Cinema 4D Beginner’s Guide

Model, animate, and render like a Pro!

Overview

• Step-by-step instructions on modeling, texturing, lighting & rendering a photorealistic 3D interior scene
• Dynamic animations using MoGraph
• Node-based programming to link parameters using XPresso
• Stylized rendering with Sketch & Toon
• A straightforward, conversational style suited to beginners

In Detail

3D animation offers a versatile way to bring ideas to life. With this guide, you’ll learn how to take your vision and turn it into beautiful images

With “Cinema 4D”, you can quickly and easily bring your visions to life. This beginner’s guide will walk you through creating and animating a 3D scene, with tips and techniques for everything from photorealistic rendering to motion graphics.

“Cinema 4D” enables everyone from professionals to hobbyists to create stunning 3D animations. This book will walk you through all the steps of creating an interior flythrough of an office: creating a 3D structure, adding materials and lighting, animating, and rendering. Then, you’ll explore additional features through a series of mini projects: creating motion graphics, exporting a stylized non-realistic image, adding hair and creating cloth. You’ll learn how to connect pieces that all work together by exploring node-based programming in Xpresso, then wrap everything up with an introduction to compositing in Adobe After Effects.

What you will learn from this book

• An overview of 3D animation on a linear timeline
• Material/Texture creation
• Photorealistic Rendering
• Stylistic Rendering
• 3D Animation on a linear timeline
• Motion Graphics with Mograph toolset
• Basic Xpresso programming
• Integrating 3D scenes with Adobe After Effects
• Adding realism to scenes with hair and cloth
• Exporting scenes to Adobe After Effects for external compositing

Approach

Step-by-step instructions with guiding screenshots will help new users to create a photorealistic interior scene with an animated camera. Users will also learn how to use the MoGraph module to create dynamic motion graphics, how to link parameters with Xpresso (Cinema 4D’s node-based programming language), and are guided through mini-projects to explore additional tools for non-photorealistic illustrations, hair creation and cloth rendering.

Who this book is written for

Designers and artists with a basic proficiency in animation or computer graphics, as well as professionals who are familiar with other 3D animation software.