Resample Shape

Resamples shape paths at uniform arc-length intervals, producing either polylines or fitted bezier curves. Useful as preparation for deformation or attribute assignment.

Category: Shape Ops Menu path: Shape Ops > ResampleShape

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
shape_in	shape	input	Shape to resample
out	shape	output	Resampled shape

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
mode	enum	count	count (fixed number of points) or spacing (fixed distance between points)
count	scalar	32	Number of points per path (when mode is count)
spacing	scalar	10	Distance in pixels between points (when mode is spacing)
resampleType	enum	linear	Output type: linear (polyline segments) or bezier (centripetal Catmull-Rom cubic fit — handles stay close to the chord, no overshoot)

How It Works

ResampleShape walks each path in the input shape at uniform arc-length intervals and places new vertices at regular positions along the curve. The original vertex structure is replaced with evenly distributed points.

Mode controls how many points are generated:

• count -- each path gets exactly count points, regardless of path length
• spacing -- points are placed every spacing pixels along the arc length, so longer paths get more points

Resample type controls the output geometry:

• linear -- straight line segments between samples, producing a polyline. Fast and predictable.
• bezier -- fits centripetal Catmull-Rom cubic bezier curves through the sampled positions, producing smooth curves that closely approximate the original shape. Centripetal parameterization (α = 0.5) is the industry default — it scales each tangent by sqrt(chord_length) so handles never loop past the segment endpoints, eliminating the "wrinkle" artifacts that uniform Catmull-Rom produces on paths with sharp turns or uneven chord lengths.

Open and closed paths are preserved. Closed paths distribute points around the full perimeter.

Usage Examples

Basic: Prepare for deformation

Rectangle -> ResampleShape (count: 64) -> ShapeDeform -> DrawShape. A Rectangle has only 4 vertices, which produces coarse deformation. Resampling to 64 points gives ShapeDeform enough vertices for smooth displacement.

Even spacing for attributes

Circle -> ResampleShape (mode: spacing, spacing: 5) -> ShapeAttributes (target: Color, field: Noise) -> DrawShape. Uniform spacing ensures consistent attribute sampling density along the path.

Polyline conversion

EditableShape -> ResampleShape (resampleType: linear, count: 100) -> ShapeToPoints. Convert a bezier curve to a polyline with a known number of vertices, then extract as points.

Tips

• Higher count or lower spacing produces more vertices -- this increases tessellation cost in DrawShape but gives smoother deformation results
• Use linear type when you need predictable vertex positions (e.g., for ShapeToPoints extraction)
• Use bezier type when the resampled shape will be rendered directly and needs to look smooth with fewer points
• ResampleShape runs in the value pre-pass for accurate bounds computation

Related Nodes

• ShapeDeform -- per-vertex displacement (benefits from resampled input)
• ShapeAttributes -- per-vertex attribute assignment (benefits from uniform spacing)
• SubdivideShape -- fills interior with triangles (different purpose: area fill vs. path resampling)
• ShapeToPoints -- extract resampled vertices as a point cloud