Abstract glass sculptures in red, pink, purple, and blue hues forming curved shapes on a white background.
Close-up of a cluster of small pink and white flowers on a plant.

Better Curve Modifier

Blender’s default curve modifier is frustratingly unpredictable — it often moves meshes to odd places and doesn’t allow regular objects as curves.

For more advanced setups, it’s practically unusable. That’s why I made a custom curve modifier using Geometry Nodes, which offers far more control and flexibility.

Source Files

Download blend file

Start by converting your mesh into a curve using the Mesh to Curve node. Capture each point’s position and separate them into X, Y, and Z components. The X controls the width, Y is used for moving the mesh along the curve, and Z manages the height.

Use the “sample curve node” to align points to the curve by setting Y as a factor, which determines how far along the curve each point moves. To add width, sample the curve’s normal and scale it with X. For height, rotate the normal 90 degrees around the tangent vector (which indicates the curve’s direction) and scale it with Z. These vector operations allow precise control over how the mesh conforms to and moves along the curve.

This setup ensures smooth scaling, flexible transformations, and accurate alignment, creating a powerful custom curve modifier.

Theory

3D plot with vectors and tables on a black background showing vector rotation and position setting in a mathematical or programming context.
A 3D coordinate system with labeled points and a table of original positions. The points have coordinates: point 1 (-2, -2, 2), point 2 (2, 2, 2), and point 3 (-2, -2, -2). The axes are colored red (x), green (y), and blue (z).
A digital graphing interface showing sample points with their coordinates and a plotted curved line, along with instructions for setting position based on sample curve and move parameters, all displayed against a black background.

Geo Nodes Screenshots

Blender 3D workspace showing a node setup for creating and modifying a custom curve with various input parameters.

Main Group

Screenshot of Blender 3D software interface showing nodes for custom curve manipulation with options for setting position, aligning points, fixing math, and showing the curve.

Main Group Inside

Screenshot of Blender 2.4, showing a node setup in the Geometry Nodes editor for customizing a curve, with nodes labeled Sample Curve, Scale, Add, Vector Rotate, and Group Output.

Align Points to the Curve Group

Screenshot of Blender 4.2 interface showing a node setup for customizing a curve, including nodes such as Mix, Absolute, Attribute Statistic, Subtract, Curve Length, Group Input, Move, Divide by Curve Length, and Group Output.

Fix Math Group

Screenshot of Blender interface showing node setup for custom curve tutorial, including nodes for object info, group input, menu switch, domain size, equal, switch, mesh to curve, and group output.

Convert Mesh to Curve if needed Group