[Tex/LaTex] Custom and built in TikZ fill patterns

tikz-pgf

I can't find much information about creating TikZ fill patterns or even using the custom built-in patterns. Look to do all the common fills like lines, hatches, dots, stars, etc… I need to be able to control the scale, too. (The patterns I did end up finding were way to large.)

Google doesn't seem to return much info on TikZ fill patterns.

Best Answer

Customizing an existing pattern

The fivepointed star pattern is defined in pgflibrarypatterns.code.tex as

\pgfdeclarepatternformonly{fivepointed stars}% name
  {\pgfpointorigin}% bottom left
  {\pgfqpoint{3mm}{3mm}}% top right
  {\pgfqpoint{3mm}{3mm}}% tile size
  {% code
   \pgftransformshift{\pgfqpoint{1mm}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpointpolar{18}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{162}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{306}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{90}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{234}{1mm}}
   \pgfpathclose%
   \pgfusepath{fill}
  }

If you want to change the size of stars or how far away they are of each other, you just need to change the 1mm and 3mm values respectively, but you need to define a new pattern for that. If you want full flexibility, you need to define a pattern with variables which you can adjust. Let's say we want the starsize and starspread parameters to customize the pattern. We first define the lengths:

% defining the new dimensions
\newlength{\starsize}
\newlength{\starspread}

then declare the corresponding tikz keys:

% declaring the keys in tikz
\tikzset{starsize/.code={\setlength{\starsize}{#1}},
         starspread/.code={\setlength{\starspread}{#1}}}

then set the default values:

% setting the default values
\tikzset{starsize=1mm,
         starspread=3mm}

and finally declare the pattern itself using our variables:

% declaring the pattern
\pgfdeclarepatternformonly[\starspread,\starsize]% variables
  {custom fivepointed stars}% name
  {\pgfpointorigin}% lower left corner
  {\pgfqpoint{\starspread}{\starspread}}% upper right corner
  {\pgfqpoint{\starspread}{\starspread}}% tilesize
  {% shape description
   \pgftransformshift{\pgfqpoint{\starsize}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpointpolar{18}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{162}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{306}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{90}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{234}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathclose%
   \pgfusepath{fill}
  }

You can then just use things like \draw[pattern=custom fivepointed stars,starspread=1.5mm,starsize=0.5mm] (0,0) rectangle (3,4); to produce small stars close to each other in a rectangle. Here's the full code:

tikz star patterns examples

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

% defining the new dimensions
\newlength{\starsize}
\newlength{\starspread}
% declaring the keys in tikz
\tikzset{starsize/.code={\setlength{\starsize}{#1}},
         starspread/.code={\setlength{\starspread}{#1}}}
% setting the default values
\tikzset{starsize=1mm,
         starspread=3mm}
% declaring the pattern
\pgfdeclarepatternformonly[\starspread,\starsize]% variables
  {custom fivepointed stars}% name
  {\pgfpointorigin}% lower left corner
  {\pgfqpoint{\starspread}{\starspread}}% upper right corner
  {\pgfqpoint{\starspread}{\starspread}}% tilesize
  {% shape description
   \pgftransformshift{\pgfqpoint{\starsize}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpointpolar{18}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{162}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{306}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{90}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpointpolar{234}{\starsize}}
   \pgfpathclose%
   \pgfusepath{fill}
  }

\begin{document}

\begin{center}
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=fivepointed stars] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom fivepointed stars,starspread=5mm] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom fivepointed stars,starspread=5mm,starsize=2mm] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom fivepointed stars,starspread=1.5mm,starsize=0.5mm] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}
%
\end{center}

\end{document}

In the same vein, you can customize hatch lines. Here's the code for north west lines. I've put options for color and shifting the hatch lines up (not down):

tikz hatch pattern which can be colored

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

% defining the new dimensions and parameters
\newlength{\hatchspread}
\newlength{\hatchthickness}
\newlength{\hatchshift}
\newcommand{\hatchcolor}{}
% declaring the keys in tikz
\tikzset{hatchspread/.code={\setlength{\hatchspread}{#1}},
         hatchthickness/.code={\setlength{\hatchthickness}{#1}},
         hatchshift/.code={\setlength{\hatchshift}{#1}},% must be >= 0
         hatchcolor/.code={\renewcommand{\hatchcolor}{#1}}}
% setting the default values
\tikzset{hatchspread=3pt,
         hatchthickness=0.4pt,
         hatchshift=0pt,% must be >= 0
         hatchcolor=black}
% declaring the pattern
\pgfdeclarepatternformonly[\hatchspread,\hatchthickness,\hatchshift,\hatchcolor]% variables
   {custom north west lines}% name
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr-2\hatchthickness}{\dimexpr-2\hatchthickness}}% lower left corner
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread+2\hatchthickness}{\dimexpr\hatchspread+2\hatchthickness}}% upper right corner
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread}{\dimexpr\hatchspread}}% tile size
   {% shape description
    \pgfsetlinewidth{\hatchthickness}
    \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{0pt}{\dimexpr\hatchspread+\hatchshift}}
    \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread+0.15pt+\hatchshift}{-0.15pt}}
    \ifdim \hatchshift > 0pt
      \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{0pt}{\hatchshift}}
      \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr0.15pt+\hatchshift}{-0.15pt}}
    \fi
    \pgfsetstrokecolor{\hatchcolor}
%    \pgfsetdash{{1pt}{1pt}}{0pt}% dashing cannot work correctly in all situation this way
    \pgfusepath{stroke}
   }

\begin{document}

\begin{center}
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=6pt,hatchthickness=1pt,hatchcolor=red] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=10pt,hatchthickness=5pt] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\begin{tikzpicture}% hatchshift must be >= 0
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=10pt,hatchcolor=red] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=10pt,hatchcolor=blue,hatchshift=2.5pt] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=10pt,hatchcolor=green!65!black,hatchshift=5pt] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\draw[pattern=custom north west lines,hatchspread=10pt,hatchcolor=violet,hatchshift=7.5pt] (0,0) rectangle (3,4);
\end{tikzpicture}%
%
\end{center}

\end{document}

Here's the code for north east lines:

\pgfdeclarepatternformonly[\hatchspread,\hatchthickness,\hatchshift,\hatchcolor]% variables
   {custom north east lines}% name
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr-2\hatchthickness}{\dimexpr-2\hatchthickness}}% lower left corner
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread+2\hatchthickness}{\dimexpr\hatchspread+2\hatchthickness}}% upper right corner
   {\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread}{\dimexpr\hatchspread}}% tile size
   {% shape description
    \pgfsetlinewidth{\hatchthickness}
    \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchshift-0.15pt}{-0.15pt}}
    \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchspread+0.15pt}{\dimexpr\hatchspread-\hatchshift+0.15pt}}
    \ifdim \hatchshift > 0pt
      \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{-0.15pt}{\dimexpr\hatchspread-\hatchshift-0.15pt}}
      \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{\dimexpr\hatchshift+0.15pt}{\dimexpr\hatchspread+0.15pt}}
    \fi
    \pgfsetstrokecolor{\hatchcolor}
%    \pgfsetdash{{1pt}{1pt}}{0pt}% dashing cannot work correctly in all situation this way
    \pgfusepath{stroke}
   }

Creating new patterns

Creating new patterns is a bit more complex and needs choosing the right shape, the bounding box overlapping, etc. You can see an example with hexagons in the question Drawing Hexagons. I didn't do the work to control the size within Tikz, but it's straightforward to adapt the method described above.

Related Solutions

TikZ-PGF – Outlining Glyph with Text in TikZ

Update 2012-04-10: There's a preliminary package for this on the TeX-SX Launchpad site. You need to run tex on the file pgflibraryshapes.letters.dtx to produce the TikZ/PGF libraries. To generate the font files themselves, you need x2svg.pe font (uses fontforge) to convert to SVG format and svgtopgf.pl font.svg prefix > <fontname>-<fontshape>-paths.tex to convert the SVG to PDF paths (the prefix should be of the form letter@<fontname>@<fontshape>@). Take a look at letter-shapes-test.tex for a sample. The normal and italic shapes for the STIX fonts are already converted. Due to the licensing, they are called stikz!

Do you want something like this?

traced letters

Here's the source code:

\documentclass{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{%
  svg.path,
  decorations.text,
}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[scale=.3]
\draw[decorate,decoration={text along path,text={AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA}}] svg "M707 0h-255v19c36 0 43 2 55 9c8 4 14 15 14 24c0 15 -7 42 -19 70l-41 94h-262l-46 -114c-5 -13 -9 -30 -9 -42c0 -31 22 -41 70 -41v-19h-199v19c58 6 67 27 126 167l206 488h20l246 -563c28 -65 42 -86 94 -92v-19zM447 257l-116 275l-115 -275h231z";
\draw[xshift=25cm,decorate,decoration={text along path,text={aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa}}] svg "M442 66v-28c-30 -38 -56 -48 -90 -48c-37 0 -59 20 -64 73h-1c-53 -60 -102 -73 -145 -73c-62 0 -105 38 -105 104c0 52 31 91 70 117c30 20 67 39 180 81v54c0 62 -33 90 -78 90c-40 0 -70 -22 -70 -49c0 -18 6 -21 6 -42c0 -19 -20 -41 -46 -41c-21 0 -43 19 -43 46
c0 26 16 58 51 80c28 18 70 30 115 30c56 0 94 -16 118 -45s28 -50 28 -111v-191c0 -46 13 -66 31 -66c16 0 26 5 43 19zM287 127v141c-62 -22 -103 -43 -128 -66c-24 -22 -34 -46 -34 -77c0 -53 30 -77 69 -77c20 0 41 5 58 16c29 20 35 34 35 63z";
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

The method of producing this was fairly straightforward. I loaded the font in fontforge and exported it as an SVG font. That then gave me the fonts as SVG paths. Since TikZ can accept SVG format, I could then cut and paste that in to a TikZ document. That lot could be done beforehand so that there was a file with the paths already specified.

Edit (2012-01-29): I had occasion to want to do this with fairly arbitrary letters so semi-automated it. It's not "production" ready, as there's still the odd bit needed to make it truly usable with no extra tweaking, but it's at the usable-if-you-know-what-you're-doing stage.

Convert the font to SVG. You need fontforge installed. Then the following script, made executable, will invoke fontforge and convert the font specified on the command line to SVG format (output saved in the current directory). Eg if it is saved as x2svg.pe (note the extension) then run as x2svg.pe /path/to/font/amazing-font.otf.
```
#! /usr/bin/fontforge -script

Open($1)
Generate($1:t:r + ".svg")
```

Extract the glyph paths from the resulting XML file. The following Perl script does a reasonable job: it should trim excess whitespace at the start and end as well. Also, one could do with a better naming scheme (I tried unicode, but that got confusing).

perl -MXML::Twig -e '
$xml = XML::Twig->new(
twig_handlers => {
glyph => sub { $n = $_->{att}{"glyph-name"}; $n =~ s/_//g; print  %% "\\svgletter{" . $n  . "}{" . $_->{att}{d} . "}\n";}
}
);
$xml->parsefile("amazing-font.svg");
' > amazing-font.letters.tex

Then in the TeX file, we just need to input this file and use the paths. Here's an example:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{svg.path}
\newcommand\svgletter[2]{%
  \expandafter\def\csname svgglyph#1\endcsname{svg "#2"}
}

\input{TeXGyreSchola-Bold.letters}

\def\STOP{stop}
\def\NOTHING{}
\def\empty{}
\newcommand\outline[1]{%
\outlinelet#1\STOP}

\let\thisis\newpage

\newcommand\vfillornewpage{%
  \ifx\thisis\vfill
  \let\thisis\newpage
  \else
  \let\thisis\vfill
  \fi
  \thisis}

\newcommand\outlinelet[1]{%
  \let\next=\vfillornewpage
  \ifx#1\STOP
  \else
  \tikz[baseline=0pt] \draw[scale=0.09,ultra thick] \csname svgglyph#1\endcsname;
  \let\next=\outlinelet
  \fi
  \next}


\begin{document}

\outline{Outline}

\end{document}

With result:

outlined font in TikZ

Obviously, one could be more adventurous in the actual use of the path. Also, it would be good to have a more systematic way of getting the right scale factor (perhaps measuring the height of an "x"). Don't expect kerning!

[Tex/LaTex] Tikz: redefinition of patterns

As mentioned in the comments, I would put the pattern definitions in a separate file and import the definitions file. That way the definitions are kept consistent.

However, if you do not want to do that you could use \providepgfdeclarepatternformonly instead of \pgfdeclarepatternformonly using this definition:

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\providepgfdeclarepatternformonly}[4][]{%
    \pgfutil@ifundefined{pgf@pattern@name@#1}{
        \pgfdeclarepatternformonly{#1}{#2}{#3}{#4}
    }{%
        %Pattern already defined, so don't redefine it
    }%
}
\makeatother

Similar to providecommand, if the pattern is already defined the attempt to redefine it is ignored. Here is the test case where using providepgfdeclarepatternformonly compiles, but pgfdeclarepatternformonly gives the error about pattern already being defined.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\providepgfdeclarepatternformonly}[5]{%
    \pgfutil@ifundefined{pgf@pattern@name@#1}{%
        \pgfdeclarepatternformonly{#1}{#2}{#3}{#4}{#5}%
    }{%
        %Pattern already defined, so don't redefine it
    }%
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\providepgfdeclarepatternformonly{wide lines}{\pgfqpoint{-1pt}{-1pt}}{\pgfqpoint{12pt}{12pt}}{\pgfqpoint{9pt}{9pt}}%
{
  \pgfsetlinewidth{0.4pt}
  \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{0pt}{0pt}}
  \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{9pt}{9pt}}
  \pgfusepath{stroke}
}

\begin{tikzpicture}
\providepgfdeclarepatternformonly{wide lines}{\pgfqpoint{-1pt}{-1pt}}{\pgfqpoint{12pt}{12pt}}{\pgfqpoint{9pt}{9pt}}%
{
  \pgfsetlinewidth{0.4pt}
  \pgfpathmoveto{\pgfqpoint{0pt}{0pt}}
  \pgfpathlineto{\pgfqpoint{9pt}{9pt}}
  \pgfusepath{stroke}
}

\filldraw[pattern=wide lines] (0,0) rectangle (2,2);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}