by zuda77·Modeling
Images © zuda77. Used for product review; image policy.
Curve Fitting earns its place in the Blender extensions library by targeting one specific modeling problem, uneven vertex spacing, without altering the overall shape, and it requires no special permissions.
Curve Fitting is a Blender add-on for smoothing uneven vertex arrangements while maintaining the original shape. When you select a set of vertices connected by edges or faces, it moves them onto a curve or surface approximated by a polynomial calculated from the selection. Whether the result is a curve or a surface is determined automatically based on the vertices you choose.
The Curve Degree value in the properties panel controls the degree of that polynomial, up to a maximum of 1000. Higher degrees fit more complex shapes but lose simplicity, so the value is adjusted to match the original arrangement. Ends Weight sets how hard the start and end points of a curve are to move, defaulting to 10, while Border Weight does the same for boundary points on surfaces, defaulting to 1.
The add-on runs from the right-click context menu or the Vertex header menu. Because the algorithm works only in Cartesian coordinates, shapes that overlap when projected onto a plane, such as circles or spirals, may fail to process correctly. Version 0.3.0 added the surface fitting feature.
Curve Fitting is best for blender modelers cleaning up uneven vertex arrangements while keeping the original shape intact.
Curve Fitting is completely free to download and use.
Curve Fitting is listed as compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer. The developer also notes trying it on Blender 2.8 and 3.6.5, where a warning appeared during installation but the add-on still worked without issues. If you're on a version older than 4.2, expect that install-time warning. For the most current compatibility details, check the developer's page on GitHub.
Curve Fitting can be installed two ways. From the Blender Extensions website, click Get Add-on. To install manually, download the curve_fitting.zip from the release page, then in Blender open Edit then Preferences, click the Add-ons tab and the Install button, select the zip file, and enable the checkbox next to Curve Fitting in the list to finish setup. Once enabled, it becomes available from the vertex context and header menus.
Curve Fitting is listed as free here and released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. It's available from the Blender Extensions website through the Get Add-on button, and it requires no special permissions once installed. No price is stated on this listing, so for the current licensing terms, any usage conditions, and possible changes, check the developer's page on GitHub, where zuda77 maintains the add-on and its source under the same GPL-3.0 license.
Curve Fitting is implemented only for Cartesian coordinates, so shapes that overlap when projected onto a plane, such as circles or spirals, may fail to process correctly. The add-on works by projecting the selected vertices and calculating an approximation with the least squares method, which assumes each point maps to a single position on the fitted curve or surface. For vertex arrangements that don't self-overlap when flattened, it fits the points onto the approximated curve or surface as expected, moving them while keeping the original shape.
Curve Fitting works on selected vertices: pick the ones you want to smooth, making sure they're connected by edges or faces. Right-click to open the context menu and choose Curve Fitting, or use the Vertex header menu. Then adjust the Curve Degree value in the properties panel at the bottom-left to fine-tune the resulting curve or surface. Whether the selection fits to a curve or a surface is determined automatically.
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