How to Use the Lasso Select Tool in Blender

The Lasso Select tool in Blender allows 3D artists to quickly select objects, vertices, edges, or faces by drawing a freehand outline around them. Unlike the standard box selection tool, the lasso provides precise control over non-rectangular shapes and complex geometries. This guide covers how to access the tool, use keyboard shortcuts, switch selection modes, and apply it effectively in both Object and Edit modes.

How to Activate the Lasso Select Tool

There are two main ways to use the Lasso Select tool in Blender:

  1. Toolbar Menu: Click and hold the primary Select tool icon (usually the Box Select icon) on the left-hand toolbar, then select Select Lasso from the dropdown menu.
  2. Keyboard Shortcut: With any tool active, hold Ctrl + Right-Click and drag your cursor around the elements you want to select. Releasing the mouse button completes the lasso shape and selects everything inside it.

Lasso Selection Modes

When the Lasso Select tool is active from the toolbar, options appear in the top-left Tool Settings bar to adjust how your selection behaves:

  • New Selection: Clears the current selection and selects only the items inside the new lasso area.
  • Add to Selection: Keeps existing selections and adds any new items inside the lasso area. (Shortcut: Hold Shift while drawing).
  • Subtract from Selection: Deselects any currently selected items that fall inside the lasso area. (Shortcut: Hold Ctrl while drawing when using the active tool mode).
  • Invert Selection: Reverses the selection state of items within the drawn area.
  • Intersect Selection: Selects only the items inside the lasso area that were already selected.

Using Lasso Select in Object Mode vs. Edit Mode

Object Mode

In Object Mode, drawing a lasso outline selects any 3D object whose origin point or geometry falls within the drawn boundary, depending on your viewport settings.

Edit Mode

In Edit Mode, the Lasso Select tool interacts directly with the mesh components based on your active selection mode (Vertex, Edge, or Face):

  • Surface Selection: By default, the lasso tool only selects visible components on the front of the mesh.
  • Selecting Occluded Geometry: To select vertices, edges, or faces on the back side of a 3D model, toggle on X-Ray Mode by pressing Alt + Z before drawing your lasso outline.

Key Tips for Better Lasso Selection

  • Speed up workflow: Learn the Ctrl + Right-Click shortcut so you do not need to switch tools on the left toolbar constantly.
  • Precision: Draw tight outlines around dense mesh areas to avoid accidentally selecting unwanted neighboring vertices.
  • Combine tools: Use Lasso Select alongside Box Select (B) and Circle Select (C) to handle different parts of complex models efficiently.