Computer software market is living according to the laws of fierce competition. Stay "afloat" in such harsh conditions, the strength is not for everyone. Manufacturers of professional package for 3D guided by its own segment of the market. For example, Softimage 3D and Alias | Wavefront Maya engaged in the field of film and video industry, NewTek Lightwave 3D is most often used in television, and 3D Studio Max is primarily focused on the development of games. Today we decided to tell you about another package to work with computer graphics and animation - Cinema 4D <Figure 1>. No additional literature to understand the many features of the program is quite difficult.
The eighth and last version of the program comes just a few months ago. As before, Cinema 4D consists of several modules that can be bought separately if necessary.Among them, the Advanced Render, MOCCA, Thinking Particles, PyroCluster, Dynamics, BodyPaint 3D, NET Render. Minimal cost Cinema 4D - $ 595, but it is usually acquire one of the two sets - XL Bundle or Studio Bundle.
In CINEMA 4D XL Bundle includes advanced rendering (Advanced Render), modules to work with particles (Thinking Particles) and effects of fire and smoke (PyroCluster), as well as character animation (MOCCA). Cost XL Bundle $ 1695.
Package CINEMA 4D Studio Bundle includes modules for computing the dynamics of the scenes (Dynamics), to work with textures (BodyPaint 3D), as well as network rendering (NET Render). In this case, the number of client licenses are unlimited. The cost of this package $ 2,495.
One advantage - Easy to system resources. For it to work enough: Mac OS 9.x or Windows 98/ME, 128 MByte RAM, Intel Celeron or AMD Duron 400 MHz.
Interface
After you install the Cinema 4D on the first run will take off big window where you will be prompted to enter registration information for each of the multiple modules. Of course, you will spend on this for a while, but for that in the future, in the process, to worry about what does not have to - when you want to use one or another module, the serial number will not have to enter.
The first thing that catches your eye while loading Cinema 4D - the visibility of the program interface <Figure 2>. However, the apparent simplicity is deceptive, and beginning to work, you'll know it. Controls the position of the species in the viewport rendered in the top right corner of the viewport. To change the position of the virtual camera, you need to click on one of the icons in the upper right corner of the View. Hold down the mouse button, you can rotate, zoom, move the scene. There is also a button to switch modes one viewport / four viewports. Manipulating objects, in our view, made not very comfortable (though the taste and color, as you know ... :)).
Under the main menu is a horizontal panel with tools. If you bring the cursor to any of the icons, its name is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen. It's a bit unusual, since in most 3D-editors used tooltips. On this toolbar has icons (Move, Rotate, Scale Active Element), allowing the object to move, scale or rotate it around one of the three axes.
In addition to the horizontal toolbar, there is also vertical to the left. The presence of two such panels do like the look of Cinema 4D interface to Alias | Wavefront Maya.
Located beneath the window projection timeline (Time Palette) allows you to create animations in the program.
In Cinema 4D, you can create all the basic primitives (sphere cube, torus, plane, cylinder, cone, and so on). By the way, the torus has a lot more options than the same primitive in most 3D-packet. So, out of it without using deformers can make a ring or give it the shape of an ellipse.
However, apart from the basic primitives, you can include a scene objects that normally runs another program - Poser. Group Object Library contains the figure of a man, woman and child <Figure 3>. The program also allows you to create splines of different shapes.In the group of primitives can be identified object named Landscape. This object is created using a fractal algorithm that simulates the natural landscape.
A small disadvantage of the program can be called that at the opening of a new scene is retained in the old program. On the one hand, it is convenient, as you can quickly switch between multiple scenes (Main Menu> Window). On the other hand, it weights computer resources and, in addition, when you want to close the program, it will still be asked whether to save the changes in each scene, which is terrible on my nerves :).
Modeling
Those who have ever worked with 3D, know that almost all programs to work with three-dimensional graphics are applied similar principles modeling. The program Cinema 4D offers all the basic modeling techniques - methods Loft, Lathe, Extrusion, Sweeping (a variant of the standard loft), Boolean and Metaballs. We will tell all in order.
At right is a so-called Object Manager. It contains information about the objects are in the scene and the acts committed against them. Suppose you want to make the operation Extrusion respect to any spline. Create using the buttons on the panel or using the main menu any spline, such as type of Flower. Then run the command Main Menu> NURBS> Extrude NURBS. Then in the Object Manager, you will see hierarchically arranged to Flower and the operation of the extrusion Extrude NURBS. However, in order that the operation has been applied to the spline, you must select the inscription Flower mouse, hold down the left mouse button, drag-ee inscription on Extrude NURBS. At the same time around the cursor arrow should appear as shown in Figure <Figure 4>. If you now select the line Extrude NURBS, in the box under the Object Manager, the user will be available to set up the operation NURBS. Setting group contains three Object Properties parameter Movement, each of which defines the extrusion force along one of the coordinate axes.
Similarly, the operations are conducted Lathe (model building by turning the spline profile around one of the axes), Sweep (model building by extruding a spline for a given profile) and Loft (building a model for cross-sections). However, it should be remembered that in the latter case, in the Object Manager will need to select all cross-sections, and then drag them with the mouse on the line Loft NURBS.
When working with objects buleanovskimi also necessary to highlight interactive objects, and then drag them to the line of Boole. In the Attribute Manager you can specify the type of operation buleanovskoy - subtraction of one object from another, their union, etc.
Another way of modeling the objects available to users Cinema 4D, - with the metabolite.As you know, this type of modeling is useful for creating different organics. It is also suitable for modeling of water must give credit to the developers of the program - Work with the metabolite is very well thought out and can even give a handicap to some 3D-editors. Object such as a metabolite in the program is not, however, its properties may be of any object in the scene. This program takes the top of the selected object of the metabolite. We demonstrate working with the metabolite in the simplistic example.
Create a viewport two primitives, say, a cube and a sphere, and place them side by side.Then, on the top toolbar, select the icon Add Array Object and its drop-down menu, select the icon Add Metaball Object <Figure 5>. After that, we know to select the objects and drag them to the line Metaball. If you did not change the parameters of the facilities offered by the default program, first it will be able to see how the area will turn into a low polygon object and the cube will disappear altogether. To see the metabolite, located in the corners of a cube, and give a smooth shape all metabolite in the scene, you need to setup Metaball (scroll Object Properties) option to reduce the Editor Subdivision to an acceptable level. The result is a picture that maybe something will remind our :) <Figure 6>.
For ready-made objects you can use one of the many types of deformers. The deformation of the body can be very diverse - the object can be compressed, pulling, twisting, etc.
Pay attention to one feature of the hierarchy in the Object Manager. When working with operations Loft, Lathe, Extrusion, Sweeping, Boolean, Metaballs on the actions that you need to make, mouse over tighten the objects (see above). In the case of the opposite warp: warp dragged onto the object you want to change the shape. In this sense, the hierarchy of the window Object Manager is some criticism, as a beginner it is easy to get confused.
Various deformers can be used not only for the modeling of objects, but also to create different effects. For example, using deformers Explosion can simulate an explosion object and applying Melt - make him melt.
Materials
Working with the material occurs in the Material Manager. To assign a certain material object in this window, select the menu File> New Material, double-click on the slot of the material that appears, specify the necessary settings. Each material created in the program, based on the texture maps, including Color, Diffusion (magnitude of the diffusion scattering), Luminance (glow), Transparency (clarity), Reflection (reflection), Bump (relief), etc. In addition, the user can apply various types of shaders for each of the parameters material. They help to model the desired material, can accurately specify its characteristics. Among the available shaders: Flame, Earth, Water, Wood, Sunburst, etc.
After the user determine the material settings, assign to the object will be very easy. To do this, you just need to move the mouse on the desired object in the viewport.
Rendering
Once the scene is ready, it is, of course, want to render. Built render Cinema 4D, as well as the module Advanced Render, can create quite lifelike pictures <Fig. 7>. The eighth release program during rendering technology can be used Global Illumination, as well as working with caustic. Thanks to the latter, you can create realistic glass objects correctly refracting and reflecting light.
The render settings are caused by executing the main menu> Render> Render Settings or key combination Ctrl + B. In the settings window for rendering high-quality images with the use of caustic and the scattered light is necessary to use a function Radiosity and Surface Caustics (Volume Caustics). Also it is better to put a filter parameter to the value AntiAliasing Best.
Among other things, in the Cinema 4D has several built-in filters post-processing. If you go to the line Effects and enable the Enable Post-Effects, the user can apply one of the following effects: Glow (Glow), Highlights (reflections), Depth Of Field (DOF), Color Correction (Correction of light), etc.
Cinema 4D supports the export of the most popular 3D-formats, including 3D Studio, VRML, Wavefront, Shockwave 3D, DXF.
To sum up ...
With each subsequent release of Cinema 4D acquires all the new opportunities for modeling and animation. Less demanding on system resources than other similar programs, and yet fully functional and, moreover, very stable 3D-editor, Cinema 4D has already gained a lot of fans. Evidence of active promotion of the market Maxon 3D-software is that its products have been used on television and, in particular, on the TV channel Discovery. Flexible pricing policy pursued by Maxon, no doubt, will increase the number of users of Cinema 4D in the very near future. Want to join? To get started, download from the manufacturer's website at the address http://www.maxoncomputer.com/download_demo.asp free demo version of the program.And forward, to the conquest of the fourth dimension!
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