Bezier curves are incredibly common in digital design tools like Adobe Illustrator, but I’ve always found them incredibly unintuitive and annoying to use.
I wonder if what alternatives there are to Bézier curves in design software, particularly those designed specifically for ease-of-use. Figma has a good blog post on vector networks: https://www.figma.com/blog/introducing-vector-networks/.
colinsteidtmann
One of the key ideas not mentioned in the slide text but mentioned in lecture is that Bezier Curves use control points instead of data points.
Control points (used in Bezier curves): They define curve shape. They offer flexibility in shaping the curve independently of potential noise or errors in data. Cubic Bezier curves use four control points. The tangents at the beginning and end of the curve are determined by the first and last control points, respectively.
Data points (used in Hermite and Catmull): Represent actual measurements or observations you want the curve to pass through. Can be noisy or inaccurate depending on the measurement process.
colinsteidtmann
@kbrgl, I agree. Sometimes I click on a curve drawing icon in various drawing/editing tools and it's for Bezier curves when I really wanted something like Hermite curves. Hopefully I'll gain more respect for Bezier curves through this class
elaineqian02
Some cool resources on Bezier curves!
Bezier Curves (Desmos interactive visualization)
graphs control points, quadratic curves, and cubic curves
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/cahqdxeshd
A Primer on Bezier Curves
online book covering almost everything, both math and programming
https://pomax.github.io/bezierinfo/
The Beauty of Bezier Curves
animated explainer video in a style similar to 3Blue1Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwxzDHniEw
danielhsu021202
Like @kbrgl, I also found Bezier curves hard to work with in practice. I use this mainly in video editing to design smooth speed ramps and to control the acceleration of video speed on clips. Often times you'd have a curve in mind, but fidgeting with the control points to achieve that curve could be frustrating!
zachtam
I definitely agree that Bezier curves are hard to use for beginners. However, there are definitely some serious professionals out there, and one tool I've seen for getting better at using them is this "game" (also very hard):
https://bezier.method.ac/
stang085
I've always wondered how bezier curves were made in drawing/design programs. It's so interesting to see the math behind it! I wonder if you could get a line equation from a bezier curve
s3kim2018
I was wondering if there is a straightforward way of adding faces to two bezier curves creating a surface. As we are interpolating a curved line across the points, it doesn't seem natural to do the triangle test to generate new faces in this scenario.
j-nn
Bezier curves are incredibly useful in its application, as compared to straight lines and triangles, we can create more organic curves, using what I google online to be control points. This is very helpful in gaming.
AbhiAlderman
Is there a practical reason why Bezier Curves have sort of become the "default" curves in different editing/writing software? For example, when I need to make a curve while taking notes on my ipad, it almost always comes out as a Bezier curve. I've used Adobe Illustrator as well and oftentimes had trouble using what I know now are Bezier Curves to make the shapes I wanted. Why have Bezier Curves been chosen amongst these different programs when it comes to the default "curve" function?
stang085
Very interesting how bezier curves are calculated, since we see them all the time in drawing programs. I've also seen curve drawing with more control points on each point, I wonder how it makes it different having 2 instead of 1
JunoLee128
The tangents are very intuitive. I was always a bit confused what the extra points did in graphics programs; now I know. (Still don't understand the 3* coefficient)
AnikethPrasad
I'm puzzled by why Bézier curves are so popular even though they seem extremely slow to calculate in dynamic environments. Can someone explain why they're used? Are there situations when they work really well, or are there better ways to make curves that are used in the industry?
Bezier curves are incredibly common in digital design tools like Adobe Illustrator, but I’ve always found them incredibly unintuitive and annoying to use.
I wonder if what alternatives there are to Bézier curves in design software, particularly those designed specifically for ease-of-use. Figma has a good blog post on vector networks: https://www.figma.com/blog/introducing-vector-networks/.
One of the key ideas not mentioned in the slide text but mentioned in lecture is that Bezier Curves use control points instead of data points.
Control points (used in Bezier curves): They define curve shape. They offer flexibility in shaping the curve independently of potential noise or errors in data. Cubic Bezier curves use four control points. The tangents at the beginning and end of the curve are determined by the first and last control points, respectively.
Data points (used in Hermite and Catmull): Represent actual measurements or observations you want the curve to pass through. Can be noisy or inaccurate depending on the measurement process.
@kbrgl, I agree. Sometimes I click on a curve drawing icon in various drawing/editing tools and it's for Bezier curves when I really wanted something like Hermite curves. Hopefully I'll gain more respect for Bezier curves through this class
Some cool resources on Bezier curves!
Bezier Curves (Desmos interactive visualization)
A Primer on Bezier Curves
The Beauty of Bezier Curves
Like @kbrgl, I also found Bezier curves hard to work with in practice. I use this mainly in video editing to design smooth speed ramps and to control the acceleration of video speed on clips. Often times you'd have a curve in mind, but fidgeting with the control points to achieve that curve could be frustrating!
I definitely agree that Bezier curves are hard to use for beginners. However, there are definitely some serious professionals out there, and one tool I've seen for getting better at using them is this "game" (also very hard):
https://bezier.method.ac/
I've always wondered how bezier curves were made in drawing/design programs. It's so interesting to see the math behind it! I wonder if you could get a line equation from a bezier curve
I was wondering if there is a straightforward way of adding faces to two bezier curves creating a surface. As we are interpolating a curved line across the points, it doesn't seem natural to do the triangle test to generate new faces in this scenario.
Bezier curves are incredibly useful in its application, as compared to straight lines and triangles, we can create more organic curves, using what I google online to be control points. This is very helpful in gaming.
Is there a practical reason why Bezier Curves have sort of become the "default" curves in different editing/writing software? For example, when I need to make a curve while taking notes on my ipad, it almost always comes out as a Bezier curve. I've used Adobe Illustrator as well and oftentimes had trouble using what I know now are Bezier Curves to make the shapes I wanted. Why have Bezier Curves been chosen amongst these different programs when it comes to the default "curve" function?
Very interesting how bezier curves are calculated, since we see them all the time in drawing programs. I've also seen curve drawing with more control points on each point, I wonder how it makes it different having 2 instead of 1
The tangents are very intuitive. I was always a bit confused what the extra points did in graphics programs; now I know. (Still don't understand the 3* coefficient)
I'm puzzled by why Bézier curves are so popular even though they seem extremely slow to calculate in dynamic environments. Can someone explain why they're used? Are there situations when they work really well, or are there better ways to make curves that are used in the industry?