Curves Object

The curves object is intended to replace the hair particle system. It is only a prototype at this point.

Data Structures

Object can be of type OB_CURVES, and then uses a Curves datablock as object data.
Curves is datablock that contains an array of curves and their control points.

Curves consist of a number of control points defining a Catmull-Rom curve.

Curves reference a subset of the points array with a first point index and number of points. Points have a position and radius.

Arbitrary attributes can be created on both curves and points.

To be defined.

Cycles and Eevee can render hair and their attributes natively as Catmull-Rom curves, for memory efficiency.

This object type is still to be developed into an actual hair system, with nodes to procedurally generate hair, and an edit mode for manual editing.

For example we can imagine nodes for the following tasks:

Create an initial distribution of hair on a mesh, which is then applied for editing.
Generate child hairs.
Add curls or any other deformation.
Physics simulation