Is it possible to paint only on selected vertices in vertex paint?

Question

I'm trying to add some fake shading to a model in vertex paint mode, but I'm having trouble because some parts of the mesh hide the vertices I'm trying to paint. Ideally, since I'm painting the same colour on all vertices, I'd like to select all the vertices in edit mode, and then use the fill tool (shift+k) to assign the colour to only the selected vertices.

I searched on the internet for any kind of masking in vertex paint mode, and there appears to be something called "Face Selection Mask", but this info was from an old forum thread, and doesn't seem to exist in Blender 2.74. The ability to paint or fill only the selection would be extremely helpful.

Answer 1

Face selection masking is available in the 3D header when in 'Vertex Paint' mode:

Because this works on faces you will only be able to paint vertices that make up a face, individual vertices or edges won't be filled.

1. Select the vertices you want to paint on in edit mode.

2. Change to 'Vertex Paint' mode.

3. Enable 'Face selection masking' in the 3D header. There will now be a dotted line around the selected faces.

4. Press Shift+K to fill the selection with the desired colours.

Answer 2

One way you can do this is with the mask modifier:

1. Add a vertex group of the vertices you want to paint on (or the area you don't want to paint on, whichever is easier)
2. Add a mask modifier and toggle the invert option if you selected the vertices you don't want to paint on.
3. Paint, then disable/delete the mask modifier when you are done.