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CINEMA 4D Dynamics Fundamentals

by Alan Demafiles

Learn to create complex collision interactions using dynamic simulations in Cinema 4D with few to no keyframes. You’ll also learn how real world properties like gravity and bounce are used to drive simulations with physically realistic results.

What you'll learn

Keyframed animation can already be quite a tedious process, but to manually animate the complex physics of several collision objects is pretty impractical. Cinema 4D’s dynamics system allows you to setup broad controls and let physically accurate simulations recreate real-world physics. Some might say dynamics is even fun! This course, Cinema 4D Dynamics Fundamentals, will cover the concepts and tools you’ll need to start using dynamics in your creations. First, you’ll cover the essential ingredients including defining what dynamics are, as well as the two main Cinema 4D dynamics tags: rigid body and collider body. From there, you’ll go under the hood to look at collision shapes, triggers, and other parameters that make this system tick. Next, you’ll learn how to affect the personality of the dynamics simulation by altering characteristics like bounce, friction, mass, and aerodynamics. Lastly, you’ll examine several sample scenes that tie the various elements together into practical examples like creating a ground cracking effect, flying physically accurate paper airplanes, and a self playing pinball machine. By the end of the course, you’ll have the foundation needed to creatively explore and incorporate physically accurate simulations in your Cinema 4D creations. Software required: Cinema 4D Studio.

About the author

Alan Demafiles is a freelance 3D motion designer based in Texas. After graduating from the Univeristy of Texas at Austin with a degree in film, he began his career as a video editor working with the likes of MTV and The Tonight Show. Moving into motion graphics, 3D and visual effects, Demafiles helped to create visuals for clients such as Samsung, Discovery Channel and Netflix. Additionally, Demafiles was a beta tester for Cinema4D, presented for Maxon at NAB 2015 and is a lifelong student of ... more

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