1. FXPHD.COM
I have been taking courses at FXPHD for over a year now, and I must say that they are by far, the best and most comprehensive way to learn Cinema 4D! Tim Clapham shows you how he makes everything look so great in a straightforward, step by step way. Yeah, FXPHD is one of the more pricy options, but It’s way worth it. Sign up for one semester and you will be hooked. Their AE training is great too.
Visit FXPHD
2. HYPA.TV
Speaking of Tim, his site HYPA.TV has been pivitol in my understanding of Cinema 4D over the years. His site is one of the only “Designer Based” Cinema 4D sites out there. If you need Cinema 4D training for broadcast graphics work, this is your place. No spinning 3D monsters here. His Download section is a great place to download projects and see exactly how he sets his scenes up. Download his lighting presets too. They have become invaluable for me over the years.
Visit HYPA.TV
Visit Download Page
3. MOGRAPH.NET
Have a specific problem or question about Cinema 4D? Head over to Mograph.Net to ask a question and search their forum. The “Mograph Central” section has become a Cinema 4D Q&A orgy lately. Everyone is really helpful.
Some of them can be a bit snarky, but its all part of the fun. Chris Smith from CSTools fame frequents mograph.net and is super great about helping people problem solve. He may just write a tool for your problem. 
Visit MOGRAPH.NET
4. BASE80
While not really project based, the tutorials and tips at Base80 really start to teach you the more advanced features of Cinema 4D. These little tutorials are really helpful when you are trying to widen your 3D horizons and try out new features that you didn’t even know Cinema 4D had.
Visit BASE80
5. C4D CAFE
The C4D site may seem a bit pedestrian. I think it’s downright UGLY. But, dive inside and you will find hours of great little tips and tricks to help you navigate though some of Cinema 4D’s more technical challenges. Great resourse for those “How do I do this?” moments.
Visit C4D CAFE
UPDATE: Of course, don’t forget about all of my training videos available here. I will be adding to this list and doing some Cinema 4D to AE tutorials soon as well.
OK… YOUR TURN
I want to hear from you. Did I miss any sites that you use to learn Cinema 4D? Is there a training series that you really loved? Tell me about it in the comments.
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38 Comments
Wow, thanks for that HypaTV website, never heard of it before.
I know not totally motion design related, but c4d portal has some very good character animation tutorials for c4d.
Nicel list, but maybee you should ad http://www.cineversity.com/ also. The full membership is a little expensive, but there is also a lot of free stuff.
sawa on June 18th, 2009 said...
but they also have some nice free tuts.
Like this one:
http://www.cineversity.com/tutorials/lesson.asp?tid=1183
a 4 part Cinema and After Effects integration tutorial, that covers multipass and compositing – I found it quite useful
Damn Nick, this is awesome. Its like you listened to everything I said in my previous post. Thanks for making things happen. I don’t see how you have the time to work and post stuff daily, but I really appreciate your commitment to the site and the readers.
this is good too. Specially the introduction one it’s really nice to start.
http://www.cmivfx.com/
Catalyst on June 17th, 2009 said...
I agree with Mota cmivfx is a very good jumping off point for the basics, as well as more advanced concepts involving thinking particles
bobby on June 17th, 2009 said...
i think these guys pushing cmivfx are trolls that are working for said company.
Oscar on June 17th, 2009 said...
Amen to cmivfx — best one out there…
thegorilla on June 17th, 2009 said...
Thanks for the heads up. I haven’t checked them out yet. Their training is pretty good eh? What video should I start with?
Bas on June 17th, 2009 said...
imho, the TP ones are the best, since there is little understandable information about it elsewhere…
I’m missing texturing / rendering of thinking particles in those tuts, but for the setups they’re great.
The others are more intermediate to beginner, but still there are always some ‘OMG, I wish I had known that 3 years ago’ moments.
Catalyst on June 17th, 2009 said...
Part 3 of the basics series is also very helpful in demystifying the material manager for those who are beginning cinema 4d.
Mota on June 18th, 2009 said...
I think CMIVFX “C4D ULTIMATE LEARNING SYSTEM VOL 1″ is the first tutorial to start working on C4D.
It’s more than 2 hours explaining the UI, basics commands, customization, controls, etc… Really a good choice to start.
John Doe on September 23rd, 2009 said...
These are good but drink a lot of coffee before watching.
You missed a big one: http://www.jag4d.com/
This site is a pain to navigate, but there are some gems in the rough: http://www.black-and-white-to-color.com/ipbsfx/
There’s some good stuff over at http://www.viefex.com/, too.
Great tips on http://www.bonkers.de/, but it’s mostly textual.
I’m an fxphd member too. Amazing tutorials both AE and C4D.
Some others I have run across are:
http://www.tvgrafx.com
http://www.c4dportal.com (great site to learn)
http://www.3dattack.us/smf/index.php
(Community site around C4D. Also if you go to http://www.3dattack.us/smf/index.php?topic=7.0 they have magazines you can download. They’re 2005 but still a great learning tool)
I actually, just a week ago, started learning c4d (max background) and cmivfx.com has some great beginner to advanced stuff.
“downright UGLY” lol
Catalyst on June 17th, 2009 said...
I began working with cinema 4d about a year ago and found their tutorials to be quite fruitful. I will admit I only just discovered Grayscale Gorilla yesterday, but i suppose it is better late than never.
Zavorio on June 17th, 2009 said...
The site is full of good stuff, I just found Nick’s comment to be very honest and direct. Which is very good since no one really says what ther really think so openly (flamming fear?). GreyScale Gorilla (GreyScaleGorilla?) is a blend of good ol’ tech/tutorial stuff and great design (which many many tutorials and communities really lack).
Yes! I’ve been looking for some other C4D tutorial sites but never had any luck. Thanks Nick!
Great sites for cinema 4d. but there are a couple you missed.
3D Attack – Publishes a monthly online mag, great forums too. A video tutorials to download.
http://www.3dattack.us/smf/index.php
C4des – Publishes an online Magazine just like 3d attack but its mostly a spanish magazine, the last couple of issues have been in english, really great stuff.
http://www.c4des.com/recursos/tienda/
I’ve also found quite some nice sites through delicious. Why not check out all my c4d links here: http://delicious.com/basdumoulin/c4d
And I can highly recommend using twitter and subscribing to maxon3d ( http://twitter.com/maxon3d ) or maybe even to nickvegas
good luck!
In my opinion, this link belwo is a really, really good one…
http://www.tvgrafx.com
this is a great resource for Cinema 4d & After Effects…free tutorials, and the ones available for purchase aren’t expensive at all. Key=He’s a broadcast designer, and a darn good one.
illd on June 19th, 2009 said...
Oh man, I am really ashamed not to mention tvgrafx in my post – It is really a great great source for c4D and motiondesign in general. The guy running the site is really gifted and passioned!
Nice timing with this one…I just got C4D and haven’t even started the thing up yet.
Must leave comfort zone!!! (AE)
Thanks dude!
Aleksey on June 17th, 2009 said...
are you related to moho from lost marble?
that was the first software i did any animation in! it was heaps fun!
Here are some more C4D tutorials:
http://jorgelega.com/
great videos too. I also thought about tvgrafx but Steve was first;) BTW his name is Keith not Key
Nick – great site! Thanks.
Bas on June 17th, 2009 said...
great link – didn’t know that one yet. thx.
Ryan Hamilton on June 17th, 2009 said...
ya some cool tuts here, but I don’t understand why people give the time to record a tutorial but then not add audio.
Pixelbinge on June 18th, 2009 said...
This guy is nasty (as in good). Just by watching him work even without words, I picked up a lot of new techniques. Its cool because he has music playing during the tutorials so its like watching everything come alive to sound like in a commercial or something. Thanks a lot for sharing this link.
I hope everyone knows about 3d attack in case you don’t here it is….
http://www.3dattack.us/
It is a pretty active cinema 4d community complete with some inexpensive tutorials and a monthly magazine (which is awesome)
Some others worth checking out folks.
http://www.tvgrafx.com/tutorials/main.html
http://www.bendingpixels.com/bp-08/resources.html
http://www.archc4d.com/index.html
http://www.c4dlounge.eu/forum/cmps_index.php
http://www.c4dportal.com/forum/index.php
perfect timing I just got cinema 4d and was looking for a way to saturate my brain with tutorials.
thanks so much!
http://www.c4des.com favorite site, its in spanish but now there is google translator so give it a shot.
They also make a really good magazine http://www.c4des.com/recursos/tienda/index.php
Hmmm…I posted some good links, but the post hasn’t shown up. Guess I’ll post ‘em on my blog instead then.
thegorilla on June 18th, 2009 said...
Sorry Leah,
All your great links got held up in my approval queue. They are up now.
Ted on June 20th, 2009 said...
My comments are doing the same thing.
For french users of C4D : http://www.weecast.fr/tutoriels-cinema-4d.html 24 cheap tutorials !
http://www.frenchcinema4d.fr/ An active forum with some tutorials and lots of tips.
Thanks for all this stuff Nick
I can’t recommend fxphd highly enough. Tim’s teaching is gold.
Bas on June 18th, 2009 said...
I find it very hard to find good examples of what their classes look like on their site. Sure there are videos on the first two basic classes, but since I’m more interested in the more advanced part, I have no idea what it will be like.
And especially with the price being $330 I want to know what I am buying…
Anyone else feel the same?
Nobody’s mentioned the C4D [url="http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=47"]CGTalk[/url] forum yet?
Not so much motionGraphics based, but a good forum with a lot of CG profesionals
a german site
http://www.gfx-world.net/tutorials/tag/cinema-4d
oh i fogot
xpresso’s
http://www.xpresso24.com/
textrues
http://www.cgtextures.com/
Thanks for mentioning my site in your article!
Here’s 2 good ones:
3dfluff.com
c4dportal.com: Never updated but the stuff that’s there is worth a god look.
Hey there,
Please forgive the noob question but is there an actual classroom/school for learning Cinema 4D anywhere? I’m just starting out with Cinema4D. I like what I saw at a trade show a little while back and am just trying to get my feet wet with some product design and then move on to animation. Any help you guys could provide would be a great help.
thegorilla on August 11th, 2009 said...
I’m sure that there are some C4D classes in some schools. I’m not aware of any though. FXPHD is really a great bet. It has a forum to ask all your questions and a GREAT teacher. Plus, it’s way cheaper than real school.
Keep rocking.
nice list. very helpful sites.
Hey Nick. These sites have been great! Do you know any good books to have for cinema 4D training as well? Thanks!
You say ” Download his lighting presets too” on HYPA where exactly are these presets. I looked all over his awesome site, but no Download for his his lighting presets that I can find. I looked n the DL section
I’d recommend http://www.cineversity.com for all levels of cinema4D users. Not entirely free stuff.but definitely worth looking at.
Hypa.tv closed its doors?
didn’t get a chance to check them out
DOn’t forget my site at http://www.pariahstudios.co.uk either. I have a rapidly growing set of C4D video tutorials, amongst other things.
Rob
The Gorilla on December 16th, 2009 said...
True dat! Rock it Rob! Your tuts are great. ^^^^^
Why is it that most (if not all) the best C4D DVD tutorials are available only either in German or French? There’s not a decent english DVD tutorial or book available (aside from maybe that 1-2 on Amazon).
I want to take an AE course and I live in NYC. Do you recommend FXPHD over “in person” classes at SVA?
The Gorilla on December 16th, 2009 said...
I haven’t been to SVA. But I highly recommend FXPHD. I’m sure it’s way less expensive too
I’m pretty new in this area… Hell, I’m a noob to the bone.
I’d really like to find really good basic training to see if I can wrap my mind around this complex piece of software.
From that on, maybe I would pay for real intense training.
Please help?
The Gorilla on January 23rd, 2010 said...
I have a ton of getting started with Cinema Tutorials. Look at the “Intro to C4D” and “Texturing” tutorials first. That should get you started. Then for paid, look into FXPHD or some more training from Tim Clapham.
Leo on January 23rd, 2010 said...
Marcelo, I recommend you the full training of LYNDA.COM about the release 11.5 ! It covers all from A to Z !
Leo
Hey Nick
Thanks a lot for all the links ! You asked about CMIVFX..
I highly DON’T recommend CMIVFX for those reasons :
1. I’m trying hard to learn english ( still really baaaad ) and this guy come up with his Ear-killer english. It makes you feel sick and tired
I cannot imagine the result on a native english speaker !
2. He is NOT a teacher ! For the sake of god, be organized and speak clearly when you do a tutorial ! This guy makes you lose easily 1- 1h30 per tutorials, searching stuff, repeating himself, etc…
3. I have some issues with the online-player. Let me download the contents !!!!!
I have juste finished watching the C4D 3D Matte Painting extraction tutorial. This was very instructive, but, GHOSH ! Learn to teach !
I’m pretty sure that a guy from FXPHD ( God bless FXPHD ) can teach you this stuff in an 1 hour tutorial !!!
FXPHD and the new training of LYNDA.COM are great great ressources !
Leo
We’ve been up since about June of last year and have around 25 tutorials covering the basics through to MoGraph. More to come each week.