Spline

Updated: 30 Jan 2026

Method #

This node defines a spline in 3D space from a number of control points.

This node can be picked / selected in the viewport if it has a connection to a root object in the node hierarchy,
by hovering over the spline (it highlights) and LMB clicking it.

Editing Spline nodes in the viewport is compatible with perspective and orthographic views / cameras but not in Warped perspective cameras.

Spline nodes can also be edited in 2D space as a child node of a 2D Root.

Adding spline control points #

Control points may be added by:

• Clicking the ‘Tangent’ button to enter tangent aligned add point mode from the ‘Add Point Direction’ property on the properties pane

  • LMB clicking on ‘Add Spline Point To End’, ‘Add Spline Point To Start’ button on the properties pane (only enabled if Tangent mode is selected)
  • Add points in the viewport by hovering near the ends of the spline a Tangent line shall appear with a projected point to add along that line, LMB clicking adds that new point

  Adding points will inherit the direction from the previous point tangent so will appear offset (in the new point case) from the previous point along the tangent vector.

• LMB clicking in-between two existing spline points, along the spline to add a new point at the intersection point

• Clicking the ‘Paint’ button to enter painting mode from the ‘Add Point Direction’ property on the properties pane

  • Add points in the viewport by:
    1. LMB clicking points in the viewport adds new points on the viewing plane
    2. LMB clicking then dragging paints a series of interpolated spline points on the viewing plane

  Points can be painted on either end of the spline by selecting the ‘Add To Nearest End Point’ checkbox on the properties pane

Spline point selection and interpolation modes #

Single Point Selection #

• You can select a spline point in all cameras / views by LMB clicking on the spline point
• Hovering a spline point will highlight that point for selection, when spline points are selected it will be always highlighted
• When a spline point is selected for interaction, incoming and outgoing tangent handles will be visible which then can be manipulated by scaling the tangent or rotating along the heading and pitch axis

When you have a single spline point selected, spline point properties for that point are shown in the property editor to fine tweak the position, rotation and scale of the spline shape and its attached geometry nodes.

Spline points have a number of interpolation modes:

• ‘Auto’, this mode automatically create a ‘best fit’ spline interpolation according to the spatial position of spline points, best for creating smooth spline shapes and loops
• ‘Aligned’, this mode has both incoming and outgoing editable tangents, the incoming and outgoing tangents are co-linear but can have different scaling making it more controllable than ‘auto’interpolation mode
• ‘Broken’, this mode is the most configurable of the point interpolation modes allowing incoming and outgoing tangents to have different directions and scales, you can use this to create sharp curves or corners
• ‘Mirrored’, this mode has incoming and outgoing tangents which are co-linear like ‘Aligned’ interpolation mode but the incoming and outgoing tangents have the same uniform scale

Using a configuration of different spline point interpolation types per spline point allows for a fully customisable spline shape.

Multiple Point Selection #

You can select multiple points in the viewport by:

• holding SHIFT down and LMB clicking points to select or deselect points

• When ‘Tangent’ ‘Add Point Direction’ mode is selected you can lasso points in the viewport with a LMB click drag

• When ‘Tangent’ ‘Add Point Direction’ mode is selected you can add or remove from the selection by holding down SHIFT and lasso points in the viewport with a LMB click drag

• When ‘Paint’ “Add Point Direction” mode is selected you can lasso points in the viewport by holding CTRL down then a LMB click drag

• When ‘Paint’ ‘Add Point Direction’ mode is selected you can add or remove from the selection by holding down CTRL and SHIFT and lasso points in the viewport with a LMB click drag

• Transformation modes supported for multi selection of points are; Translation, XY scaling and placement.

Notes

1. Editing selected point properties from the properties panel is not supported for multiple selected points
2. Point lassoing is disabled if Free space drag mode is enabled in the viewport top bar
3. Manipulating tangent handles is currently not supported in multi selection mode

Spline point Tangent Scaling, rotation and point translation #

• Interactions with spline points and their Tangent Handles are activated typically with LMB click drag
• When you hover over the point or its tangent handle end it will highlight in white to show it can be interacted with

Scaling #

Scaling of tangents can be performed by:

• To scale the incoming or outgoing tangents, press CTRL then LMB click drag on the tangent handle end to scale without altering the rotation or position of the tangent in space
• To scale uniformily both incoming and outgoing tangents, hover the spline point and press CTRL but use the mouse scroll wheel
• Local Scaling in the X and Y axis’ (used for scaling an attached Spline Extruder nodes geometry, if the ‘Control Point Scaling Mode’ is not set to ‘None’)
  It is enabled by hitting the TAB key to get to the Scaling transform mode or selecting the Scaling button from the viewport top toolbar, the scaling handles work on the local X-Y plane

Rotation #

Rotation of tangents can be performed by:

• To rotate the tangent with scaling, LMB click the tangent handle end point and drag in the viewport to manipulate the heading and pitch of the tangent direction with tangent scaling
• To rotate the tangent without scaling, hold down SHIFT and LMB click the tangent handle end point and drag in the viewport to manipulate the heading and pitch, scaling of incoming and outgoing tangents will be preserved

Translation #

Translation of tangents can be performed by:

• To Translate a spline point, LMB click and drag a point to translate in the viewing plane
• To Translate more precisely using a translation handle, hit the TAB key to get to the Translation transform mode or select from the viewport top toolbar, use the translation handle as with other objects in the viewport

All translation interactions support viewport snapping (incremental, viewspace, worldspace)

Removal of spline points #

After Selecting a point in the viewport with a LMB click they can be removed from the spline like so:

• Using the DELETE key.
• In the property editor:
  • Using the ‘Delete Last Spline Point’ button to remove a point from the end of the spline
  • Using the ‘Delete First Spline Point’ button to remove a point from the start of the spline
  • Using the ‘Delete Selected Spline Points’ button to remove viewport selected points
  • Using the ‘Delete All Spline Points’ to delete all points on the spline and start fresh

Viewport Sidebar #

A viewport adjacent ‘Side toolbar’ is also provided for easy access to editing features on a Spline node providing the following functionality:

1. Switching From Tangent editing mode to Painting mode
2. Changing spline point interpolation mode (when a single point is selected)
3. Add points in either the beginning or end of a spline (if Tangent mode is selected)
4. Removal of either selected, first or last spline point, or removal of all points
   

Experimental #

Conversion to Spline From Nulls #

Spline nodes can be converted to Spline From Nulls nodes so that their underlaying Null derived points can be used for other effects / purposes. In the nodegraph RMB on the Spline node and choose ‘Replace With’, then choose 3d/Spline From Nulls. Effectively you should be able to convert between the two node types but some spline data loss will occur with spline from nulls as they do not have the whole spline point representation, only the outgoing spline tangents.

Spline Import #

Splines may also be imported from 3D packages as part of a 3D Scene node.

Spline Node Interactivity #

The following nodes can be used with the Spline node:

Spline Follower to allow geometry or transforms to follow the path of a spline.
Particle Spline Emitter to emit particles from splines.
Spline Deformer to deform 3D objects using splines, and numerous other uses.
Spline Extruder to generate geometry from the spline.

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