Cinema 4D Basics

Welcome to the Cinema 4d interface

Using layouts and 'workspaces'

Setting up a project

Understanding Frame rate and unit sizes

Understanding the various windows, toolbars and viewports

Navigating around a 3d space and using hotkey navigation

Managing project settings correctly

Creating Objects in Cinema 4D

Understanding basic object types and parameters

Understanding the various types and forms, their settings and parameters

Creating basic objects - primitives

Manipulating objects, moving scaling and rotating

Using the attributes manager

Understanding object properties

Understanding the objects hierarchy

How the object hierarchy or objects list works as an organizational tool

Cinema 4D's parent and child structure - understanding parent and child relationships

Using the list to hide and display objects

Using null objects to control the hierarchy

Using Modifiers and Deformers to modify, distort and manipulate objects

Creating deformers and using them correctly within the object list

Types of deformers - uses for animation and modelling

Deformer limits

Making spline or outline objects to edit and create objects

Creating basic outlines with the bezier pen

Making shapes and paths

Bezier types, interpolation and curve interpolation

Smoothing beziers

Text splines

Using illustrator paths

Creating more complex models using different constructor objects

Extrusion objects

Lofting - making surfaces from profiles

Lathing - spinning objects in a virtual lathe

Arrays - multiple objects from a single source

Booleans - combination objects

The combine object - turning separate elements into one

Using subdivision surfaces for making smoother models

Using editable objects, points edges and polygons to create any shape or surface

Points, edges and polygons - the different editing modes

Understanding detail level - how many polygons?

Using the tool setting in the attributes manager

Using the selection tools

Understanding objects tags

Face normal

Alignment functions

Avoiding common polygon problems

Creating and working with materials to change the colour, texture and properties of objects

Making new materials and shaders

Enabling material properties

Colour, texture, reflectance and transparency

Bump maps to enhance surfaces

Using bitmaps and procedural textures

Applying materials - material tags

UVW mapping - how to align textures with objects

Creating environments for objects and cameras

An infinite ground plane - the floor object

Making skies, skylight objects and physical skies

Creating "props" to assist with reflections

Hiding environments for reflections

Adding lights and Cinema 4D cameras to give viewpoints

Understanding the range of light types and light techniques

Working with different light ranges and falloff

Shadow types and their parameters

Adding visible lights

Create light setups (daylight, interior light and studio light)

Adding skylights

Creating and using a camera

Setting lens settings and parameters

Creating simple animations using animation and Keyframing

Basic animation techniques

Understanding the animation workspace

Getting things to move with keyframes

Using the timeline to animate an element or function

Using keys and curves

Animating and object on a path

Previewing an animation

Rendering and output to create still or animation sequences

The cinema 4d renderers

Rendering set up - size and frame rate

File types - exporting frames and animations

Adding global illumination for more realistic rendering

Adding more effects to the renderer

The cinema 4d picture viewer

Rendering for print and video

Questions and answers