Points node
Curve
Generative curves as an ordered point cloud — line, arc, circle, rectangle, polygon, star, spiral, helix, sine wave, Lissajous, Bézier, Catmull-Rom through your own points, rose and superellipse. Ordered is the point: a Path is the one cloud that already walks from end to end, so it can be a SPINE. Send it to Path to draw or route it, to Sweep to carry a profile along it, to Extrude Path for thickness, or to anything else in the points family. Plane curves sit in XY at Z = 0; only the helix leaves it.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| ShapeWhich curve to generate. All of them come back as an ORDERED cloud, which is what makes a Path usable as a spine — Sweep, Extrude Path and Triangulate all need points that walk from one end to the other. | int | 2 |
| PointsYour own control points — Bézier takes the first four, Through Points runs a smooth curve THROUGH all of them. That is the difference between the two: Bézier is pulled toward its middle points, Through Points actually reaches them, which is what you want when they came from a tracker, a hand or a drawn stroke. | structure | — |
| Size XHalf the width, in Grafit units — a Line runs from −Size X to +Size X, a rectangle spans twice this. On a sine wave it is the run, on a Lissajous the X amplitude. | float | 1 |
| Size YHalf the height. On a sine wave this is the wave’s amplitude; on a Lissajous the Y one. | float | 1 |
| RadiusThe curve’s radius in Grafit units — circle, arc, polygon, star, helix, and the outer end of a spiral. | float | 0.7 |
| Inner RadiusThe star’s inner points, and the tight end of a spiral — a spiral runs from Inner Radius out to Radius. | float | 0.3 |
| HeightHow far the helix rises along Z, centred on the origin. This is the one curve that leaves the XY plane, which is exactly what makes it worth sweeping: a circle carried along a helix is a spring. | float | 1 |
| Start AngleWhere the arc begins, in degrees. | float | 0 |
| End AngleWhere the arc ends, in degrees. | float | 360 |
| TurnsHow many revolutions the spiral or helix makes. Negative winds the other way. | float | 3 |
| SidesCorners on a polygon, points on a star — a star returns twice this many, alternating outer and inner radius. These two curves ARE their corners, so Resolution does not apply to them. | int | 5 |
| Frequency XCycles across a sine wave, the X frequency of a Lissajous, the petal ratio of a rose, and the exponent of a superellipse (1 a diamond, 2 an ellipse, high a rounded rectangle). | float | 3 |
| Frequency YThe Y frequency of a Lissajous, and the second half of the rose’s petal ratio. A Lissajous closes into a loop when the two frequencies are whole-number multiples, which is the figure’s whole charm. | float | 2 |
| PhaseRotates where the curve starts, in degrees. On a closed curve this moves the seam — useful when a sweep’s UV seam is landing somewhere visible. | float | 0 |
| ResolutionHow many segments the curve is sampled at. A closed curve stops one short of the seam rather than repeating its first point, because a zero-length edge is something every consumer has to strip out again. | int | 64 |
Outputs
| Port | Type |
|---|---|
| Path | structure |
| Start | structure |
| End | structure |
| Start Direction | structure |
| End Direction | structure |
| Count | int |
| Closed | bool |
| Length | float |
How It Works
Curve generates fourteen ordered curves as a point cloud: line, arc, circle, rectangle, polygon, star, spiral, helix, sine wave, Lissajous, Bézier, Catmull-Rom through your own points, rose and superellipse. Only the knobs a given shape actually uses are shown, so the inspector stays honest.
Ordered is the whole point. Most point clouds are a bag of positions; a Curve is the one cloud that already walks from one end to the other, which makes it usable as a spine. It reports Start and End as anchors, Start Direction and End Direction as headings, plus Count, Closed and the arc Length — everything a downstream node needs to join onto it.
Plane curves sit in XY at Z = 0; only the helix leaves the plane. Resolution sets how many samples the curve is drawn with.
Use Cases
- A spine for Sweep — Carry a profile along a helix or a spiral and get a real mesh with a parallel-transported frame.
- A rail for motion — Cable the curve into Path and use its Start/End headings to send a mesh or a particle riding along it.
- Extruded type and shapes — A polygon or superellipse into Extrude Path becomes a solid with capped ends.
- Plexus and Lines — An ordered cloud is the cleanest input for Lines Visualize, since the drawing order is already meaningful.
- Oscilloscope music — A Lissajous or rose curve into Scope Voice is a sound you can see; the shape is the timbre.
Tips
- Start Angle and End Angle open the round shapes: an arc is a circle with the ends pulled apart.
- Resolution costs points, not quality of shape — raise it only until the curve stops looking faceted at the size you draw it.
- Catmull-Rom passes through your control points; Bézier is pulled toward them. Pick by whether the input positions are anchors or handles.
- Chain Path nodes to join curves: one Path's End feeds the next Path's Start, and the heading travels with it.
- For a curve that follows a cloud you already have rather than a formula, use Path.
Open Curve in the interactive catalog →
Curve is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
Free download. Every feature for 7 days, no card. Then €99.99 once — or keep playing your projects as a Player.