Designing BMX pump tracks is one of my core specialties, and I’ve long wanted to create a procedural modeling asset for them—since most tracks share common parameters, with only the layout varying. Learning Houdini was an option, but mastering it to the level I needed would have taken too long, especially given my limited use of procedural tools elsewhere. Then Blender 3D introduced Geometry Nodes—my go-to modeling environment—and I immediately dove into experiments to learn its principles and capabilities.
I focused on building precision arcs to define turn forms and, thanks to a suggestion from my colleague Emīls Geršinskis-Ješinskis, drew inspiration from Dimitris Ladopoulos’s generative shapes (see: https://lnkd.in/d6haapdf). Recreating that “shapes around centers” method was challenging and brain-stretching, but after about a week of intense tweaking, I succeeded. Now I can procedurally generate fully controllable pump-track turns with greater accuracy and speed—bringing me a huge step closer to my ultimate goal.