Pattern Skin — the complete guide

Pattern Skin turns any pattern — a PNG/JPG, an SVG, an AI‑generated texture, or a built‑in grip — into real, printable relief on a 3D model. Apply it to a whole surface, a wrapped tube, an S‑bending pipe, or just the region you select. Raised or engraved, at a depth you control. Everything bakes to true geometry and exports as a print‑ready STL or 3MF in one click.

It also generates complete printable parts of its own — a knurled grip sleeve that slips over a handle, and knife‑handle scales (blanks or traced from your knife).

Pattern Skin is a Blender add‑on, licensed under the GPL (required for all Blender add‑ons). The relief and parts you create are yours — sell what you print or model.

1. Install

1. Blender → Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Add‑ons ▸ Install… (Blender 4.x or 5.x).
2. Choose PatternSkin.zip, then tick "Pattern Skin" to enable it.
3. In the 3D viewport press N → Pattern Skin tab.

The core runs on stock Blender with numpy only — nothing else to install. Optional speed‑ups (SciPy / GPU) are one click in Settings & licence ▸ Acceleration and are never required.

Scale note: the tool works in object units. In a millimetre scene (1 unit = 1 mm), every "mm" field is literally millimetres — which is how print‑bound models are usually built.

2. How the panel works — a focused flow

The panel is a single‑open accordion. Click a header and that step opens; every other step closes, so you only ever see the one you're working on. The numbered flow (1–5) is the main path; the Extra tools below it are optional, self‑contained utilities.

Most controls explain themselves on hover — rest the mouse on any field or button for a tooltip (the action buttons even compute live detail, e.g. the print‑fix button shows exactly what it will change).

The flow, top to bottom:

1 · Object

Pick the kind of object you're texturing (box lid / tube / ring / S‑curve pipe / irregular / dome). Choose a Preset — there are ~50 tuned starting points (e.g. "Mandala medallion", "Knurled grip", "Celtic ring") — and an optional Finish (gold, silver, bronze, copper, gunmetal, black, white, pearl). Load preset sets the projection, tile, depth and finish for you in one click. You can override anything afterward.

2 · Pattern — the filmstrip

The Pattern step shows a filmstrip of your model's parts. Before a scan there is a single Whole object cell (plus a Scan into parts / Select by name entry when a Replicate key is connected) — the classic one-pattern flow. After a parts scan the strip grows to one cell per part, each showing a small render of that part in its viewport colour.

• Click a part image's button to select it on the model; click again to deselect.
• Each cell carries a pattern chip (or + add). Clicking it opens that slot's editor: Use a file (any image) or Generate — type a prompt, pick a model (price shown inline, flux‑schnell default and its output is Apache‑2.0 / freely sellable) and hit Generate on your own Replicate key.
• The Master pattern row + Apply to all fills every cell at once; individual cells can still be overridden.
• One‑line dressing: type e.g. damascus blade, knurled grip, plain guard and press play — each phrase AI‑matches its part by name (~1¢), then uses a library texture free when a filename matches the words, else generates one. "plain" leaves a part bare.
• Print fitness: cells whose tile/depth won't resolve at your nozzle & layer height show a red warning; click it (or Make all printable) for the one‑click fix.
• Bake applies every assigned pattern in one pass; parts data saves automatically (free, local) and reloads the moment you select the model again.

Below the strip, the classic controls remain: one or two patterns (add / max / multiply / overlay), the Library folder (defaults to your Asset Forge library), Generate (Asset Forge) for batch/seamless library building, file browsing, From library, and Make seamless.

3 · Relief

Set Mapping (projection — see §4), Depth (mm) and Tile size. Open Advanced tone for the rest: Relief (Raised vs Engraved), Depth falloff (fade the relief across an axis/radius), Resolution (mesh fineness — smaller = crisper, heavier), Decimate to (lighter STL), Invert tones, Contrast, Gamma, and Black/White points (Levels).

4 · Selection

Selection is split into three groups (only one open at a time): Standard, Advanced, and AI selection tools.

Standard selection tools — the everyday path: - Smart Select — choose a Mode (Auto, Smooth surface, Ornament only, Flat panel, or Similar everywhere), set Tightness, and click Smart Select. Or use Pick on the model to click a face and have Smart Select run from it.

Advanced selection tools — pick one tool from the Tool dropdown; only its single control + a Run button appear: - Fill to creases — flood the connected panel around a seed face, stopping at sharp creases/rims. - Grow outward — grow the current selection a set distance across the surface. - Isolate the part — find the natural part boundary around a seed and select that part. - Select all like this — every face matching the seed's curvature + thickness, anywhere. - Same-facing faces — every face pointing the same way as the seed (e.g. an underbelly). - Band along the edges — a band hugging the sharp/cutting edges, no seed needed (great for a damascus edge or inlay). - Split with a stroke — drag one stroke across a join to split two parts.

AI selection tools — scan the model into parts on your own Replicate key, then pick a part to select (best for multi-part models).

Leave Apply to this selection only on to confine the relief to what you picked.

5 · Apply

Preview shows the relief non‑destructively (toggle it off to clear). Apply Pattern bakes it to geometry. Both are greyed until you have a mesh selected and a pattern chosen.

3. Extra tools

Each tool is self‑contained — it has its own inputs and doesn't borrow settings from the flow (only the numbered steps share state).

AI texture

Generate a single pattern from a text Prompt on your own Replicate account (bring your own key — we never see your key or your spend). Click the gear once to paste your key; it's verified, then stored encrypted in a local passphrase-protected vault — never in plain text — and shared with Asset Forge so you enter it once. Pick a Model (flux‑schnell is fast/cheap and Apache‑2.0, higher models cost more). Generate is one texture at a time — use Asset Forge for batches and whole libraries.

Grip & scales

Three modes, plus 12 grip presets (tool handle, screwdriver, pen, knob, bike, barbell, camera, precision, hex, pyramid, ribbed, fine) that load editable values:

• Sleeve — build a complete, printable knurled tube that slips over your part. Set length, the diameter it fits over, wall thickness and clearance; pick a knurl style, feature size and depth. Watertight, smooth bore, knurl on the outside.
• Knife scales — generate a matched left/right pair of handle scales. Two ways: trace your knife as a black‑on‑white silhouette (holes = white) and import it for an exact‑fit pair, or pick a blank size (5×2×¼″ etc.) and set hole count/diameter. Generic blanks — trim/verify to your knife.
• On my part — generate a seamless grip texture and apply it to faces you select on a mesh you already have.

Lithophane

Turn a photo (its own field) into a backlit lithophane — thin where it should glow, thick where it stays dark. Set Base, Tone depth and Resolution, then Make lithophane.

Per‑region (multi‑pattern)

Bake different patterns onto different regions of one mesh in one pass. Add pairs the current selection + pattern as a region; set this tool's own projection / tile / depth / relief; Bake regions applies them all. Clear resets.

Print readiness

Set your Nozzle and Layer height. The tool checks the relief will actually print (relief ≥ ~2× layer; tile ≥ ~4× nozzle). Preview relief to see it, Apply to auto‑fix the depth/tile to printable values (greyed when it's already fine — the button's tooltip explains exactly what it'll change).

Export & batch

Export STL or Export 3MF (for Bambu Studio / OrcaSlicer / PrusaSlicer). A scale pair exports as two objects in one 3MF. Choose a slicer to tailor the Save guide notes (PrusaSlicer / OrcaSlicer / Bambu Studio / QIDI / Generic). Batch apply has its own Texture + projection + tile + depth + relief and applies it to every selected object.

Export parts (multi‑material) — after a parts scan, export for multi‑filament printing:

• 3MF – Bambu/Orca painted (default): a native Bambu‑Studio/Orca project where every part is painted to its own filament slot (up to 16). Drag‑drop it in and print — no colour dialogs.
• 3MF – standard face colours: spec‑standard per‑triangle colours for other 3MF‑aware tools.
• 3MF – object per part: PrusaSlicer‑style separate objects.
• STL per part: works in every slicer ever made.

Settings & licence

Activate / personalise, optional Acceleration (SciPy / GPU), and help.

4. Projection modes — pick the right one

• Planar — flat panels, lids, plaques. Perfect undistorted tiling.
• Cylindrical — straight tubes, shafts, nozzles. Wraps around the long axis.
• Swept (planar bend) — tubes that bend in one plane: tori, rings, arcs.
• Swept 3D (S‑curve) — tubes that bend in any direction; a rotation‑minimizing (parallel‑transport) frame carries the pattern down the bend with no twist or drift.
• Triplanar — blocky/irregular parts with no clear axis (winner‑takes‑all, no smearing).
• Auto — flat selection → Planar; long/thin → Cylindrical; else Triplanar.

5. Recipes that look good

• Crisp dragon scales on a lid: Object = Box lid, Planar, Tile 20–25, Depth 0.3, Contrast ~2.0, Resolution 0.25, Invert on.
• Subtle engraved texture: Engraved, Depth 0.2, Contrast 1.8, Resolution 0.25.
• Scaled tube: Cylindrical, Tile 14–18, Depth 0.35, Resolution 0.3.
• Damascus along a blade edge: Selection = Advanced ▸ Band along the edges, then your damascus pattern.
• Tool‑handle grip sleeve: Grip & scales ▸ Sleeve, preset "Tool handle — diamond knurl", set the fit diameter to your handle.
• Knife scales: Grip & scales ▸ Knife scales, trace the knife → Create scales from outline.
• Photo lithophane: Base 0.8, Tone depth 2.5, Resolution 320.

6. Performance & printing notes

• Resolution drives everything. Fine resolution on a big surface = millions of faces. Start at 0.3–0.4; go finer only if needed. Set Decimate to for a lighter STL.
• Match depth to your nozzle. Relief shallower than ~2× layer height won't print cleanly — the Print‑readiness check (and its one‑click Apply) fixes it.
• Applying is destructive (it bakes geometry). Preview first, work on a copy, or Ctrl+Z.
• Export STL for a single part, 3MF when you want a pair/multiple objects in one file.

7. Troubleshooting

• "No faces selected" → set Selection to Whole mesh, or select faces first.
• Muddy / noisy relief → lower Resolution (denser mesh), raise Contrast.
• Pattern too busy → increase Tile size (fewer, bigger repeats).
• Relief won't print / too shallow → Print readiness ▸ Apply.
• SVG won't load → install cairosvg in Blender's Python, or export the SVG to PNG first.
• AI: "No API key" → click the gear in the AI texture tool and paste your Replicate key.
• Bambu says "geometry only" → expected for any non‑Bambu 3MF; the model is complete.
• Blender hangs on Apply → Resolution too fine for a large surface; undo, raise Resolution and/or set Decimate; install accelerators for big jobs.

8. Licensing

Pattern Skin is GPL software — use it on as many machines as you like. Anything you create with it (the relief geometry, the grip sleeve, the scales, the STL/3MF, the print) is yours to sell. Textures you generate on flux‑schnell are Apache‑2.0 and freely sellable; other models follow their own terms via Replicate.

Questions? Email support@nexusmill.com — we answer.