Introduction to CINEMA 4D R14
In this CINEMA 4D tutorial, we will provide you with a good understanding of how to work within CINEMA 4D. You will learn from several of the instructors here at Digital-Tutors, as we go through many of the major parts of the software, and help you become a more effective CINEMA 4D artist. Software required: CINEMA 4D R14.
What you'll learn
We will begin our training by exploring the user interface, and discussing a number of features and concepts that will be very important to know as we start to delve deeper into the software. From this point, we will walk step-by-step through the process of modeling and texturing our own futuristic flying vehicle using CINEMA 4D and the built-in BodyPaint texturing suite. We will also guide you through the entire process of rigging this vehicle for movement, and then animating the takeoff and flying sequence for this project. From there, we will learn how to use the standard CINEMA 4D particle system to create realistic steam for the refueling hose of our aircraft, and we will guide you through the process of setting up the lights, shadows, and using many rendering features in CINEMA 4D to finish out this whole project. Finally, we will finish this CINEMA 4D tutorial by taking you through MoGraph, an extremely powerful toolset in CINEMA 4D that will allow you to create highly complex, very detailed motion graphics with minimal effort. Software required: CINEMA 4D R14.
Table of contents
- Moving in the 3D Workspace 12m
- Viewport Shading and Display Settings 7m
- Transforming Objects in CINEMA 4D 11m
- Exploring the Attribute Manager 7m
- Exploring the Object Manager 13m
- The Importance of Hierarchy in CINEMA 4D 7m
- Collecting Project Assets 4m
- Using Tags in CINEMA 4D 6m
- Keyboard Shortcuts in CINEMA 4D 8m
- Using the Heads up Display (Hud) 6m
- Advanced Viewport Display Options 7m
- Modeling Overview 1m
- Building the Base from a Parametric Primitive 11m
- Shaping the Capsule Base 11m
- Detaching the Canopy and Landing Gear 8m
- Extruding the Capsule Interior 8m
- Modeling the Cushioned Seat 13m
- Using the Sculpting Tools 7m
- Building the Control Panel 6m
- Building the Antenna Base 12m
- Modeling the Antenna Array 9m
- Building a Vent Using Cloners 7m
- Modeling the Thruster with Splines 9m
- Projecting Splines to Create Lights 9m
- Adding Detail to the Canopy 5m
- Creating the Large Wing Pivots with Splines 10m
- Combining Splines to Create the Wing Outline 11m
- Deforming the Wing Geometry 7m
- Smoothing out the Wings 4m
- Creating the Back Fin Using Splines 7m
- Modeling the Outer Rim of the Fans 5m
- Creating the Fan Blades Using Cloners 6m
- Adding Detail to the Front of the Wings 7m
- Building the Wing Struts Using Polygons 6m
- Detailing the Main Landing Gear 7m
- Modeling Spline-based Landing Gear Pieces 9m
- Adding Pistons Using Primitives 8m
- Cleaning up the Scene 10m
- Importing External Geometry 4m
- Rigging Overview 1m
- A Look at the Aircraft Rig 3m
- Cleaning up the Scene 7m
- Creating Control Curves 10m
- Working with Groups 9m
- Modifying an Object's Axis 8m
- User Data 8m
- Xpresso 6m
- Setting Driven Keys in CINEMA 4D 5m
- Automating Animation with Xpresso 8m
- Rigging the Aircraft's Antenna 5m
- Setting up the Landing Gear 8m
- Wrapping up the Landing Gear's Rig 6m
- Working with Joints 8m
- Understanding Inverse Kinematics 6m
- Binding Geometry in CINEMA 4D 4m
- Finalizing the Rig 6m
- Animation Overview 1m
- The Animation Palette 6m
- Recording and Modifying Keyframes on the Timeline Ruler 10m
- Editing Animation in the F-curve Manager 9m
- Copying and Pasting Animation in CINEMA 4D 6m
- Viewing and Editing an Object's Animation Path 5m
- Animating Along a Path in CINEMA 4D 8m
- Working with Autokey 4m
- Previewing Animations in Real-time 6m
- Starting on the Flight Sequence 10m
- Polishing the Aircraft's Animation 14m
- Separating the Fueling Line from the Aircraft 7m
- Making the Fueling Line Dynamic 4m
- Working with the New Motion Camera 8m
- Finalizing the Animation 6m
- Lighting and Rendering Overview 1m
- Rendering Your Scenes in CINEMA 4D 12m
- Exploring the Various Light Types in CINEMA 4D 8m
- Common Attributes of CINEMA 4D Lights 8m
- Rendering with Shadows 8m
- Using Compositing Tags in CINEMA 4D 6m
- Image-based Lighting in CINEMA 4D 13m
- Rendering with Motion Blur and Ambient Occlusion 8m
- Outputting Renders from CINEMA 4D 13m
- Mograph Overview 1m
- Creating Motext Letters 6m
- Creating Background Letters Using Cloners 11m
- Setting up the Camera 3m
- Using a Cloner to Create a Letter Explosion 10m
- Creating a Central Element for the Letter Explosion 6m
- Creating a Spline and Sweep Shape 12m
- Cloning Letters Along the Spline 5m
- Animating Letter Reveal 10m
- Creating the Main Title Text 14m
- Setting up the Lighting and Backdrop 12m
- Adding Materials 11m
About the authors
Delano works avidly as an animation author at Pluralsight. Starting his career at animation studios like Shilo, Delano has developed a strong passion for his talents. His animation and rigging background help him teach and create some of the most-watched training on Pluralsight. A few of his favorite projects that he has contributed to include: Character Interaction in Maya and in Softimage, Rigging the Human Face in Maya, Rigging Sea Creatures in Maya, and Rigging and Animating Transforming... more
Justin thrives as a lead modeling author at Pluralsight. Growing up, Justin found a deep interest for the computer graphics industry after watching movies like Jurassic Park, Toy Story, and The Abyss. His ambition would lead him to work at Sony Imageworks in Los Angeles on movies like Monster House and Surf's Up. Justin has also had numerous articles, tutorials, and images published in 3D World and 3D Artist. As an author, Justin enjoys collaborating with fellow authors, especially on project... more
Kyle was one of the first authors for Digital-Tutors, now a Pluralsight company. and has been a part of the team for over 10 years. Kyle began his career in computer graphics education as a college instructor and worked as a Digital-Tutors rendering tutor and curriculum manager since 2002. Kyle has contributed to many of the most popular projects and helped the Digital-Tutors team win awards throughout the company's history. Kyle has had the honor of having his art exhibited at the New York ... more