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6. The Tools in the Toolbox / 6.2 Tools for All Kind of Layers

### 6.2.12 The Mesh Gradient Tool

The Mesh Gradient tool is used to create and edit mesh gradient layers (see chapter 2.3.9).

There are two ways to create a mesh gradient:

- If the active layer is a vector layer, it can be converted into a gradient grid by clicking on the layer. However, to do this, the path of the vector layer must have only one subpath.
- By clicking and dragging, you can create a rectangular mesh gradient.

The Tool Settings provide settings for editing an existing mesh.

You can choose between three sub-tools:

- Edit
Edit allows you to modify the existing grid - in the simpliest case that is just a frame. Edit works like Edit Vector Points (see chapter 6.4.1).
- Insert Vector Points
With Insert Vector Points you can insert new knots, and thus extend the grid. By holding Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) you can use this function without explicitly selecting it.
- Color Picker
The color picker allows you to quickly read colors from the document and assign them to one or more nodes of the mesh.
There are three modes:
- Clicking on an unselected node assigns the color of the document at that location to the node.
- Clicking on a selected node assigns the color at the node locations to all selected nodes.
- Clicking anywhere in the document assigns the clicked color to all selected nodes. All selected nodes will have the same color afterwards.
The color picker can also be accessed quickly by holding down the Alt key. While it is active, the contents of the gradient mesh is hidden so that you have access to all locations in the document.

You can also specify in the Tool Settings how the colors are interpolated between the nodes. Linear Interpolation is faster, Cubic Interpolation provides smoother gradients.

The Tool Settings also show the color of the active node. If the color is changed, all selected nodes will be adjusted.