Array along a curve without the object deforming in Blender

For all of you who requested how to make things like tank tracks follow a curve in Blender. I hope you find this helpful!
Parenting and Instancing - • Parenting and Instanci...
00:00 Intro
00:13 The common errors
04:08 The solution

[@lucasrodillo6739]

Needed to do some rivets for a couch. Followed about 20% because I figured that I could just use the planes to make the rivest themselves. Thanks!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@lucasrodillo6739 nice. Great use for this.if you want something even more versatile you could try this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXfEgHeDd92NepY

[@ktwomountain]

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Thanks for watching

[@nacidocoqui]

Mind... blowing...

[@ArtisansofVaul]

😁 Glad to hear I could help you out with some other projects as well. 👍🏻

[@juls23tube]

I really love your tutorials. Funny enough, you did exactly what I was thinking of doing. I started about 3 years ago with 3D printing proxies for various wargames that I made myself in Blender and though it could be helpful for some people if I make videos about the things I learned on the way. But you got me on this one :)

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Thanks a lot. I mean Im sure the world could use more tutorials :p

[@lopcrop1159]

Best tutorial for basic curve tracking. thank you! you solved what I was looking for in the first 3 minutes.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Glad to be of service 😁😉

[@fasspot]

You're the best blender teacher !! I've learned so many useful things with your videos ! Thanx a lot!! :)

[@ArtisansofVaul]

😁😁😁 Thanks so much fasspot. Lovely to hear and great to know the videos are helping 😁

[@LeneChibi]

you saved my screen from being smashed in, thank you so much :D great technique!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

😂😂 Glad I could help prevent that disaster!

[@Milan23_]

Man this is minblowing I always needed knowledge of in my blender workflow. But never have found it. Thanks for sharing this amazing tehnique!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem 👌 Glad it's being found useful.

[@blakeXYZ]

The video turned out great! Awesome explanation and breakdown, Artisans of Vaul 💯

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Glad it's helpful 😁👍🏻

[@MajinVegeto89]

Very good tutorial. There are other tutorials that show the same thing, but without explaining the steps, which is why this is far better, because you actually understand what is happening. I really hope Blender makes this whole process easier, it feels like a bit of a hack to have to use a plane and attach your object to that.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

There is now an easier way (well I prefer it) to use geometry nodes if you want to check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@SatriaRizqi]

Saw how to do this with the same method a while ago, but forgot how to make the object stays, thank you for the answer!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem. Happy to help 👍🏻

[@polygonvvitch]

Thanks, exactly what I needed. One notable thing: Make sure the real mesh and the proxy are aligned properly before you parent them, otherwise it'll always be misaligned.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Good tip. 👍🏻

[@JoshuaMerrill042]

Thank you for explaining this so well!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem 😁 You may find this helpful as I would say its an easier technique when you get used to it that is now possible with geometry nodes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6csi=GuqnoC3bO0Ee01tj

[@lauragarnham77]

this is fantastic, I have been trying since yesterday to find a solution but nothing I tried worked and googling was useless.This video just came up randomly in my recommended, definitely going to try it out, seems like it is just what I need!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Hope it works out 😁👍🏻

[@lauragarnham77]

@@ArtisansofVaul it did :)

[@twistednormals]

This tip really helped me few times already, thank you

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Awesome to here 😁👍🏻

[@richardduska1558]

Pretty simple. Thank you very much for the video.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem at all.

[@horriblypink]

I really really needed this video was having so much trouble with tracks

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Glad to hear its going to be helpful 👍🏻

[@antennatrees]

Seems like a perfect job for Geometry Nodes. But it's nice to see the solution with Array as well.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Im sure it could be but I think this is a pretty simple way to go about it. Im not sure creating the Geometry Nodes needed for this would be faster.

[@antennatrees]

@@ArtisansofVaul The Geometry Nodes way would skip the Instance intermediary step since no distortion is introduced, but the distribution along the curve would be a little different.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@@antennatrees Yeah, my concern would be how you changed the curve from having lots of points (from when it was copied from the original object). I assume you'd then resample it for the locations but that complicates matters a bit as that simultaneously controls the number of duplicates as well as their distance. I'm still really learning Geometry Nodes so I could be very wrong. Have you seen something similar before?

[@antennatrees]

@@ArtisansofVaul Exactly. Since it's directly instancing on the points of the curve in Geometry Nodes you'd resample the curve to get the desired number of instances and distribution spacing. If your curve was quite complex you might have to resample the curve as well as set up a selection pattern for the points you want to have instances on. But in the end the power of this solution is that once the Geo Nodes set up is complete you can quickly reuse it for any other curve in your project. I still really liked your video and learned something so that's great. And your videos in general are always interesting since you're aiming for 3D printing where there's always extra issues to consider.

[@user-ey9zb4bn3c]

@@ArtisansofVaul actually it is faster and easier 😅

[@gustavoalvarez3335]

Hola muchas gracias por mostrar como crear un diseño utilizando muchas técnicas, eres un gran maestro, yo no se entender ingles pero de todas maneras entiendo perfectamente tus videos. Saludos desde Argentina.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Muchas gracias. Estoy feliz de que sean bastante fáciles de seguir. Si alguna vez tienes una pregunta, puedo intentar ayudarte (con la ayuda de Google Translate 😉) Thanks so much. I am happy they are easy enough to follow. If you ever have a question I can try to help (with the assistance of Google Translate 😉)

[@gustavoalvarez3335]

@@ArtisansofVaul Si muchas gracias he tenido algunas dudas te agradecería mucho si me ayudas guías un poco en algunos diseños trataré de ser breve, en cualquier momento te hago una consulta, muchas gracias por tu gentileza. Saludos

[@whitedinamo]

Great tutorial. Thanks.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Cheers 😁👍🏻

[@Verttigo1982]

Great video, thank you!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem and thanks for commenting 😁

[@BPCustomCreations]

RIP everyone who ran to try this before 11:25 Great tutorial as always!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

🤣 Got to be there till the end 🤣

[@BPCustomCreations]

@@ArtisansofVaul I'm new to Blender and I've been working through your backlog and learning a whole lot! Thanks for making your knowledge and wonderful teaching available to us for free on KZbin!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

My pleasure 😁

[@marksimpkins5081]

Thanks for the Tutorial. Not a problem i would have anticipated coming from Fusion. A Neat way of solving the problem though.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Yeah some programs handle things differently. Blender just assumed you want things deformed along the curve (which for a lot of things like tubes would be a fair assumption). And cheers.

[@Vi_Renders]

Oh my god thank you I NEEDED THIS!!!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem 😁👍🏻

[@ethancotton1549]

Perfect and great explanation! Now to see if i can make it work for my need lmao

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Let me know if you have any issues

[@Adriarcher]

great video, thanks a lot.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

My pleasure. Glad it was helpful.

[@PrinceBrosnan]

wonderful software...

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Yeah, it's great 👍🏻

[@karecellaglioz9186]

thank you for your job

[@ArtisansofVaul]

You are very welcome

[@Maxoliver38]

Thank You!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

My pleasure. Thanks for commenting!

[@eldflaug3770]

thank you so much!!!!!!!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

No problem 😁

[@thomaskneisel1854]

Nice solution thx! I tried to array/curve some rivets around a window frame and like u explained they got some ugly deforming 🤣

[@ArtisansofVaul]

I have another video that using a similar technique for rivets just here, you just inset the face instead: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqTOoGt4lJKboKs

[@thomaskneisel1854]

​@@ArtisansofVaul ok, thats crasy easy, thx a lot !!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@thomaskneisel1854 😁👌 Great isn't it. So mad when you know the tricks.

[@thomaskneisel1854]

It is! I learned about tipple fencing with subdivision surface modifier and it blows my mind :D

[@TheMrTorbi]

thanks man this helped me so much. im still here wondering why this is so damn bugged. Cant get a decent result

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Hope this helped a bit. There is a more recent video where I use Geometry nodes for this and I think its my preferred method now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@soltoni983]

Thank you for the tutorial. How about non manifold geometry when we use boolean union o those tracks. Is there a way to avoid this? (for 3D printing non manifold are a trouble.)

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Just checking, are you saying that when you boolean everything together it becomes non-manifold?

[@greatsol2444]

Excellent tutorial! This is the best I’ve seen yet; clear and concise. One issue I’m still having however, is when I turn on instancing (Faces), it expands the object (tank tread) to MASSIVE proportions, as well as has it turned 90• in several wrong directions (paddles instead of tracks). You make it look so easy! What am I doing wrong?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

It sounds like on the plane and/or the object you need to apply the scale (and maybe the rotation as well). Press ctrl+a then select rotation and scale on the original object that you want to copy and then the same but just apply the scale to the plane.

[@greatsol2444]

@@ArtisansofVaul OK. Thank You, Thank You. I’m beginning to understand now. It’s a bit to do with fiddling with the scale and rotations, and having them just right. Wow. Now it’s a bit less mind blowingly infuriating. Thanks & subscribed!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@@greatsol2444 Thanks for the dub and let me know if thered anything else I can help with.

[@richardokeeffe8375]

Brilliant! Out of interest, why the curve modifier first?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

I think its just my thought process. It allows me to make sure that the object is on the curve and can be moved along it before things get visually confused by also having an array. Really you could do it in whatever order you like, I just find it a useful "error mitigation" workflow ordering.

[@19CarlosGomez64]

Cool!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Cheers

[@euansmith3699]

So cool. Very well explained.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Thanks a lot. Glad it was clear as it's kind of tricky to get all the points across. 👍🏻

[@Robert-ln1cx]

prefect! I'm off to try this with chains 🥳

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Let me know how it goes! It also helps using an empty as and additional object to array with as it allows you to rotate it by 90 degrees to form the chain links.

[@ryanb6503]

this is great! I immediately say down to make a bike chain. is there a way to animate the chain?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Do you mean to rotate? CG work isn't really by thing but there should be, the only difficulty is that a chain wouldnt be a circle so its not as simple as just rotating. Maybe (and Im guessing) you'd animate the pedals/gears to be rotating and then perhaps use a constraint to match the chain to those.... But that really is just a guess.

[@primecomic113noonehere4]

if any one finds the mesh deforming remmember to apply all transformations

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Good point 👍🏻

[@artbybruno1734]

Great stuff! Really enjoying your videos! Question: how do you get that Pie menu for Vertex, Edge and Faces? Is that the Pie menu addon that comes with Blender!? (coming from Maya, that is kinda similar to how we select Edges/Verts/Faces also).

[@ArtisansofVaul]

It's part of Machine Tools. I've got a summary of some of the things it does here (it's probably my most used addon): kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpCWqptoopKorZY

[@artbybruno1734]

@@ArtisansofVaul Cheers! I will have a look. Thank you!

[@theunorthodoxhawk]

is it possible to do this while having the object scale gradually along the curve as well? Like it starting at normal size and it getting smaller or larger with each new chain link. Thank you for all the tutorials I have learned so much from you!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Yes very much so: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWitfZalpN-Cn68 Hope that helps and thanks 😁

[@sounder7564]

7:17 thats amazing 😱🤩🤩🤩

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Thanks man 😁

[@troscar]

I dont know but I try to follow this and my model (bullets) stretchs in one axis and cant fix it. And it has all the scales and transforms applied

[@ArtisansofVaul]

I can only think that you must have missed the stage with the planes and the instancing. You have to do that.to stop the deformation.

[@Nicho9]

So i'm trying to do this on a chain sword where the teeth wrap all the way from one side of the blade to the other. Once the teeth go around the tip of the sword the teeth flip so the sharp edge of teeth is pointing the wrong way. Is there a fix for that? EDIT: I got around it by just making another array on the other side of the blade/

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Good solution. 👍🏻

[@calamitist]

i can't seperate the parts, when i do, all the other instances get deleted, how do i solve this ?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@calamitist I don't have my computer at hand so this shortcut might be wrong but select the objects ctrl+a and select "realise instances" or "make instances real" I can't remember which it is called.

[@calamitist]

@@ArtisansofVaul aight i will check it out, i uploaded a timelapse video of model where i used your technique, I've set your tutorial for recommendations

[@Spaceisprettybig]

In theory, would this work with single verts as well, or just planes?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

It can I think but I always use a plane so I can see where it easily without going into edit mode. I can't say I have tested that though.

[@3DCGdesign]

great stuff, Vaul! Apparently emptys don't accept modifiers, so must use plane object. however... what about a single vert arrayed on the curve?

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Good question. It needs to be a plain as you need to have a face to instance on as part of the instancing process. I'd probably do it with Geometry Nodes now though, I've got a video on that here - Array Following a Curve using Geometry Nodes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@3DCGdesign]

But you can use a single vert (add >extra objects in preferences) and instead of choosing "to face" in the object properties panel under "Instancing" you can now choose "vertices" and check "align to vertex normal" - then it works just like you say, but then you don't have to make real, the vert won't render or be seen.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@3DCGdesign You can for sure use a vert. I just find it preferable to set it up with a plane as you can see the plane more easily and know the direction its facing/etc.

[@3DCGdesign]

that's for sure true - I had to extrude the vert temporarily to see what was going on as well. @@ArtisansofVaul

[@OficinadoArdito]

I don't really know what I am doing wrong, but it deforms my objects badly. I am going all the steps in all detail, nothing looks wrong. Blender is frustrating almost all the time. Sometimes I think it is a real bad software.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

I feel your pain, I really do. It can feel that way but once you get used to it it does make sense. It's one of the reasons I started the channel. If you have Instagram and can message me there you're welcome to send me a link to the file on something like Google Drive and I can have a look (hopefully tomorrow) when I finish work and see if I can spot the issue. I'd also say that you can do this now using Geometry Nodes which are easier to get results without issues. I'll get a video sorted on that.

[@fifoejod2joe1991]

Try to apply object's location & scale & rotation. That's how i solve my problem.

[@Gitimus01]

I followed the tutorial to the letter, however when applying the instances onto the face they scale like crazy, No idea what is causing this issue.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Have you applied the scale to everything involved? That's seems likely to be the issue. Also since this was made Blender has had Geometry Nodes added, which would now be my preferred way of doing this; kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@Gitimus01]

Tried both methods and It blows up the scale like crazy, almost 5x original size. Probably due to me using a bezier curve than the one you are... Thanks for the link anyways, tutorial is still useful!

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@@Gitimus01 Ahh.... it may be that the vertices aren't scaled correctly then. That (annoyingly) works differently to the object scale.

[@Gitimus01]

@@ArtisansofVaul Right... Yeah everything wasn't to the same scale, took another look at it and got it sorted. Dumb mistake haha. Thanks, earned a sub!

[@MatheusRocha_13]

excellent video, but I have a doubt, do you know if there is a way to also maintain the rotation of the object? for example, placing trees around a road created with a curve, as they are all straight I hope you understand, because I'm using a translator hehe

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Do you mean you want them to rotate with the curve?

[@MatheusRocha_13]

@@ArtisansofVaul No, it's like the object only moves with the curve, but keeping the original rotation

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@MatheusRocha Oh ok. So you're best off doing that no with Geometry Nodes. I'm literally finishing an edit on a new video on that topic so you've timed it well. It will be on the Patreon on Monday and on the KZbin channel the week after that

[@MatheusRocha_13]

@@ArtisansofVaul Okay, I'll watch it as soon as it's available, thank you very much :D

[@MrAkurvaeletbe]

I cant believe there isnt just an option to turn off stretching...why are they still affecting eachother after making them real...when i move one of them in edit mode they all move .

[@ArtisansofVaul]

I mean it's quite a technical difference in terms of what is being done to the object. But it's much simpler to do now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@user-ey9zb4bn3c]

You can instens it on the curve and mak the rotation follow the tangent fo the curve in geo nodes

[@darklord8793]

my planes still get deformed

[@ArtisansofVaul]

They shouldn't do/be able to. But to be honest now that we have geometry nodes I'd use that as a better method. I've got a video on that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPcppWCiMlgb6c

[@arpamor]

My planes do deform...

[@ArtisansofVaul]

They should not if you have them oriented as mine are. Otherwise you have added in some points or miss-clicked at some point. If you can share a picture I can try and help

[@arpamor]

thank you for reply, I am a noob and struggling LOL - anyway looks like that even if the plane is deformed the object parented to it is not so it works anyway :) - And yes I keep failing but this is the first video to really help after a long list of useless videos (for me at least) so anyway thank you!@@ArtisansofVaul

[@ArtisansofVaul]

@@arpamor No problem at all. We were all there once. Glad you got it working but the offer of help is always there 👍

[@ToperPerson]

Good tutorial, but too long for something that can be explained with no audio in the amount of 60 seconds.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

🤣 Sounds like you want to be watching KZbin shorts then 🤣

[@altar7885]

This is insanely complicated just to array an object.

[@ArtisansofVaul]

Maybe I'm just used to Blender but it really doesn't take that long when Im not explaining it. Combined with Cablerator it's maybe a minute of work, which doesn't seem that bad to me. Without Cablerator maybe 4-5mins. Don't get me wrong, I wish there was a single button to just set an array along a curve to not be flexed with the curve but at the moment I don't think there is.