Any ideas on how to efficiently draw this surface pattern?

I recognise Inkscape doesn't have free-form mesh deformation, but perhaps there's something near that I have missed.

I considered Envelope Deformation:



but can see no way to tile constructed grids (so that I can deform within the pattern rather than just at the edge) nor to chequerboard-colour the grid such that the colouring tracks deformation edits.


Thanks.

For a vector solution:
model each square of one of the colours of the pattern as a face in blender, export as obj,
then add it to inkscape\share\extensions\poly3Dobjects folder and render it with the 3D polyhedrons extension,
and colour each path with the right colour.

Non-vector solutions:
create the pattern as a raster image and clip it.

Can use blender similarly with the vector solution, if you render the scene,
or you can use filterforge's trial version.
There may be many other ways too.

Lazur URH wrote:For a vector solution:

That's the one I want

Lazur URH wrote:model each square of one of the colours of the pattern as a face in blender, export as obj,
then add it to inkscape\share\extensions\poly3Dobjects folder and render it with the 3D polyhedrons extension,
and colour each path with the right colour.

Can you explain where in that I get to do the deformations?

Draw a plane, subdivide it many times, delete every second face, then
move some of the edges in edit mode -use the lasso tool (Ctrl+left mouse button hold while moving the cursor around), or the loop select (Alt+right mouse button Click) and maybe switch the view to outlines only (Z),
then select all the faces (A) and press smooth a few times.

You can also try to deform a model with less faces and use modifiers on it -subdivision surface, mesh deform and such.
It's all too intuitive to me how to create an exact mach, but similar ones can be achieved.

Hmm maybe you can also try to draw one of the edges, duplicate (Shift+D), move them to be the other edge of the future object, and use the looptool addon's bridge option, then the loopcut and slide option to divide the faces.

Lazur URH wrote:Draw a plane, subdivide it many times, delete every second face, then
move some of the edges in edit mode -use the lasso tool (Ctrl+left mouse button hold while moving the cursor around), or the loop select (Alt+right mouse button Click) and maybe switch the view to outlines only (Z),
then select all the faces (A) and press smooth a few times.

An alternative to 3D polyhedron?

Lazur URH wrote:You can also try to deform a model with less faces and use modifiers on it -subdivision surface, mesh deform and such.

Thanks, but I can't find a mesh deform facility. Just envelope deform.

It is a more blender based solution.
The mesh deform modifier is inside blender.

Here is a quick and dirty example, with only subdivide and smooth vertex options used:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ft5zbzepiy38tl5/hlp105.blend
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/c9uhiveuvi9r506/hlp105.obj
[svg]https://dl.dropbox.com/s/bjjvbtszbhccpaf/hlp105.svg[ /svg]

Edit: Oh noes it's one of those files that I have accidentally written over. Hard to track up this "hlp" series, when the originals are stored random.

Another fast/dirty is to export a checker pattern and modify in GIMP (whirl, skew), import modified png and embellish.

Now taking a better look at the lpe section of the manual, the interpolate subpaths may work too, to make more adjustments than the envelope deformation can give.
http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Paths-LivePathEffects-InterpolateSubPaths.html

After creating the "horizontal" and "vertical subpaths as lpe-s, they being converted to strokes, all combined together,
and every second endnode connected can make a checkerboard pattern.

Quick example svg:



Sorry about the previous post being changed, it wasn't intentional. Accidentally uploaded other svg to that dropbox, with the same name and it got replaced; will have to manage such files sometime.

Thanks Lazur. BTW, the graphics in all the answers show broken, here. The graphics in the question are OK.

Here is that latest attached:

Thanks.