In this tutorial, I show you how to use Flux by CS Tools. It’s a great, abstract renderer influenced by early versions of Trapcode Form. As abstract stuff goes, it’s pretty fun to play and make sexy renders with. Have fun!
How to Install the CS Tools
Download the CS Tools Here
Watch all of the CS Tools Tutorials
CS Tools – Flux
March 18, 2010
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17 Comments
one time it’s very interesting
Bravo
Good to have you back and working!
I’ve just watched zerodb.org + the preview of Massive Attack
So I’m making now my own 3d speaker with different Hz pumping out of it
This will definitely help me building the membrane.
thanks
Nice to see how this works – never bothered opening it.
Any examples of when someone uses this for commercial work?
Colin_Movecraft on March 18th, 2010 said...
I just posted a comment – here you are.
Production at Cobracreative.com & palmavfx.com
Agency: Fluid.com
http://www.kenmore.com/shc/s/nb_10154_12604_NB_Laundry+Innovation?adCell=W3
Dario Cruz on March 19th, 2010 said...
Very nice Colin! I love how subtle the use of flux is. Gives me some good inspiration.
Nice stuff! Pretty cool effects you can make with it.
Also nice to have you back
Always ahead of the pack.
[img]http://e.deviantart.com/emoticons/c/clap2.gif[/img]
Awesome
DaniSang on March 18th, 2010 said...
meh, emoticon didn’t work
Dario Cruz on March 19th, 2010 said...
Also the link to ur DArt page isn’t working either. =/
Very cool tutorial, there is a ton of abstract potential for this!
Eli Harrigan on March 19th, 2010 said...
Hey are you the same Paul Agostinelli I once lost a bunch of money to in a back boiler room poker game?
Paul Agostinelli on March 21st, 2010 said...
the same! how on earth did you remember me? that must have been 8 years ago!
Welcome back, I like the new iPhone App ads! I’m really enjoying your Light Kit, too. It made it a whole lot easier and tastier. You saved me for a lot of work there!
I’ll upload some Light Kit Screen Shots if you want that afterwards.
We used this tool for production in a kenmore in store display video.
I did tests of cloth, Trapcode Form, and CS_Tools and the agency liked these best.
Check it out.
http://www.kenmore.com/shc/s/nb_10154_12604_NB_Laundry+Innovation?adCell=W3
Rado on March 18th, 2010 said...
like the idea,to use it as a kind of transition between two shots,clever!
Matt Frodsham on March 20th, 2010 said...
that’s sleek mate!
I don´t know if it´s just me stating the obvious, but i think Nick fails to mention that you of course could replace the Plane object in Flux with “any” object. I know he says “play around with it” but…
Apply it to a text object, add the excellent Turbulence effect and you have a cool burning text (for example)…and of course some rendertime
Congrats on your HDRI Light Kit Pro!
It’s kinda off, but i’ve recently watched The Prestige (again:) and the titles in the trailer got me thinking! How did they do the transition? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttFqblbbp_Q for example at 00:36) I can recognize 3D rotating on the front face of the letters, but the magic comes on the other sides of these blocks. I am not sure if they used the transition’s final state as texture of the letter objects’ sides, cause there is a little bending in the transition’s second state. Can’t get it:) Check it out!
Chris Feldmann on March 19th, 2010 said...
I want to say thats done in After Effects, make a box and put text on the sides and rotate each box differently. That is a very interesting transition and I could be wrong but thats something to play around with. never noticed that before thanks for that.
Cool stuff. Now the light kit’s out and doing well (I assume)… any news on your video portfolio site? I just threw a quick site together with squarespace (www.mattfrodsham.com) that I can just embed vimeos in and looks a little cooler than sending clients to vimeo. I feel like jesus setting up a domain, new to me haha. I’ll stop rambling.. been a long day.
matt
Stef on March 19th, 2010 said...
Hey Matt , i’m verry curious about the portfolio site to ! Nice and clean webstite you made there. Not a big fan of the fonts though, but that’s just me
.
Matt Frodsham on March 19th, 2010 said...
hey I like serifs! Thanks haha
colin_movecraft on March 20th, 2010 said...
Nice Matt,
Promote that site baby. As far as the typeface, why don’t you just extrude bifurk like everyone else?
Jokes!
-c
Matt Frodsham on March 20th, 2010 said...
Haha, thanks colin. Exactly! Now comes the dreaded task of actually editing a reel, argh
The Gorilla on March 20th, 2010 said...
Nice site, Matt! Keep your eyes open for something similar to contrast coming out soon from GSG. Shhhhhh, It’s top secret!
Matt Frodsham on March 21st, 2010 said...
great stuff. Thanks Nick, take it easy
Just so you all know I can’t wait to upload my idea of this Flux thing, the renders are looking so cool but Net Render is being weird! Any way thanks for the tutorial, gets my mind going for ideas and I love having ideas!
I”ll have a link up soon.
Chris Feldmann on March 21st, 2010 said...
and BAM finally worked and now it’s up (God Bless the C4D Net Render. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBKwmZdtxGY
it messes up just a bit a few times but still cool and fun to do.
The Gorilla on March 21st, 2010 said...
Wow, that is awesome! Can you share your technique with the class. Wonderful job!
Borislava on March 22nd, 2010 said...
yes, please share.
Chris Feldmann on March 22nd, 2010 said...
I’d love to! so what I did was when I looked into the flux group, I just tried dropping a sphere primative into the hyperNurbs and it worked (to an extent). Then I for some reason thought of a bean bag sort of thing to try and replicate, sort of a stress ball. So to fill it up I had multiple sphere cloner objects placed inside the flux geometry. Place modynamics on the hyper nurbs and cloner objects, bake the mograph cake, slap Gi in for the flux material to emit light and then send it off! I migh make a video.
Cool. I just used this preset to make a chocolate river for a wonka candies promo.
Borislava on March 22nd, 2010 said...
Upload and link it.
Brian Mason on March 22nd, 2010 said...
Unfortunately, I can’t upload work related stuff… at least until it’s approved. Not my rules.
I can say all I did was change the material used to a shiny brown and tweaked the speed and formula’s until it was chocolate
I think the CS Tools are cool, but I want some awesome tutorials like the balloons or the destruction plugin or the video or the cascading text one. Not the same topics, but those more in depth tutorials! I’m DYING without them. I check this site everyday, sometime 2 or 3 times to check if it’s been updated.
But before everyone whinges at me, I do know how much work goes into them – but it’s been a while. But props to you Nick for your awesome work.
I also just bought your light kit, haven’t used it yet – but from what everyone has been saying it should be awesome!
The Gorilla on March 23rd, 2010 said...
There will be a bigger tut out today. Sorry about the wait. I know it’s been a while. ROCK!