@ Pdnnoob - if you are speaking of displacement maps, that isn't the problem at all. Gradients are unusable in a 3d model in most cases since it looks like garbage in 3D (no offense intended at all). I typically use seamless textures and they must fit perfectly within any shape to not have seams on the final 3D model. I don't use displacement maps, I use a normal map that is created from a height map or in certain testing modes parallax occlusion mapping created using XnView. In that case the shaped gradient plugin is perfect when I don't have a pre-existing height map. BTW, yes, those shapes are flat on the model, it is an unwrapped UV map but I'm trying to get away from the 'manual' texturing I have to do now.
@ Goonfella - the 'apply texture' plugin is similar to what I need. I did a lot of testing with it using various uv maps. Its good if I didn't need seamless mapping. That plugin tiles the texture, you can easily see it by using a very small texture. Also you can see it doesn't do a form fitting for example in the leaf texture you posted. If there was some way of combining the shaped gradient plugin with the apply texture plugin, that would be exactly what Im hunting for. I do see areas I can use the apply texture plugin but not in this case unfortunately.
Good suggestions all around though, if I get enough time I may end up writing my own plugin just for this (which of course I would release here). With working on a massive game engine I don't get much of an opportunity to work on the tools part but this particular feature is rapidly climbing up the to-do list.