Blend curves
 
 
 

Blend curves allow you to create curves by specifying constraints on their shape.

Palette tool: Curves > Blend Curve Toolbox

Blend curves provide higher-level, simpler methods for shaping and manipulating curves. They provide a level of abstraction on top of the actual geometry of the curve. Blend curves let you focus on what the curve needs to do, and have the system calculate the right curve to fulfill those requirements.

Blend curves are normal NURBS curves with more construction history: you can use all the normal curve tools on blend curves, and when you are not using blend curve tools, they look like any other curve.

Blend curves are controlled by blend points acting as constraints:

You create the curve by setting up the constraints, such as

...and so on. Alias draws the curve to satisfy the constraints, and automatically updates the curve when the constraints, or the objects the curve is constrained to, change.

Types of blend points

There are three main types of blend points.

The following table shows the icons used to represent the different constraints:

Type Not attached Attached to blend curve Attached to regular curve
Location

Direction