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I'm a newbie and I am trying to model a hex gradient on a curved surface. I created the gradient I wanted in Illustrator, brought in as an SVG, converted to mesh, and had a lot of finicky work to try to get quad construction. Then I shrinkwrapped to my curved surface and now I'm trying to solidify, but I'm having trouble.

Is there a more automated way to do this. I know there is a 'honeycomb' features under 'extras' but I can't do a gradient of hex sizes.

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  • $\begingroup$ What you've described sounds like the best method to get a size-gradient of hexagonal holes in Blender -- I don't think it's needed often enough for anyone to try to automate it. That having been said, what you've described should solidify. What trouble are you having? Have you applied the shrinkwrap modifier? Have you checked for duplicate vertices and flipped normals? Also, it's sometimes a good idea to post your blend file, or a truncated version of it that has the problem. The Blender StackExchange has its own service to share blend files: blend-exchange.com/help $\endgroup$
    – KickAir8p
    Commented Mar 8, 2022 at 20:08
  • $\begingroup$ You can create this hexagon grid with Geometry Nodes and an Array and a Boolean modifier. Here is a try: i.sstatic.net/TDFBh.jpg. (I'll post an answer later.) $\endgroup$
    – Blunder
    Commented Mar 9, 2022 at 21:06
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you both for the answers. My original issue was that I did not ensure that I merged everything before shrinkwrapping. I actually did end up using Arrays in the end. One thing I've noticed...my shrinkwrap is not smooth, even though I shrinkwrapped to a smooth curve. Any ideas where I might have gone wrong? $\endgroup$
    – Rob
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 14:39
  • $\begingroup$ I tried to shade smooth and Auto smooth, after shrinkwrapping and solidify modifiers and it seemed to do a good job. Is this the best way to remove the bumps created by the hex pattern? $\endgroup$
    – Rob
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 14:59

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I became interested in how you could do this in geometry nodes.

To build this we need a perfect triangle grid as described in this accepted answer.:

How to make an Equilateral Triangle Grid with Geometry Nodes?

This has numerous controls. I made use of the .blend, since the answer is quite nuanced.

We can use the dual mesh 'trick' to convert the tris to hexes, then split the edges, and scale the elements using a color ramp.

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We have one branch going from the triangle grid through this gradient effect, the other branch will be going to a bounding box, so we can have a flat plane with same position and scale as the triangle grid.

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The remaining nodes are just extruding the shape we have built. At this point, we have a gradient hex wall, but there is no arc or curve deforming the object.

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So, we have successfully built the gradient, but we haven't implemented a bend modifier. I chose a tree based on this answer: How to recreate bending from simple deform modifier, within geometry nodes?

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There is a problem when a modifier is added, the extrusion creates sidewalls. To eliminate the sidewalls we can make a selection based on X or Y position. Also, if the rotation is not what we want, a final transform geometry may help.

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Just an added note, that the created geometry can be combined with a curve modifier to create some interesting forms. Many group inputs can be added to customize or control the result.

enter image description here enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ The Fill Curve is very slow, I think it's going to be better in B4.2... Also it's double-faced, on purpose? I think it's missing some setting for thickness. Removing the double faces is trivial btw just merge by distance. $\endgroup$
    – Markus von Broady
    Commented Jun 15 at 1:48
  • $\begingroup$ Hmm, after merge there's normal inconsistency, set position with normal offset will move faces apart, because they are disconnected, but I guess you could just delete faces based on normal before bending. $\endgroup$
    – Markus von Broady
    Commented Jun 15 at 1:52
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you, yes, you are right there is an improvement that could be made with the extrusion nodes. $\endgroup$
    – common_goldfish
    Commented Jun 15 at 1:58
  • $\begingroup$ Also yes, I am using B4.2. $\endgroup$
    – common_goldfish
    Commented Jun 15 at 1:59
  • $\begingroup$ I've made an edit. $\endgroup$
    – common_goldfish
    Commented Jun 15 at 3:17
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