In this tutorial Simon will show how to work (or play-around) with Thinking Particles to build event-based particle systems. He also shows how to combine TP with mograph so you can create a particle system then add a more complexity to your animation with your favourite Mograph-effectors.
Example
no f–ing way…yes, I’ve never done this walk before, but I *know* it does not take 70 days to walk from San Francisco to Los Angeles – Michael Wolfe
This is a great analogy to how difficult it is to correctly estimate hours on a project. The answer is in regards to a software project, but I think that the same problems come up in Motion Design and FX work.
(Via Marco)
Today, Chris Schmidt shows us how to make a realistic brick road using Cinema 4D using Mograph tools and noise textures. He also goes over how to texture the bricks using displacement to make them jagged and random looking. Follow Chris down the yellow brown brick road of C4D rendering. Sorry, that was cheesy.
In part 2 of this looping series, I show you how to seamlessly loop animations in Cinema 4D. Then, I show you the process on how I compress them into an Animated GIF. I included my Photoshop Action for automatically building Animated GIFs, too.
In this video, Chris shows you how to quickly explode and shatter objects using Cinema 4D’s Cloth Dynamics. Do you like this guy as much as I do? You can follow Chris on twitter, here.
I’m sure by now you have seen this excellent Headphone spot by Paul Clements. It’s full of beautifully animated and composited scenes made with Mograph and Cinema 4D. Today, Paul posted a breakdown video of how he animated many of the scenes including some mograph breakdowns and some before and after compositing. It’s outstanding what a talented artist can make on his own with these incredible tools.
What Are Five Second Projects?
We all want to make original work for our demo reel or portfolio. But, sometimes you just need a theme to get you started… Some rules to fight against. Here is your chance. Use the theme “Pinball” (Sorry, I’m obsessed) 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 and winners.
Rules
Watch a Video about the rules
1. Submissions must be Five Seconds Long!
2. Any 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?
Watch The Video about why to 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. (Submissions can take up to 48 hours to be added to the project.)
4. Deadline is Sunday, January 29th.
SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED. Thanks for entering.
Now What?
Watch all the entries at the vimeo channel, or check out old Five Second Projects in the FiveSecondProjects Archive
You may have seen my page of Tiny Animations that feature a bunch of simple animations from Cinema 4D and After Effects. They have been really fun to make, and I got a few questions about how to seamlessly loop animation. So, I made this first video to start to talk about the basics of looping. I hope to do a more advanced one in C4D where I show you more about how to make sure you have a seamless loop for any project.
In this video, Chris Schmidt shows you how to setup and use the Proximal Shader to set up different special effects and texture tricks. There are some really fun examples in this one.
I answered a few questions about how I make stuff from a student named Dale Williams for a school project of his and I thought I would share some of the answers here on the blog.
I try to make stuff that I find interesting. I often see great work from others and ask, “How did they do that?” Then, I sit down and try to figure out my version of it. Other times, I set simple and strong limitations for myself and try to work under those rules. I love the process of things.
Trial and Error. I take an educated guess on how something is done and I give that a try. If that doesn’t work, I tinker and play or search Google for an answer if I get stuck.
MK12 is who got me interested in Motion Design. But, it’s Thomas Edison and Buckminster Fuller type characters I really admire. I’m usually influenced by other people that love the work they do and are willing to talk about it and share what they learned. People that share a bit of “Behind the Scenes” are way more interesting to me than “artists” that try to make you think that all this stuff is mysterious. I also work well with strict rules, simple ideas, fun, and short deadlines.
To have fun and to share the results and process with others who want to learn. I pick apart things and build stuff because I like doing it. Then, when I think I figured some of it out, I flip on the camera and try to record it so others can learn too. I learned many of the things I know because other people were kind enough to share it. I figure, the least I can do is share back.
For example, as I learn how to use Cinema 4D, Take Photos, build pinball machines, or make iPhone Apps, I make videos and posts to show some of my problems I run into, and what I learned in the process in the hopes that it helps someone else.
