greyscalegorilla/blog » Tutorials

What’s New In Cinema 4D Release 12

The Gorilla — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:46:38 +0000

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?

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

The Gorilla — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:36:57 +0000

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.

Reference

Layer By Layer: A Breakdown Of My Layer Tennis Match

The Gorilla — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:48:23 +0000

There were so many questions and comments about my Layer Tennis match on Friday. So, I decided to make this breakdown video showing you my thought process, workflow and scene files from the match.

Links Mentioned
Layer Tennis
Aaron’s Site ronlewhorn.com
Coudal Partners
How To Precomp in After Effects

Software and Plugins Used
Trapcode Particular
Trapcode Shine
HDRI Light Kit Pro
Nick Campbell’ Vintage Film for Looks
RSMB
Cinema 4D
After Effects

How to Animate the Inception Totem Part 2 – After Effects

The Gorilla — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:22:31 +0000

In part two of this tutorial, we head into After Effects where we composite and finish the scene using Frischluft Depth Of Field, Curves and blurs. I also show you how to use the object buffer from cinema 4D to color correct different parts of your scene separately. Enjoy.

Watch Part 1 of This Tutorial

How to Animate the Inception Totem with Cinema 4D and Dynamics

The Gorilla — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:35:12 +0000

In this tutorial, I show you how to animate, light and texture the totem top scene from Inception. I show you how to use the Lathe Nurbs, Dynamics and noise in your textures to build and texture the scene. Then I show you how to light the scene with the HDRI Light Kit Pro. Stay tuned for part 2 of this tutorial where we head into After Effects and do the texturing and compositing.

Final Render

Watch Part 2 of This Tutorial

Tutorial Sneak Peak – Inception Totem

The Gorilla — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:14:01 +0000

I have been working on a new tutorial this week and I wanted to give you guys a quick look at the final render. It’s based on the movie Inception. It’s a pretty simple animation, but I think I will get more in to texturing and lighting on this one. I hope to have it out by tomorrow. Can’t wait!

CS Tools – Fog

The Gorilla — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:19:32 +0000

Examples
I used fog when lighting and rendering these city shots to give the city a nice haze.

Download the CS Tools Here

Watch all of the CS Tools Tutorials

Secret Cinebench Scene Files

The Gorilla — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:11:57 +0000

Awesome! I was playing with Cinebench and found that you can open the scene files used for the test renders and play with them in Cinema 4D! My favorite is the Aixponza file. Open it up and check out all the great lighting and textures that they use for that scene. I’ve said it before but, picking apart professional scene files is one of the best ways to learn tricks from the best artists out there.

How To Use Cinebench to Benchmark Your Computer

The Gorilla — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:03:35 +0000

Cinebench is a great free program from maxon that will benchmark your computer. If you are in the market for a new computer (like I am), or just want to see how your machine stacks up when it comes to rendering, go download Cinebench and run it on your computer to get your render speed and your graphics card speed.

Download Cinebench Here

How to use Volumetric Lighting in Cinema 4D

The Gorilla — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:58:37 +0000

In this short tutorial, I show you how to use Volumetric Lighting in Cinema 4D. You can use Volumetric Lights for glows, Shine effects and also for dramatic backlighting.

Thanks to Kai Pedersen and Rick Barrett for reminding me about volumetric lighting while I was at Siggraph
Examples