Geometry nodes: How to space objects along curve and deform at the same time?

Thank you! I tried your method with the “delete geometry” node, but it turned out too difficult to control the distances between the objects. Very good info in any case, since I had no idea that node existed.

In the end I found this post by looking explicitly for GN replacement for the curve modifier. With some tweaking I found a setup that works for me, and that can easily be animated.


For anyone interested in the setup: File here (1.0 MB) and node setup below.

  • Setup allows to set negative curve length as total offset to “empty” the curve. Any positive offset will keep feeding the array indefinitely.
  • I added invisible geometry outside of the array to avoid looping it (modulo operator) too often, which gives weird motion blur effects in animation on overflow. Edit: Value ‘Animation buffer factor’ could probably be calculated automatically (based on max offset value), but since it increases geometry with every step I wanted manual control here.
  • I did not find a way to loop cut (i.e. subdivide along single axis) so in the end the setup requires a separate object to deform along the curve.
  • I did not find a “switch direction” node so strictly speaking the animation is moving backwards as seen from curve direction.
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