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Master SVG Path: From Basics to Beautiful Curves / lesson 3 of 4

Drawing Quadratic Curves (Q, T Commands)

Quadratic curves are your first step into real vector geometry.

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Quadratic curves are your first step into real vector geometry. In this lesson, we focus on the Q and T commands and how a single control point bends a path.

You’ll learn what a control point actually does, how to predict the shape of a curve before you draw it, the difference between Q and T, and how smooth curves work under the hood.

We visualize everything step-by-step so you can see how the math affects the shape. Once you understand quadratic curves, cubic curves will make much more sense.

index.html
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {
background-color: #222;
}
path {
stroke: #fff;
fill: none;
stroke-width: 3px;
}
circle {
fill: yellow;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<svg width="500" height="500">
<path d="M10 10 Q10 100 100 100 T200 200"></path>
<circle cx="10" cy="100" r="3"></circle>
<circle cx="200" cy="100" r="3"></circle>
<path d="M10 250 q0 90 90 90 t100 100 "></path>
</svg>
</body>
</html>

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Drawing Cubic Curves (C, S Commands)
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Drawing Arcs (A Command)