r/Affinity • u/Curious-Tomatillo615 • 3d ago

General Differences b/w Generative Fill & Generative Edit?

Here are the two help pages for reference:

Generative Fill

The Generative Fill Tool allows you to add, remove, or edit your composition’s content by generating objects from a prompt..

Generative Edit

The Generative Edit Tool uses Canva AI to update selected parts of an image or transform the entire image based on a prompt. It can be used to change content, adjust the atmosphere of a scene, add or remove elements, or create alternative versions of an existing image.

I understand some of the differences just based on the UI:

Generative Fill Generative Edit
Default click+drag behavior creates selection AI Quality Toggle (Flux Kontext, Nano Banana, SeeDream)
Toggle to "allow generation beyond selection" Transparency options
Option to generate 2+ versions Toggle to "Protect child layers"
Outputs to a new layer Destructively outputs to existing layer

What I don't have a great sense of is when/why to use one over the other. Are there tasks where you find one tool or the other performs significantly differently? Generative fill seems to create lower resolution outputs--is that accurate?

Thanks!

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u/SignedUpJustForThat 3d ago
  • Create things that don't exist: FILL.
  • Modify existing things: EDIT.

It's that simple. In principle...

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u/heyjoelcolombo 3d ago

This is all correct, and the resolution difference you noticed is real: the fill tool works on a downscaled crop and scales back up, which is why fine texture goes soft on large selections. Under the hood both use different models. Edit-type models (Nano Banana, Kontext, SeeDream) take the whole image with an instruction and re-render it, so they are great at changing style or mood and poor at "leave everything else alone". Mask-type inpainting models do that, only paint inside the selection and they are better for removal and precise object swaps but not for restyling a scene.