many drawing and adjustment operations.

Canvas selections are independent of selected timeline frames. Clicking a frame does not mean its pixels are selected.

Multiple Selection

Enable Multiple Selection in Advanced Settings to retain existing selected regions while adding another area. When it is disabled, a new selection replaces the previous canvas selection.

Deselect and Deselect All

Selection controls appear in the top control bar rather than over the artwork. Deselect is shown when there is an active selection. Deselect All appears when Multiple Selection is enabled and there are multiple regions.

Esc cancels an in-progress operation first; otherwise it deselects. Shift + Esc performs Deselect All with Multiple Selection enabled. These defaults can be changed in Settings → Change Shortcuts.

Copy and floating paste

1. Focus the canvas, make a selection, then press Ctrl + C.
2. Choose the destination document and an unlocked, visible pixel layer.
3. Press Ctrl + V. The paste starts as movable content with visible bounds.
4. Drag it, use the arrow keys, or use the transform controls to position it.
5. Press Enter or Apply to commit. Press Esc to cancel without changing artwork.

Paste Creates New Layer is off by default. With it off, a confirmed paste merges into the active layer. With it on, the paste starts on a new selected layer. It remains movable until confirmed.

Cross-document paste

Copy and paste retain RGBA colors, source dimensions, selection shape and transparency. Compatible canvases preserve the original position; otherwise the initial placement is centered in the visible destination area.

The floating preview sits above the artwork. A destination mask, lower opacity or covering layer may affect the committed result; Pixel Studio warns before that merge. An indexed destination may need an RGBA conversion to preserve pasted colors exactly. Undo restores the prior document state.

Move and original-position ghost

Select Move with V to reposition selected artwork. The original-position ghost can remain visible at 50% opacity while the moved content is shown at full opacity. Change Show Original Position While Moving Selection in settings if you need to control that aid.

Transform

Use Ctrl + T to enter selection transform. Use the bounds and handles to resize or reposition the selection, and the top controls to flip, rotate, crop or confirm. A 90-degree rotation preserves the pixel grid; check the result before applying other transform settings.

Use Apply to commit or Cancel to discard the preview. Changing tools while a floating operation is pending presents a commit/cancel decision.

Cut, delete and create a layer

Ctrl + X cuts a canvas selection; Delete erases the selected pixels. The selection context menu also offers Copy, Paste, Cut, Delete, CCT and Create Layer From Selection.

Create Layer From Selection separates the selected artwork into another layer, useful for pulling a prop or object out of a character drawing.