How to make image occlusion cards in Anki
Image occlusion cards hide part of a diagram and ask you to recall what's underneath — the fastest way to memorize anatomy, structures, maps, and labeled figures. Upload an image to 2anki, mask the parts you want to test, and download an Anki deck.
What image occlusion is good for
Any labeled diagram where the labels are the point: anatomy plates, histology slides, biochemistry pathways, circuit diagrams, geography maps. You mask each label and Anki asks you to recall it, one region at a time, instead of staring at the whole figure.
Upload your image
Open the image occlusion editor, drag in a diagram, or pull an image straight from a Notion page. Screenshots, textbook figures, and photos of a printed diagram all work.
Mask the parts you want to recall
Draw over each label with the rectangle, ellipse, or polygon tool — polygon handles irregular shapes like an organ outline. Hide and show the masks as you work to check your coverage, and undo or duplicate a mask to move fast across a busy figure.
Download and study in Anki
2anki turns each masked region into its own card and packages the deck as a .apkg file. Open it in Anki with a double-click. Every masked region becomes a separate prompt, so one diagram can produce a dozen cards in a couple of minutes.
Occlusion for a whole course
Diagram-heavy subjects are faster to review as occlusion cards than as text. Build them alongside your text cards from lecture slides and notes so one deck covers both the facts and the figures.
Common questions
What image formats can I use?
Standard image files — screenshots, textbook figures, or photos of a printed diagram. You can also import an image directly from a Notion page.
Does each mask become its own card?
Yes. Every region you mask becomes a separate card, so a single labeled diagram can produce many cards in one pass.
Do I need the Anki image occlusion add-on?
No. 2anki produces a standard .apkg deck that opens in Anki with a double-click — no add-on to install or configure.
Can I mask irregular shapes?
Yes. The polygon tool traces irregular outlines like an organ or a region on a map, alongside the rectangle and ellipse tools for simpler shapes.