Hi everybody!
I test in the last week the hidden Gradient Mesh Tool.
See first picture - the results are amazing, after only one week of using the tool.

It is a great tool and I hope it will be included in the new version.
For the moment, I have 1 recommandation and 2 "bug comments" (or maybe I don't know how to handle the tool properly...) that I want to make.

1. Recommandation
It would be interesting to have the possibility to have a function that a allow the mesh tool to automatically pick up the color from the visible layers (except the working one, of course) for all / selected points. The layer from which the color is selected can be from underneath layers, or all layers, all VISIBLE layers, etc - this function can have more oprions. I spend a lot of time in "collecting" the color that I need from the underneath layers and this will really help

2. "Bug" number 1.
Sometimes when I try to move a handle, the lines disappear and I must use CTRL+Z to get them back (but I cannot move the handles, because ANY handle moved, provoke this issue). To be honnest, I don't know how I reach this situation, it is happening only for one of the objects I use.
See Picture Bug1



3. "Bug" number 2.
Objects created with this tool (the hidden gradient mesh tool) cannot be moved / flipped, etc. In fact, they can, but they became invisible...
See Picture Bug 2 (mouth original and duplicate the mouth then moved it - the square shows whre the duplicate mouth is, but it is invisible). I tried tu "move up" the object, I even hide all other layers - but unfortunately, the object remain invisible. It became invisible after the first action did to it - flip, move, rotate, etc.
This is annoying because I wanted to use the first eye asa a base for the second, but now I must re-draw it fom scratch...


Hope this help the guys who are working in developping this wonderful tool

Have a nice day!

You'll want to report these things to either the development mailing list and/or Launchpad (bug tracker). This is a user support forum, and very few developers participate here.

https://launchpad.net/inkscape, https://inkscape.org/en/community/mailing-lists/

The Gradient Mesh tool is still considered experimental.

Stunning result !

Dear brynn
I sent e-mail for developpers - thank you for the link!
(yes, I know it is experimental, this is the reason it is hidden )

Dear Espermachine
It is an amazing function! All I can say it require a lot of patience (and clicks! )
But, as you say - the results are stunning.
In this moment I try to define a self-tutorial, in order to identify the best method of realising drawings with this tool, without repating the same operation, by mistake, several times (for the drawing you see there, I used 22 layers, but maybe it can be done with less... )

Mmh. There wasn't any mail on the developers' or user mailing list. You'd need to subscribe first (if you haven't and that's the reason).
You could also try out the development version first to see if any progress has been made (there, it is not hidden, but available in the tool box).

"hidden"??

^--key binding

Moini, thank you for the advice.
Nevertheless, I previously found the email: inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net and I sent them my comments. Only that I had to do it twice - first time my e-mail was rejected because I was included the link to this post, and it seem it is not allowed.
Now I also subscribed to them
The issue is that I found for download only version "Inkscape 0.91+devel_64bit r14690" and in this one I did not found the mesh tool in the tool box... Np, I just create a shortcut.
I read that 0.92 is not yet released for test. Maybe I am wrong? Is there any place wher eI can find 0.92 for testing?

Anyhow - last evening I use the tool for a cople of hours and sometimes strange things happen (including close of Inkscape when I use a CTRL+Z, after the mesh lines suddenly dissappear - see my first post). As a safe procedure to not lose work, after 2-3 actions, I save it (eventually with a new name-version).
When it will became stable, it will be a great tool! I really love it!

See answer on the mailing list (And activate auto-save in the preferences )

New discoveries: because the function is still in developing, there is no DELETE mesh line/node or UNDO (Ctrl+Z often lead to close of the Inkscape, while in mesh gradient tool). This sometimes create desperation.
Well, OK, I create (initially for myself, but at the end I decide to make it public) a self-tutorial considering this amazing function.
You can find (and comment / improve it) here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=23926

The videos are created by myself with the free version tool (also amazing): "Active Presenter"

I es that some people agree tutorials in pdf form - if somebody want it like this, I can make it and attach it.

Have a nice evening!

Wow! Amazing tutorial! Great work and thanks for sharing

Hope it was useful. Pleasure is mine ("To give is to have")
Continuing to work I "discovered" some other things and I like to share them with you here. What I write here is a mixture of test results and tutorial, I will put them here and in the tutorials, hope people will not be mad on me...
Again, I know that this function / tool is still in develop phase. I am aware of that. So we don't know for sure which will be the keys / commands to realise a sub-function or another (add mesh line, delete mesh line, etc)
1) As we already know, it is not possible (in this moment) to delete a mesh line or a mesh node and to undo something.

2) If there is no node selected (but the mesh is active) and you click somewhere with the color picker (F7) - then mesh disappear and undo close the inkscape. Was there, done that.

3) When picking color for the border / margin nodes - especially at the border between 2 zones - zoom a lot the drawing to pick the color as much as possible close to the desired node. I found out that at the borders this can have a lot of relevance. Same thing when you have 2 objects overposed

4) As I previously said, if you have connex zones, you can put them in the same layer. If you have overposed zones, better put them in different layers

5) It is recommendable to split the drawing to several zones, in order to not increase - especially at the beginning of the drawing - the number of the mesh lines - you will obtain a huge amount of handles!

6) I found out that if you have the mesh visible but the layer invisible (yes, it is posible), to be able to add a new mesh line you must: a) put the cursor over a mesh line (so that the "+" appear) and b) keep "Ctrl" pressed. Otherwise the mesh will dissappear.

7) It is not recommended to move nodes and handles while active in "mesh" mode or "color picker (F7)" modes. Bad things can happen. I ususally use the "efit path by nodes (F2)" mode. Safest.

8. When dealing with mesh gradients, it must be clear that for any figure, we have 2 different things:
- the figure iself (shall we say - a rectangle)
- the mesh gradient - who CAN LOOK the same, but it is NOT linkend "node-by-node" to the figure. I mean, you can move the figure independent of the mesh and the mesh independent of the figure. Same for nodes. My experience until now teach me that is good to keep as musch as possible those 2 overposed, to dont have surprises. Node (figure) over node (mesh) - I am reffering to the margin nodes, of course.

9) I don't really use the ROUND mesh just because in fact it is a curved square mesh in fact (at least in this moment). That means that the 0 degree and the 360 degree (in the circle) are NOT automatic synchronised, and this will look strange.

10) As a result, I try to define my "user zones" (split of the main figure) in things as much as possible close to rectangles. But don't be afraid - is you need a pentagon / hexagon or anything else, just consider the main square / reactange and later in the mesh gradient ADD mesh lines, and new margin nodes will appear, so that you can play with them. The difference is that a classin inscape node has 2 lins converging to him, while a margin mesh node is usually has 3 lines convergong to him (except the CORNER mesh nodes, who have 2 converging lines)

11) Mesh lines (in square mesh) are drawn from one square margin to the opposite square margin. There are NO intermediary mesh lines (only between 2 internal mesh lines) and there are no mesh lines between 2 convergin margins.

12) The main investment that you must make in this tool is... PATIENCE. You must have a lot of patience when dealing with mesh gradient, if you really want to obtain some results.

OK. Sorry I talk so much.
And I add another tutorial in 3 parts, that you can find here:

part 1
https://youtu.be/Pucm3J-WS9o
part2
https://youtu.be/M4AnFtzav5g
part 3
https://youtu.be/sLkkTc1AMSI

For this I used the beautiful picture of Arkadiusz Branicki, called: Maya III
Find this one here: https://plus.google.com/108871877301789 ... E4TWBiYr1C
or here: http://www.fineartnude.pl/homo-chorum#12

Please, if you have any comment in order to imprive my actions or my (unwilling but anytime possible) mistakes, please do that.
Wish you all abeautiful day!