This page provides information about Spline objects in Chaos Envision.


Overview

The spline parameters are accessible in the Details tab of the right-hand side panel when a spline is selected. Splines can be selected in the Splines filter tab of the Objects left-hand side panel tab.


||Create menu|| > Spline


||Toolbar|| > Spline



Workflow

To create a spline:

  • Click the Spline () toolbar button. Alternatively, go to Create menu > Spline. This activates the spline creation tool.

  • Click in the viewport and drag the mouse to create the first segment of the spline. Click again and drag the mouse for the next segment of the spline.
    Repeat the action as many times as segments you need.

  • Click Done to complete the spline creation. Alternatively, click the right mouse button. 


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Parameters

A field showing the type and name of the selected element, allowing you also to rename the element. The new name is automatically displayed in the respective Object subtab.

Lock – Disables the spline transformation options - position, rotation and scale. Disabled options become greyed out. Click to enable the options for manipulation again.

Hide – Toggles the visibility of the element on and off. Invisible objects are indicated by and are not rendered.

Move pivot – Opens the Pivot Point Adjustments settings. There you can move the pivot point.

Select hierarchy All – Selects the parent and all children of the current selection from within the scene hierarchy.

Select hierarchy Parent only – Selects only the parent of the current selection from within the scene hierarchy.

Select hierarchy All children – Selects the rest of the children in the scene hierarchy group the current selection belongs to.

Make instance unique – Excludes the selection from the rest of its instances and makes it unique. The action is disabled if the selection has no instances.

Select all instances – Selects all instances the selected spline has in the scene.

Look at – Picks an object the selected spline should look at during animation.

Restores all position, rotation and scale values to their default values, i.e. to zero.

Transformations

Position – Moves the spline along the X, Y and Z axes.

Rotation – Rotates the spline along the X, Y and Z axes.

Scale – Scales the spline along the X, Y and Z axes.

Spline Thickness – Specifies the spline thickness.

Closed – Automatically connects the last and the first segments of the spline.

Filled – Activated when Closed is enabled.

Segment Subdivision Count – Determines how smooth the spline is. The part of the spline between two control points is called a segment. Segments are subdivided into multiple straight lines. Curved segments need higher subdivision count to be represented smoothly. 

Interpolation – Determines how the segments between control points are generated. 

Catmull-Rom – All segments are automatically curved so that the whole spline is smooth and there are no sharp corners at the control points. This type of interpolation provides a very smooth spline, but there is no precise control over its shape. It is useful for camera fly-through trajectories. 
Bezier – Each control point has a setting that determines the smoothness of its connected segments. The smoothness is controlled via additional viewport elements, called "tangent handles", that allow for a precise curve editing. This is why this type of interpolation is useful when a specific spline shape is needed, e.g. tracing a contour for Scatter include/exclude. 
Linear – There is no smoothing and the segments between control points are always straight. This interpolation type is useful for simple shapes like triangles and rectangles.

Control Points

Control Points allow setting per-point smoothing. These settings are active only in the Bezier interpolation mode. In this mode, every point has a pair of tangent handles that determine the smoothness and direction of the curve. One of the handles controls the shape of the curve towards the previous Control Point and the other controls the curve towards the next Control Point. 

Sharp Auto – The tangent handles are disabled and the Control Point creates a sharp angle.

In this mode, there is an additional UI element near the Control Point (a blue cube) that allows smoothing the angle into a round corner. Click-drag to adjust the rounding radius. 

Sharp – The tangent handles are controlled independently. This allows having a sharp angle at the point while retaining the control for the curvature of the segment. 

Smooth Symmetric – The tangent handles are aligned to form a smooth curve at the Control Point. Additionally, the handles' length is linked in such a way that the curvature of the spline is symmetrical relative to the point. 

Smooth – The tangent handles are aligned to form a smooth curve at the Control Point. Their length is not linked, so each side of the point can have different level of curvature 

Modify 

Edit – Switches the viewport to edit mode, which allows selecting and transforming Control Points.

Add Points – Allows inserting a new Control Point in the middle of a segment. To add a point, hover the mouse cursor over the desired location of a segment and then click.



Pivot Point Adjustments