Hi, new inkscape user here. I ran a quick search for this topic, not sure if its been addressed or if I'm asking correctly, but any assistance or links to answers would be great.

I have downloaded a series of fill patterns, these are essentially black line-work with a transparent background. I would like to use these fill patterns on different objects but with different background colors. Is there an easy way to do this? it seems like I'm unable to add a background color to a pattern fill.

For example on some other platforms you can fill an object using a solid or gradient style and then add a pattern fill, resulting in a multilayered color and texture fill. Rather than having to make a whole new series of custom fills.

thanks for any help.

New pattern editor is coming to Inkscape 1.3
 

Hopefully this will get a review as I can´t colorise the background of any pattern like you´ve shown.

The background rectangle have fill unset.
The pattern on top have fill black.
Then they are grouped before creating the pattern.
 

You can take a look on this discussion

With inkscape 1.3 (I'm using Inkscape 1.3-alpha (391ce4f3f, 2023-04-03)), as illustrated by Aero, uou can edit some colors of your pattern. To understand things, I followed Paddy_CAD advice and digged XML-editor. See attached file :

• In this svg, one star, one circle and one rectangle with three differents patterns, so you can explore xml editor for theses objects.
• All the comments have been converted to images or the xml-editor would have been overloaded with arrows, texts...
• You can edit the parent pattern to turn it into color editable pattern (see bottom image) , you can also alter color of each path/shape composing the pattern.

I'm french, I hope my answer and my svg file are easy to understand...

2 Objects? Not what the OP was asking for - and why "unset"? Can you especially change the black fill to another color of that "Ermine" pattern? I can´t -  the "Pattern color" panel disappears by clicking "Color".

Polygon

Can you especially change the black fill to another color of that "Ermine" pattern?

Yes, we just have to fix the original pattern:

Convert pattern to object.
Set fill to unset.
Group before creating the new pattern.
 

Edit: Ermine works here. It was Decorative Paper that did not work.

Inkscape 1.3-alpha (33de2c313, 2023-04-17)

markuss0

For example on some other platforms you can fill an object using a solid or gradient style and then add a pattern fill, resulting in a multilayered color and texture fill. Rather than having to make a whole new series of custom fills.

Here is a svg file describing the thing you want to achieve (ie combining a gradient fill and a pattern above).

• Note that you can tweak the opacity of your hatched star and I guess in the future the way it interacts with the gradient star beyond (screen / lighten, darken, multiply...).
• LPE clone original gets issues with my developpement version, but works with Inkscape 1.2.2

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions, I appreciate it.

I installed Inkscape 1.3-alpha (I’m on windows11 and x64) to try the suggested new pattern editor, however for the pattern fills that I'm using - the color option is not editable (see picture 1). Also, when i just try using the built-in patterns the color editor only allows me to change the pattern color not the background color, so this isn't really what I'm looking for.

In the other software that I’m familiar with (GIS based), I can take the same pattern fill, apply it to a single object as shown, and add a base fill below (see picture 2), this allows you to very quickly change pattern overlay or background fill/gradient on a single object. In essence this is what I'm trying to figure out if Inkscape is able to do.

@David_CAU thanks for the suggestion to make pattern into color editable pattern using XML editor, I don't seem to be able to get this to work. when I add style fill: #000000; all it seems to do is make the color palette editable/active but this doesn't change anything in the actual object...not sure if I'm missing something (see Picture 3).

Picture 1:

Picture 2:

Picture 3:

Can you change the colors in the attached svg file using the pattern editor?

It works here in Windows 11.

Yes, I can change the colors in that attached svg file by using the pattern editor. For the top object it changes the background color and the lower object it changes the ‘pattern’ color.

But if I duplicate each of those objects and change the fill-pattern then the pattern editor only changes the pattern color not the background. Furthermore if I duplicate both objects and apply one of my downloaded fill patterns then I cannot change any color - because the color tab in the editor is not selectable.
 

Attaching the file for the example shown above.

I recreated your pattern in the attached svg.
You can use Object > Pattern > Pattern to objects to study how it was made.
Copy/paste to create different color variations of the same pattern. Duplicates will be the same color.

Thanks for that @Aero, this does achieve the desired effect and seems to be a suitable workaround…I just not sure I see this as a practicable solution to apply across the full range of patterns and color combinations that I will be using. That is why I was interested to see if the multi-layered object fill is an existing function. But it seems not yet, if I'm reading it right.

I do appreciate the assistance though...and I will have a play around with the Object > Pattern > Objects to Pattern to see if it will be effective.

I suppose, for geologic purpose, that you only need to modify the background color, as illustrated by Aero, for volcanic breccias, in order to match color with geologic scale : that's it ?

Hi @David_CAU yes its basically taking the standard geological patterns defined by the USGS and then being able the modify the background colour is the main necessity – in order to highlight different rock units as ‘objects’.
There is a few hundred patterns (typically use a dozen or so per project), but that’s why I was initially enquiring about an in-built layered or multi-fill feature (i.e. similar to some other platforms).
But yes, the method shown by Aero certainly achieves that effect, thanks again everyone for the assistance.

According to me, the best solution, in order to fit to your purpose and to avoid modifing dozens of patterns is to use a way ressembling to post #8.

[works fine for me with inkscape 1.2.2]

• Use your USGS pack as a template :
  • copy "USGS-patterns-INKSCAPE-template.svg" to the template folder (this folder can be found and opened can be opened via Inkscape's global preferences panel > System>User templates).
  • do File > New from template > USGS-patterns-INKSCAPE-template
• Draw your shape (*), set the stroke width, stroke color if necessary and fill color according to geologic scale.
• Select your shape, do Edit > Clone > Clone original path (LPE) (*)
• Select your clone (rename it with an explicit name for example the name of the original path with "_pattern") apply to the fill the desired pattern and lock your clone.
• You're done. You can use two identical patterns with different background color (differents ages).

(*) if your Clone is slightly different, that may be because your original path has an effect (ie Path effect : simplify) then select the original shape, copy it, select your clone and do Path > Paste Path effect.