p5.bezier is a p5.js library engineered to assist you in creating Bézier curves. It is an enhancement of the original p5.js bezier() function, extending its capabilities beyond the limitation of four control points.

Try it now on p5.js Web Editor!

While p5.bezier is designed to integrate with p5.js, it operates independently as well. It's necessary to initialize the library and specify the target canvas by invoking initBezier(canvas) at the start of your code.

To draw a Bézier curve on canvas, you can simply use newBezier():

newBezier([
  [85, 20],
  [10, 10],
  [90, 90],
  [15, 80],
  [20, 100],
])

What is a Bézier Curve?

A Bézier curve is a type of curve that's widely used in computer graphics, design, etc. It was named after Pierre Bézier who employed it in car design during the 1960s. Due to its smooth and continuous nature, it's ideal for creating visually pleasing shapes and textures in various design fields.

To use the p5.bezier library, first download the p5.bezier.min.js file and place it in your project directory. Then, include the following line in your HTML file:

<script src="p5.bezier.min.js"></script>

Alternatively, you can use the library through a content delivery network (CDN):

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/p5bezier@latest"></script>

Once included, the entire library is encapsulated within the p5bezier object. To call the functions provided by the library, prepend p5bezier to the function name:

p5bezier.initBezier(c)

You can also install the library using the package manager NPM (recommended):

npm install p5bezier

Then, import the modules into your project:

import { initBezier, newBezier, newBezierObject } from 'p5bezier'

You must initialize the Bézier drawing system with the canvas you are drawing on. Here's an example with p5.js:

function setup() {
  let c = createCanvas(100, 100)
+ initBezier(c)
}

The simplest way to use the library is to call newBezier() in your draw() function. You can adjust the curve's style using fill() or strokeWeight() just like other shapes.

newBezier(pointsArray [, closeType] [, accuracy]);

pointsArray

This is an array of [x, y] pairs, each representing a control point for the curve. For example, [[10, 30], [5, 100], [25, 60]].

closeType (Optional)

This is a string, either "OPEN" or "CLOSE". Use "CLOSE" to automatically close the curve. The default is "OPEN".

accuracy (Optional)

This is an integer between 0 and 10, with a default value of 7. This value determines the accuracy of the Bézier curve. Higher values mean more vertices are used, leading to a more accurate curve, but at the cost of additional computation.

For advanced operations, such as computing the shortest distance from a point to the curve, use the newBezierObj() function. This method can also potentially optimize computation resources if placed within the setup() function, as vertices are calculated only once and can then be reused.

The usage of newBezierObj() is similar to newBezier(), but it returns a Bézier Curve Object that can be stored in a variable:

let bezierObject = newBezierObj(pointsArray [, closeType] [, accuracy]);

The call of newBezierObj will not draw the curve on canvas automatically. To draw the curve, use .draw() as one of many functions listed below:

• .draw([dash])

  Renders the curve on the canvas.

  dash (Optional)

  Accepts an array of two numbers specifying the length of solid and broken sections of a dashed Bézier curve. For example, [10, 5] signifies a solid segment of 10px followed by a 5px break.

• .update(newPointsArray)

  Updates the positions of control points. The number of control points should remain consistent with the initial curve configuration.

• .move(x, y [, z, toDraw, dash])

  Translates the entire curve. This function does not modify the original object but instead generates and returns a new one. Hence, if you wish to update the curve using this method (which is faster than .update()), you may:

  bezierObject = bezierObject.move(6, 17, -22, false)

  By default, toDraw is set to true. However, if you wish to only update the curve without drawing it, you can set this parameter to false.

• .shortest(pointX, pointY [, pointZ])

  Requires the x and y coordinates of an external point as input. It returns an array containing the coordinates of the nearest point on the curve. For instance, to draw a line between these two points:

  pointOnCurve = bezierObject.shortest(pointX, pointY)
  line(pointX, pointY, pointOnCurve[0], pointOnCurve[1])

To execute the examples locally, download the repository to your local machine. Then, navigate to the examples directory using your terminal. Execute the following command:

npm install
node server.js name_of_example

For instance, to run the basic example, simply enter node server.js basic. Then, open your web browser and navigate to localhost:8000.

Currently available examples:

• basic draws a simple Bézier curve with 5 control points across the canvas.
• basic_object create a simple Bézier object with 5 control points across the canvas.
• control_points draws a curve and its control points, which can be dragged around.
• accuracy showcases curves drawn with varying levels of accuracy.
• shortest_point draws the shortest line from the mouse pointer to the curve.
• animation draws animated Bézier curves.

More complex examples to be updated.

• Hair, a visualization. See the source code here: https://github.com/peilingjiang/hair.
• p5.bezier Example - Basic on CodePen.
• p5.bezier Example - Animation on CodePen.

Share your ideas and projects using the library!

1. More examples.
2. offset(), intersection(), and curvature()... functions for Bézier object.
3. Draw B-Spline curves.

• Bézier curve - Wikipedia