Curve

The Curve tool draws a smooth, mathematically-defined Bezier curve through a series of anchor points. Unlike the Arc which uses a single control point for the entire curve, the Curve uses two control handles per segment, allowing for more flexible and natural-looking curves that can follow complex price trajectories with precise local control at each anchor point.

Curves are particularly well-suited for fitting parabolic trend lines, tracing curved support and resistance, and smoothing noisy price action to reveal underlying trend direction. The Bezier mathematics ensures the line is perfectly smooth between all anchor points, with C1 continuity (matching tangents) at each junction. This means the curve has no sharp corners — every transition is a smooth flow from one direction to the next, creating a natural visual appearance.

Each anchor point has two control handles — one for the incoming segment and one for the outgoing segment. Adjusting these handles changes the curve's tension and direction at that point independently. Short handles produce tight bends; long handles produce smooth, wide arcs. You can lock tangents to maintain continuous curvature across anchor points, which is especially useful for creating smooth sine-wave-like paths through multiple pivots.

Curves are inherently more flexible than arcs because they support multiple segments with independently adjustable curvature. A single curve can trace a path that switches from concave to convex multiple times, making it ideal for complex price structures that simple arcs cannot capture. However, this flexibility comes with responsibility: it is easy to overfit a curve to noise by adding too many anchor points. Always use the minimum number of anchors needed to fit the structure.

1. 1
   Select the Curve tool

   Click the Curve icon in the shapes toolbar. The cursor changes to a crosshair.
2. 2
   Set the first anchor

   Click to place the starting point of the curve on the chart.
3. 3
   Add additional anchors

   Each subsequent click adds an anchor and extends the curve. The curve automatically smooths between points.
4. 4
   Double-click to finish

   Double-click the final anchor or press Escape to complete the curve drawing.
5. 5
   Adjust control handles

   Drag the control handles to adjust curvature and direction at each anchor point independently.
6. 6
   Lock tangents if needed

   Enable lock tangents for continuous flow or disable for independent control at each anchor.

• Parabolic trend lines — fit accelerating price moves that no straight trend line can capture. A curve through the early, middle, and late stages of a rally shows the changing slope of momentum over time.
• Curved support and resistance — draw dynamic S/R levels in trending markets. Curved support often works better than straight lines on longer timeframes where trend momentum naturally waxes and wanes as the trend matures.
• Smoothing noisy price action — draw a curve through the center of a price channel to reveal the underlying trend direction, filtering out visual noise from individual candle wicks and erratic bar-to-bar movement.
• Rounding bottoms and saucer patterns — highlight the curved transition from downtrend to uptrend with a single continuous line that perfectly matches the rounded shape of the pattern without needing multiple trend lines.
• Regression-like curve fitting — manually fit a curve that approximates a polynomial regression line for visual analysis of price trajectory and mean reversion tendencies relative to the curved center line.
• Elliott Wave channeling — draw curved channel lines for corrective wave patterns that do not follow straight lines, particularly in expanded flats and running corrections where the corrective structure is non-linear.
• Cycle analysis — trace the sinusoidal path of cyclic price action across multiple peaks and troughs. The curve's smooth interpolation makes it ideal for visualizing repeating price cycles in commodity and FX markets on weekly charts.

The curvature at any point on a Bezier curve is determined by the length and direction of the control handles. A control handle that is long relative to the distance to the next anchor creates a gentle, sweeping curve. A short handle creates a tight bend. When both handles at an anchor are locked (aligned), the curve flows smoothly through the anchor without a visible corner or kink — it appears as a single continuous line.

For maximum control, unlock the tangents at anchor points where the curve needs to make a sharp directional change. For example, at the peak of a rounded top where price reverses from uptrend to downtrend, unlocking the tangents allows the incoming curve to approach from one direction and the outgoing curve to depart in a completely different direction. A good starting point for control handle length is approximately 1/3 of the distance to the next anchor.

For creating parallel curved channels, draw a primary curve through the center of the price action, then draw a second curve with the same number of anchor points positioned at the channel extremes. By matching the control handle proportions on both curves, you create a parallel-looking channel that follows the underlying curvature of the market. This technique is used by advanced practitioners of Andrew's Pitchfork and Curved Andrew's methods.

The snap to pivot feature accelerates curve fitting by automatically aligning anchors with nearby swing highs and lows. When enabled, anchors snap to the nearest pivot within a configurable tolerance range. This ensures the curve is anchored to meaningful structural points rather than arbitrary positions, improving the analytical validity of the curve fit.

• 1.Curve drawing tool — TradingView Help
• 2.Bezier curves in computer graphics — Pierre Bezier and CAD literature
• 3.Technical Analysis of Financial Markets — John J. Murphy
• 4.Cybernetic Analysis for Stocks and Futures — John F. Ehlers
• 5.The Geometry of Markets — Gann and financial geometry literature
• 6.Andrews Pitchfork and Curved Channels — Technical analysis reference