Curve Animate 1.0 geometry node

Lets you interactively draw and animate Bézier curves using tools similar to 2D illustration programs, as well as polylines and NURBS.

On this page	Overview Terms Using the interactive state Drawing Bézier curves Drawing with Auto-Bézier points Editing curves Creating an Orient Attribute Creating a Radius Attribute Animating a Curve Operation toolbar Shortcut reference Draw Tool Edit Tool Orient Tool Scale Tool Tips and notes Parameters Input Output State Settings Inputs Outputs
Since	22.0

Overview ¶

This node’s interactive state lets you draw and edit cubic Bézier curves using tools similar to 2D illustration programs like Illustrator, Sketch, and InkScape. This is useful for drawing artistic curves by hand. For example, tracing images, drawing logos, drawing profile curves to extrude, and revolve.

This node also includes an Auto-Bézier point type, similar to Illustrator’s Curvature tool, which lets you guide a curve by placing edit points without having to worry about tangents.

You can also draw polylines, non-cubic orders of Bézier curves, and NURBS. However, when you are drawing these other types, you click to place each point and Houdini interprets the point according to the curve type. This is without the special support for drawing tangents you get when drawing cubic Bézier curves.

Terms ¶

Edit points

Also called on-curve points or anchor points. In a Bézier curve, the curve passes through these points.

Tangent handles

Also called control points. In a cubic Bézier curve, these control the direction of the curve going into and coming out of an edit point.

Corner point

An edit point where the tangents have zero length or point in different directions, causing a sharp corner. This is sometimes called having broken tangents.

Smooth point

An edit point where the node keeps the tangents together in a line, so the curve has smooth tangent continuity as it goes through the point.

Balanced point

An edit point where the node keeps the tangents together in a line and also enforces the tangent points are equal distance from the edit point. This makes the curve have smooth curvature continuity as it goes through the point.

Auto Point

An edit point where the tangents are automatically computed based on the positions of surrounding points and tangents to create a smooth curve. Specifically, the control vertices are computed so the curve is continuous in both its first and second derivatives (direction and curvature) through these points.

Branch point

An edit point containing multiple vertices.

End Point

An edit point at either end of an open curve.

Tools

While the Curve tool’s state is active, you can be in one of four tools: the Edit tool, the Draw tool, the Orient tool, or the Scale tool. The buttons for these tools are in the operation toolbar across the top of the viewer when the node’s state is active, or you may cycle through them with the F or ⇧ Shift + F.

Using the interactive state ¶

With the Curve node selected, click the Handles tool (to the left of the viewer), or move the mouse over the viewer and press Enter.

Note

In Houdini, pressing ⎋ Esc will switch from the active viewer state to the View tool. This can be confusing if you meant to cancel the drawing. To get back to the Handles tool (and the curve animate node’s state), make sure the Curve Animate node is still selected, move the mouse over the viewer, and press Enter.

The handle in the Curve Animate state is automatically shown or hidden based on the current tool and the selection. By default the handle is turned off. To turn on the handle, click Show Handle in the settings HUD or the parameter pane.

Drawing Bézier curves ¶

In the Draw tool, LMB or drag in empty space to start a new curve, or click/drag the start or end point of an existing curve to continue drawing the curve. Choose the type of anchors to place with the Draw Type parameter in the Draw tab of the settings HUD or the equivalent parameter in the parameter pane.

To...	Do this
Place a retracted corner point	to place a corner point.
Place a smooth point	to place the point and without releasing it, move to drag out tangent handles.
Create a straight segment	Hold `⌃ Ctrl` + `⇧ Shift` to straighten the current segment.
Switch from a straight line to a smooth curve	Hold `⌃ Ctrl` and to place a point, then drag out the outgoing tangent handle.
Draw two curve segments connected by a corner (broken tangents)	to place the point, and without releasing it, move to drag out tangent handles. With still down, click `⌃ Ctrl` to freeze the incoming tangent, so you are now only dragging the outgoing tangent. You can release `⌃ Ctrl` to go back to dragging the tangents together. Drag the outgoing tangent to where you want, then release .
Edit points while drawing	Press `⌦ Del` to delete the previous point. click to pick points and select them, then perform an option on the selected point from the operation toolbar. Drag anchor points to move them.
Begin drawing from branch point	click an existing midpoint of a curve to create a branch point and begin drawing a new curve from it. or `CTRL` + click on a curve segment to insert a point into the curve. Then to create a branch point at the inserted point and begin drawing from it.
Finish the curve	Click the start point to close the curve. You can also drag to edit the tangents on the point. or Click Close Curve on the toolbar to automatically connect the previous point to the first point. or Press `Enter` to finish drawing the (open) curve. or Press `⇧ Shift` + `Enter` to finish drawing the curve and close it. or Switch to the Edit tool.
Draw on a surface geometry	Template the surface geometry. To visualize the templated surface while snapping, change the Draw tool for Template Model Geometry to Hidden Line Invisible. This option is in the Display Options dialog > Markers tab. Then set Set display options for to `Template Model Geometry`. Turn on Primitive Snapping on the left side of the viewport. Optionally, turn off the Current Geometry to prevent snapping to the curve itself. Draw points on the surface of the templated geometry.

Drawing with Auto-Bézier points ¶

When drawing Auto-Bézier points, you can only click to place points (there are no tangent handles). The relative placement of the points controls the direction and curvature of the curve. The preview shows the new shape of the curve if you add a point at the current pointer location.

With some practice, you can learn how to place points (closer together or farther apart) to control the curve’s turning speed and its shape.

To...	Do this
Add a point	Click to add a smooth point. Hold `Ctrl+Shift` to place a straight line segment and convert the previous auto point into a corner. Hold `⌃ Ctrl` and drag to place a corner and drag the outgoing tangent before beginning the next segment.
Finish the curve	Click the start point to close the curve. (You can also drag to edit the tangents on the point.) or Click Close Curve on the toolbar to automatically connect the previous point to the first point. or Press `Enter` to finish drawing the (open) curve. or Switch to the Edit tool.

Editing curves ¶

To...	Do this
Select a point or points using the Edit tool	Click a point to select it. Drag a selection box around multiple points to select them. Click a curve segment to select the edit points at the start and end of the segment. Hold `⇧ Shift` and click a point to add it to the selection.
Make a smooth point into a corner (break tangents)	Click a point to show its tangent handles. Hold `⌃ Ctrl` and drag one of the tangent handles to move it independently of the other.
Change points from corner to smooth to balanced	Click a point to select it. Do one of the following: Click Make Corner in the toolbar, or press `1`. Click Make Smooth in the toolbar, or press `2`. Click Make Balanced in the toolbar, or press `3`
Reshape a Bézier curve	Do any of the following: Select a point to show its tangent handles. Drag a tangent handle to change the direction and speed of the curve going into or out of the point. Press on a curve segment (between edit points) and drag. The node will manipulate the tangents to shape the curve interactively as you drag it. Drag the line connecting the tangent handles to rotate the tangents without affecting their distances from the point. Select a curve segment and click the Make Straight button in the toolbar.
Move a point	Select a point and drag it to move it.
Move a point in 3D space	Select the point. Press `T`, `R`, or `E` or enable Show Handle in the settings HUD `G` to show the transform handle. Use the handle to move the point in 3D space.
Move an entire curve	Hold `⇧ Shift` and drag the curve.
Insert a point in the curve	Hold `⌃ Ctrl` and click the curve where you want to insert the new point.
Cut a curve at a point	Select the point you want to cut at the curve. In the toolbar, click Cut Curves at Selected Points.
Join two open endpoints	Select two endpoints. In the toolbar, click Join Selected Points
Join two open endpoints with a line	Select two endpoints. In the toolbar, click Add Segment Between Endpoints.
Fuse two points into a branch point	Select two points. In the toolbar, click Fuse Branch.
Split a branch point into independent points for each vertex.	Select a branch point. In the toolbar, click Split Branch.
Delete a point	Select the point. Click Delete Point in the toolbar, or press `⌦ Del`. If Approximate Bezier Shape on Delete is on, the node reshapes the curve to try to approximate its previous shape without the deleted point.
Delete a curve segment	Select a segment in the curve. In the toolbar, click Delete Segment.
Reverse a curve	Select one or more points on the curve. Click the Reverse button in the tooblar.
Convert a curve to a different type	Select one or more points on the curve. In the toolbar or right click menu, click To Polygon Hull to convert a NURBs Curve or Bezier Curve to a polygon by reinterpreting the control vertices. In the toolbar or right click menu, click To Resampled Polygon to convert a NURBs Curve or Bezier Curve to a polygon by resampling the curves. The number of divisions per span is specified by Resample Divs. In the toolbar or right click menu, click To Bezier to convert a NURBs Curve or a Polygon to a Bezier Curve. When converting from Polygon, if Match Polygon Shape when Converting is on, the resulting Bezier will match the polygon shape by inserting extra control vertices. Otherwise it will reinterpret the polygon as a Bezier curve. In the toolbar or right click menu, click To NURBS to convert a Bezier Curve or a Polygon to a NURBs Curve. When converting from Polygon, if Match Polygon Shape when Converting is on, the resulting NURBs Curve will match the polygon shape by inserting extra control vertices. Otherwise it will reinterpret the polygon as a Bezier curve.
Clear all curves	In the parameter editor, click Reset All Changes. or Click the Edit tool, select all points, then press `⌦ Del`.
Set colors on curves	Select one or more points on each curve you want to change the color of. In the toolbar click or in the right click menu click Set Curve Color under Utility. In the color selection dialog choose the color you wish to apply and press OK.
Set names on curves	Select one or more points on each curve you want to name. In the right click menu click Set Selected Curve Names under Naming. In the shown naming dialog, click into the string field beside each numbered primitive to begin editing its name. If the curve already had a name, the value in the field will be set to the current name when the dialog is opened. Press OK to apply the new names after editing.
Copy and paste curves	Select one or more points on each curve you want to copy. Press `Ctrl+C` to copy the curves. Press `Ctrl+V` to paste the copied curves. Pasted curves will be centered on the position on the Edit Plane under the cursor in the viewport. If any pasted curves have animated points, the offset when pasting will also be applied to any affected position channels.

Creating an Orient Attribute ¶

In the Orient tool, you can specify target orientation on anchor points by specifying a target Up vector. Attributes for the orientations are then created to smoothly transition in and out of the specified orientations. The resulting attributes use a parallel transport along the curve to determine the orientation for all other points.

To output the orient or axis attributes, turn on Output Quaternion, Output X Axis, Output Y Axis, or Output Z Axis. When any orientation has been created, guide geometry is drawn on curves in the viewport to visualize the attribute. The guide geometry can be shown or hidden with the Show Guide parameter, you can decide which components to show with Guide Components, and the scale of the swept Gnomons for the guides can be customized with Guide Scale.

When in the orient tool, interactive gadgets are available on each of the selected points with a target orientation. By dragging these gadgets, you can rotate the frame around the curve tangent at the point.

To...	Do this
Add a target orientation point	Select one or more anchor points and press `A` or Create Up Point in the right click menu.
Remove a target orientation point	Select one or more target orientation points and press `⌦ Del` or Remove Up Point in the right click menu.
Change all selected orientation points	Select one or more orientation points. Enable Change all Selected in the Orient and Scale HUD settings and drag the rotation handles in the viewport.

Creating a Radius Attribute ¶

In the Scale tool, you can specify target scales on anchor points by specifying target Scale values. A pscale attribute is then created to smoothly transition in and out of the specified target scales. The resulting attribute is then interpolated between target scales to determine the values for all other points. To output the scale attribute, turn on Radius Attribute.

When any scales have been created, guide geometry can also be drawn on the curve in the viewport to visualize the attribute. The guide is shared between the orientation and scale tools, showing the orientations and scale factors along the curves. The guide geometry can be shown or hidden with the Show Guide parameter, you can decide which components to show with Guide Components, and the scale of the swept Gnomons for the guides can be customized with Guide Scale.

When in the scale tool, interactive gadgets are available on each of the selected points with a target scale. By dragging these gadgets you can increase or decrease the scale value at a particular point.

To...	Do this
Add a target scale point	Select one or more anchor points and press `A` or Create Scale Point in the right click menu.
Remove a target scale point	Select one or more target up points and press `⌦ Del` or Remove Scale Point in the right click menu.
Change all selected scale points	Select one or more scale points. Press `[` or `]` to increase or decrease the scales by a fixed amount set by the Handle Scale Step in the extra state parameters `P`. or Enable Change all Selected in the Orient and Scale HUD settings and drag the scale handles in the viewport.

Animating a Curve ¶

To...	Do this
Keying a point on a curve	Turn off Synchronize Keys per Curve if you don’t want all points on the curve to be keyed. Press `K` or click Set Keyframe in the right click menu.
Keying all points on a curve	Select all points on the curve, then press `K` or Turn on Synchronize Keys per Curve, select any number of points on the curve, then press `K`
Create animation on a point	With the point selected, press `K` if the point does not yet have channels. Move the playbar to a different time. Press `K` to insert a new keyframe, then edit the curves in the Animation Editor panel. or Drag the point in the viewport to automatically create a new keyframe.
Animating the orientation or scale	With an orient or scale point selected, press `K` to create channels if they do not yet exist. Move the playbar to a different time. Press `K` to insert a new keyframe, then edit the `upx`/`upy`/`upz`/`pscale` channels in the Animation Editor panel. or Drag the orientation/scale gadgets in the viewport to automatically create a new keyframe with the adjusted values.
Remove a keyframe from the selected points	Click the keyframe in the playbar and press `⌦ Del`. or Select the keyframe in the Animation Editor and press `⌦ Del`. or Click Remove keyframe in the right click menu of the viewer state.
Remove channels from the selected points.	In the right click menu of the viewer state, click Remove All Keys. Click Ok on the pop up to confirm that you want to remove the channels from the selected points.
Change channel names on the selected points	In the right click menu of the viewer state, click Set Selected Point Channel Names under Naming. In the shown naming dialog, click into the string field beside each numbered point to begin editing its name. The value in the field will be set to the current channel name when the dialog is opened. Press OK to apply the new names after editing. Note that spaces are not allowed in channel names and will be automatically replaced with underscores when renaming.

Tools	`F`/`Shift+F`	The top level tools available in the state.
Edit Tool		Edit curves, drag points and drag tangents.
Draw Tool		Create new curves or extend existing curves.
Orient Tool		Create orientation attributes on the curves.
Scale Tool		Create `pscale` attributes on the curves.
Delete Points	`⌦ Del`	Remove selected points from curves.
Join Points		Join two selected end vertices into a single vertex.
Cut Points		Split one vertex into two end vertices.
Fuse Branch		Fuse two or more points into a single branch point.
Split Branch		Split a branch point into multiple points.
Delete Segment		Remove a segment from a curve, leaving two open end vertices.
Join Segment		Join two open end vertices by adding a new curve segment between them.
Close Curves		Close curves by inserting new curve segments between their open end vertices.
Reverse Curves		Reverse the vertices in the selected curves.
Corner	`1`	Convert the selected bezier points into corner points where the tangents are untied.
Smooth	`2`	Convert the selected bezier points into smooth points where the tangents are collinear.
Balance	`3`	Convert the selected bezier points into balanced points where the tangents are symmetric.
Auto	`4`	Convert the selected bezier points into auto points where the tangents are automatically computed to provide continuity in the first and second derivatives through the point.
Retract Points		Make the tangents attached to the selected points zero length.
Expand Points		Expand out any retracted tangents on the selected points.
Straigten Segment		Move the tangents on the selected segments to make them straight lines.
Flatten to Edit Plane		Flatten the selected points and tangents to the current edit plane.
Space on Circle		Space all the points on the selected curves around circles.
Evenly Space		Evenly space the selected points.
Relax		Relax the selected points.
Straighten		Project the current selection along a straight line.
Set Curve Color		Change the colors on selected curves.
To Polygon Hull		Convert the selected Bezier and NURBs curves to their polygon hull.
To Resampled Polygon		Convert the selected Bezier and NURBs curves to resampled polygons. The number of divisions is controlled by Resample Divs.
To Bezier		Convert the selected curves to Bezier curves.
To NURBs		Convert the selected curves to NURBs curves.

Shortcut reference ¶

`C`	Show a radial menu with the commonly used tools and actions.
`K`	Key selected points and create channels if they do not yet exist. If Synchronize Keys per Curve is on, all points on the curves with selected points will be keyed.
`F`/`Shift+F`	Cycle forward or backward through the top level tools.

Draw Tool ¶

`Enter` while drawing a curve	Finish drawing the curve.
`⇧ Shift` + `Enter` while drawing curve	Finish drawing curve and close it.
`⌃ Ctrl` + `⇧ Shift`	Hold to create a straight line segment while drawing Bézier curves.
`⌃ Ctrl` + Drag	Start curved segment after straight segment.
`⌃ Ctrl` while dragging tangents	Freeze incoming tangent handle in place.
`A`	Hold to create an arc segment while drawing Bézier curves.
click on existing end point	Continue drawing the existing curve from end point, or join the curve to the end point if already actively drawing a curve.
click on existing mid point	Begin drawing a new curve from the branch point, or create a branch point with this point and continue if already actively drawing a curve.
`⌃ Ctrl` + click on existing curve	Insert point into existing curve.

Edit Tool ¶

click on curve segment	Select surrounding anchor points.
`⌃ Ctrl` + drag on anchor point	Re-pull tangent handles and make point type balanced.
`⇧ Shift` + click curve	Select entire curve.
`⇧ Shift` + drag curve	Move entire curve.
Drag on curve	Reshape Bézier curve, or move polyline/NURBS segment.
`1`	Make selected point(s) corner.
`2`	Make selected point(s) smooth.
`3`	Make selected point(s) balanced.
`4`	Make selected point(s) auto.
Drag tangent handle line	Rotate tangent handles without affecting distances.
`⌃ Ctrl` while moving points/handles	Constrain to vertical, horizontal, or diagonal.
`⌃ Ctrl` + click on existing curve	Insert a vertex into the curve at the position under the cursor.
`Ctrl+C`	Copy all curves with any selected points.
`Ctrl+V`	Paste all copied curves to the world position under the cursor on the current Edit Plane.

Orient Tool ¶

`A` with selected	Create new target orientation point(s).
`⌦ Del` with selected points	Remove target orientation point(s).
click point	Show orient handle on target orientation point.
drag circle orientation gadget	Rotate target orientations around curve tangent.

Scale Tool ¶

`A` with selected	Create new target scale point(s).
`⌦ Del` with selected points	Remove target scale point(s).
click point	Show orient handle on target scale point.
drag scale gadget	Change target scale on the given point.

Tips and notes ¶

You can connect curve geometry to this node’s input to edit existing curves. See Inputs for more information.
In a Perspective viewport, interactive drawing automatically snaps to the plane the view is facing (or if the construction plane is active, to the construction plane).
- You may want to switch to an orthographic viewport so you can draw on a flat plane without worrying about skew from the camera angle.
You can select an edit point or control point and turn on Show Handle to show a transform handle to move the point in 3D space.
There may be issues with drawing curves in a shaded display mode. The OpenGL viewer does not always do a perfect job filling Bezier curves. Even when just drawing polylines, having closed curves be filled/shaded can be distracting. You can press W in the viewer to switch to wireframe mode to view closed curves without shading.
You can turn on drag tracers that show the change in position when moving points or tangents in the preferences by turning on Interactive Tools > Show Additional Drag Guides for Interactive States.
You can turn on Synchronize Keys per Curve to automatically create channels and keyframes on all vertices on a curve whenever any point on that curve is keyed. This is useful when tracing shapes to ensure all points on the curve are fully keyed so that their positions do not accidentally change when editing a separate keyframe.

Parameters ¶

Stashed Geometry

A geometry data parameter storing the current curve geometry and animation.

Reset All Changes

Press to reset all changes and animation.

Apply Keys

Whether to apply geometry channels to the output geometry.

Input ¶

Enable Corners Group

Whether to inherit the Corner Points from the input geometry.

Corner Points

A group on the input geometry specifying the corner points.

Enable Smooth Group

When on, inherits the Smooth Points from the input geometry.

Smooth Points

A group on the input geometry specifying the smooth points.

Enable Auto Group

When on, inherits the Auto Points from the input geometry.

Auto Points

A group on the input geometry specifying the auto points.

Enable Orient Group

When on, inherits the Orient Points from the input geometry.

Orient Points

A group on the input geometry specifying the orient points.

Enable Scale Group

When on, inherits the Scale Points from the input geometry.

Scale Points

A group on the input geometry specifying the scale points.

Enable Up Attribute

When on, inherits the Up Attribute from the input geometry.

Up Attribute

The up vector attribute on the input geometry to be interpolated between the Orient Points.

Enable Orient Attribute

When on, inherits the Orient Attribute from the input geometry.

Orient Attribute

The orient quaternion attribute on the input geometry to be interpolated between the Orient Points.

Enable Radius Attribute

When on, inherits the Radius Attribute from the input geometry.

Radius Attribute

The pscale attribute on the input geometry to be interpolated between the Scale Points.

Enable Position Attribute

Whether to use an alternative position attribute from the input geometry and whether to copy positions when pressing the Copy Groups and Attributes from Input button.

Position Attribute

The position or rest attribute on the input geometry to be used. When on, Copy Groups and Attributes from Input will also copy these input positions into the current geometry.

Copy Groups and Attributes from Input

Copy the turned on input groups and attributes onto the updated geometry by point ordering, excluding the animation primitive. This is necessary to make the resulting geometry reflect the input groups after any edits have been made to the curves. This is because after each edit, geometry is stored in the Stashed Geometry data parameter. To connect changes to the input geometry, you must press this button to copy the changes into the stashed geometry.

Note

This copies the groups and attributes by point ordering. If the topology has changed, the results may not be as expected.

Output ¶

Output Animation

When on, includes the Animation data in the output geometry, including the Channel Name Attribute and the Animation packed primitive.

Animation Primitive Name

The name given to the animation packed primitive that stores all of the geometry channels that define the curve animation.

Channel Name Attribute

The name of the point attribute on the curves that specifies which geometry channel primitive drives each point’s animation.

Output Corners Group

When on, output the corner points as a group.

Corner Points

The name of the group to store the corner points in.

Output Smooth Group

When on, output the smooth points as a group.

Smooth Points

The name of the group to store the smooth points in.

Output Auto Group

When on, output the auto points as a group.

Auto Points

The name of the group to store the auto points in.

Output Scale Group

When on, output the scale points as a group.

Scale Points

The name of the group to store the scale points in.

Output Orient Group

When on, output the orient points as a group.

Orient Points

The name of the group to store the orient points in.

Tangent Type

How to compute the tangent on the curves.

Output X Axis

Whether to output the X axis.

X Axis

The name of the attribute to store the X axis.

Output Y Axis

Whether to output the Y axis.

Y Axis

The name of the attribute to store the Y axis.

Output Z Axis

Whether to output the Z axis. This is the vector attribute that stores the tangent as computed by Tangent Type.

Z Axis

The name of the attribute to store the Z axis.

Output Quaternion

Whether to output the quaternion orient attribute.

Quaternion

The name to give the quaternion orient attribute.

Enable Output Radius

Whether to output the pscale attribute.

Radius Attribute

The name of the output pscale attribute.

State Settings ¶

Edit Plane

The plane that points are placed on and drags are computed with respect to.

Axis Aligned

Use the XY, YZ, or XZ plane that is most orthogonal to the view direction.

View Plane

Use the plane normal to the view direction.

Primitive Type

The type of primitive to create when creating new curves in the draw tool.

New Anchor Type

The type of bezier anchor points to create when drawing new points in the draw tool.

Order

The order of the curves to create when creating new curves in the draw tool.

Show Handle

Whether to show the handle to control the selected points.

Synchronize Keys per Curve

When on, keep keys synchronized across all points on each curve. This will create new keyframes on any channel belonging to points on that curve if another channel on that curve has an existing keyframe at that time.

Approximate Bezier Shape after Delete

When deleting points on bezier curves, whether to move the tangents of the resulting segment to best approximate the overall shape from before the deletion.

Match Polygon Shape when Converting

When converting from Polygon to Bezier or NURBs, whether to keep the overall polygon shape by inserting new control vertices, or to instead reinterpret the polygon as the Bezier or NURBs curve hull.

Resample Divs

The number of divisions per span when resampling from Bezier or NURBs to polygon.

Soft Transform

When on, use soft transform when transforming points in the edit tool.

Soft Transform Radius

The soft transform radius applied when transforming points in the edit tool.

Show Preview Curve

When to show the additional preview drawable. By default it is set to During Interactive Operations which will only show the preview curve while dragging in edit mode or drawing in draw mode. Alternatively, by setting it to Always, you can make this extra drawable always be shown which may be helpful when tracing images or drawing on other geometry.

Show Orient Guide

When to show the orientation and scale guide.

Orient Guide Components

Which components of the orientation and scale guide to show.

Orient Guide Scale

The scale applied to the orientation and scale guide geometry.

Change all Selected Orientations and Scales

Whether to rotate or scale all selected orient or scale points when dragging the handles in their respective modes.

Inputs ¶

Input Curves

Connect curves and makes them editable using this node’s interactive modes. This is useful when you have existing curves and you want to use this node’s interactive features to extend or reshape them.

To import all the point types and relevant attributes from the existing curves, turn on the corresponding groups or attributes in the Input section. For example, to import the corner points, turn on Enable Corners Group, and set the Corner Points group name to match the name of the group storing the existing corners. To export these corners from the previous Curve Animate node, turn on Output Corner Group.

When you edit existing curves, after each operation, the geometry gets internally stashed into a geometry data parameter. As a result, upstream changes will no longer affect the output of the node. If the point type groups or orient/up/radius attribute changes upstream and the curves have already been stashed, you can press Copy Groups and Attributes from Input to port copy over these groups and attributes into the live geometry.

NOTE: This group and attribute transfer uses the point ordering of the input and output geometries, excluding the animation primitive, to match points to one another.

Outputs ¶

A set of curve primitives, each created with the Primitive Type and Order. If there is any animation created, there is an an Animation packed primitive in the output geometry. This Animation primitive stores the collection of geometry channels that store the animation for each point. The points are mapped to their geometry channels with the channel_name attribute on the points and the name attribute inside the Animation primitive which stores a prefix (which point it corresponds to) and a suffix (which animation component it corresponds to).

Overview ¶

Terms ¶

Using the interactive state ¶

Drawing Bézier curves ¶

Drawing with Auto-Bézier points ¶

Editing curves ¶

Creating an Orient Attribute ¶

Creating a Radius Attribute ¶

Animating a Curve ¶

Operation toolbar ¶

Shortcut reference ¶

Draw Tool ¶

Edit Tool ¶

Orient Tool ¶

Scale Tool ¶

Tips and notes ¶

Parameters ¶

Input ¶

Output ¶

State Settings ¶

Inputs ¶

Outputs ¶

Geometry nodes