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Five Second Project – Retro

September 7, 2010

It’s time to throw it back to another time. A time before all the wonderful things that make our life so awesome. Back to a day where laptops were for hambone and cellphones were as big as Vanilla Ice’s hair-do. So, let’s see how YOU would have made animation back in the day before modern miracles like iPhones, Go-gurt, and even the interwebz.

What Are Five Second Projects?

We all want to make cool shit for our demo reel right? Sometimes you just need a theme to get you started… Some rules to fight against. Use the theme “Retro” to make a five second motion piece and enter it into the form below. If your new to five second projects, why not check out the Five Second Projects Archive to see all of the past themes.

Rules

1. Submissions must be Five Seconds Long!
2. Only animation is accepted. Video only submissions will not.
3. The animations has to do with the theme in some way.
4. Original Work only. Don’t cut out 5 seconds of already made work.
5. Link back to GSG on your Vimeo Post

Why Should You Enter?

1. Try new techniques or software
2. Limitations help get the mind working.
3. Make short, awesome pieces for your reel.
4. Get critique from your peers.
5. Promote yourself.

How Do I Enter my Video?
1. Create a five second animation based on the theme.
2. Upload your video to Vimeo. Don’t forget to add a link back to this blog post.
3. Submit your link to the form below and I will add it to the channel
4. Deadline is Monday, September 20th.

<a target="_blank" href="http://nickcampbell.wufoo.com/forms/p7x3r3/" title="Submit Your Entry Below for "Retro"" rel="nofollow">Fill out my Wufoo form!</a>

Watch the videos at the vimeo channel, or at the FiveSecondProjects Archive

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What’s New In Cinema 4D Release 12

September 1, 2010

In this post, I wanted to show you guys some of the new features in Cinema 4D 12. Of course, with every new release there are a TON of new features, but I wanted to show you the ones I am most excited about.

New Dynamics
I’m most excited about the new dynamics system that now includes soft body dynamics, connectors, motors, and springs. By combining all these object together, you can now create very complex dynamic simulations. As you can see from all the renders below, It’s what I love the most about the new Cinema Release.

Springs And Connectors

New SoftBody Dynamics

Connectors (Hinges)

Motors

RagDoll Physics

Linear Workflow
Cinema 4D 12 has also added linear workflow. Linear workflow ensures that your lights, reflections, and shadows are rendered more realistically. There are a few “gotchas” when it comes to working linearly, but in future tutorials I will show you ways to get around it. There is no easy way to describe linear workflow except to say that it makes your renders look more realistic. More to come for sure.

New Lighting Options
You know I LOVE realistic lighting in my renders. Version 12 adds some really interesting lighting features. Cinema 12 allows you to use IES lighting in your scenes. IES Lighting allows you to download real light profiles that cast photo-real shadows. in your scene. Version 12 also bring white balance and color temperature to your scenes for even more precise control over your lighting.

Render Queue
The New Render Queue is awesome. It allows me to set up multiple renders with different cameras and settings and render them while I’m away. This allows me to set up renders and passes during the day and render overnight really easily. In fact, all the renders above were rendered in one go using the Render Queue. Sure, additions like this aren’t as flashy as new dynamics, but this feature alone will save me hours of tedious render setups and maintenance.

Way Way More
There is so much more with version 12 that I haven’t even explored yet including: new effector types like the Camera Deformer, Surface Deformer and Mesh Deformer, new Open GL Support, dual transformations, and more. You can expect many more videos about the new features and how to use them as I figure them out myself. Stay tuned for many more tutorials about the new dynamics and lighting, too. Version 12 is a really exciting release. What are your thoughts?

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HDRI Light Kit Pro: Daylight Rig Preview

August 31, 2010

I have been working on a new update for the HDRI Light Kit Pro that should be out within a week or so. So excited, in fact, that I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak into the new “Daylight” Rig that will be included.
Scenes Lit With Daylight

This rig quickly simulates daylight lighting with sun and sky and renders very realistic shadows and highlights with and without Global Illumination. It renders super fast and is a great way to instantly light any scene. I have been using it a TON lately and I can’t wait for you guys to try it when the new version of the HDRI Light Kit Pro comes out. This will be a free update for existing users which means that anybody that buys the kit before the new version comes out will get the update FREE in their email inbox. There are also a few more goodies in store with the new version including new studio presets and HDRI Images. Getting really excited for this one.

Learn More about the HDRI Light Kit Pro

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How to build a Sci-Fi Sphere Scene in Cinema 4D

August 30, 2010

In this tutorial, I show you how to make the video below using Animated Lathe Nurbs, Blurry Reflections, and specular highlights. You also may also want to watch my Radio Wave Tutorial to learn another way to pull this effect off with After Effects.