Process and Production (year 2) - Cinema 4D as a design tool

For this workshop we were going to develop our skills in Cinema 4D; the previous workshop focused on basic tools whereas this workshop was an advancement on them. During the workshop we completed three different experiments; by doing this it helped us to gain a better understanding of the program and the way it is set up.  


The first thing to do when starting is create a project folder and have sub folders called C4D, Artwork and Output. This stage is really important as it's good practice to have good file structure and looks more professional. 

*Remember that top left box is the object list window and then beneath this is the attribute window.*

Task 1
For this we set up the C4d and then went to use the pen tool > rectangle (make sure it is set to xy plane). Then we added an extrude by using the subdivision button > extrude > we need to add the rectangle to the extrude by dragging the rectangle over extrude so it goes inside the extrude button. On extrude we changed the movement to 5000cm which creates a long rectangle box. We needed to remove the caps which is under caps when clicked on the extrude button. Then we needed to change the geometry by going on the display tab along the top menu and click on Gouraud shading (lines) so that you can see the shading when creating polygons. Then go back to extrude and under object change the subdivision to 50 and ISO subdivision to 10.  Now we need to add a modifier to the object, to do this we go on bend at the top and click twist. Usually you place the twist object inside the object you want to twist but in this case you drag the twist in to the extrude.


Next we added a twist to the rectangle; to do this you go on bend and select twist, then dragged the twist into the extrude in the object list underneath the rectangle. On twist the mode needs to be changed to unlimited and angle to 10 degrees; currently its twisted on the y axis but we need it to twist on the x axis. To do this we go on the coord. tab and change the R.P to 90 degrees. We moved on to adding a texture; we double clicked the bottom window for a material, then on the basic tab we turned off colour and reflectance then turned on luminance. On the luminance tab, go texture, surfaces and checkerboard; we will use this to create stripes. Click on the colour swatch as the bottom right. To create stripes its all about the frequency; change the U to 0 and V to 40. Then drag this texture to the extrude in the object list to add the material to the shape. On rectangle > object, change intermediate points to subdivided which straightens up the lines and makes them more smooth and fluid; have the maximum set to 5cm. 


After this stage we decided to add another object to the scene; to do this we went to cube > sphere and changed the radius to 40, change coord. P. Z to 500cm. Then new material > basic ,on basic we don't need colour, need luminance and remove reflectance. On luminance, go texture, surfaces and checkerboard; we will use this to create stripes. Click on the colour swatch as the bottom right. Change colour two to red (H=0, S=100, V=70. To create stripes its all about the frequency; change the U to 0 and V to 10; drag the texture to the sphere. On sphere go on coord. change R.P to 30 and R.B to 40. On the red and white material, add reflectance to it, go on reflectance tab and click add underneath layers, then click reflection (legacy); it will turn into a shiny ball. We just need to change the layer colour; and change the texture to Fresnel. This will change the edges of the object to make it look as if it is catching natural light.

Then next step was adding a camera so we clicked create camera; we adjusted the position to 0 x 0 x 0. We added a camera so that we could control the angle of the rendered image.You can look through the camera to get the view point that you've set up and then when you turn it off you can look at the perspective from the outside.

We needed to render the image but first we had to check the render settings; width 1000, height 1000, resolution to 300 dpi. Frame range needs to be set to current frame. On save you can save it as a Jpeg as this is only a test save; in options set to 95%. To stop the jacquard edges, you go to anti-aliasing  and change it to best. This will be ready to render so you click the button render to picture viewer. Go back to render settings and click on effects at the left > ambient Occlusion; this is a shadow that adds weight the object, makes them look 3D. However it adds to the render time quite considerably but you can improve this by changing dispersion from 100% to 50%.

Before moving on to the next task we changed the rectangle to a star. We used the same method as before, pen tool > click star; again the settings needed to be changed so we went to in attributes > change points to 5 > inner radius to 75cm then drag the star into extrude in the objects list and drag the rectangle out it will apply the attributes to the star now instead of the rectangle.

More particles were needed to get the look of the star right: we went to the top menu > simulate > particles > emitter then changed these settings by going to coord > position Z, 70 > particle > stop emission - 200 frame > speed 200 > rotate 360 > finally tick show objects and render instances. We changed the timeline to 200 frames. We had to go to emitter tab - and change both horizontal and vertical angels to 60. We dragged the sphere into the emitter. Other settings we had to change was the radius of sphere to 20cm. Select the sphere and then click on tags > simulation tags > rigid body. Select extrude go to tags > simulation tags > collider body. Finally go to the extrude collider settings and go to collision then change the shape to static mesh to get the spheres to bounce down the tube instead of just banging against the first part, we did this so it flows and looks smoother as an animation.

The last step was to deselect all objects go to mode > project > dynamic tab > change gravity to 0. Copy the sphere layer and change one of the spheres to a blue and white stripe; by doing this it add more colour to the scene. We then rendered this out using the same settings as before. 

Task 2
Create polygon; click on cube >polygon; the orientation wants to be left at +y (repeat this step with these different settings: poly 1= width 200 height 2, poly 2= width 70 height 70, poly 3= width 4 height 200. Change the names of these to poly 1,2 and 3 in the corresponding order. 

Next create 8 materials using the method mentioned in the first task; then go to basic tab > un-tick colour, reflectance > tick luminance. Each material needed to be a different colour so we created a black, white, grey, dark grey, orange, yellow, light blue and dark blue. After changing the colours, the black was dragged on to 1 and 3, then the other colours on to the copies of poly 2.  Then we went to stimulate > particles > emitter > drag all polygons into emitter. Under emitter change angle to 60 x 60; particle tab > birthrate & renderer 20 x 20 > stop emission = 200 frames, Lifetime = 500, Speed = 100 > and both & end scale variation = 20%. Drag timeline to 200 frames. Tick show objects and render instances. Then go to coord > pitch rotation to 90 degrees. Select all polygons and change orientation to +z. We needed a background so I added one and added the white material by dragging it over the background in the object list. 

After that we added text through mograph > motext > changed depth to 0 > added own text (post modernism) > R.P to - 90 degrees > P.Y to 389 degrees > object > align middle > height 20. Then we added a camera and used the settings, P.Y to 850 > R.P to - 90 degrees > R.B to 60 degrees. Finally we rendered this using the previous settings used for the other task. 

Task 3
For the first workshop we used a floor and background, in this task we went back to experimenting with these further. So we began by adding a floor and background. The floor settings were change by going to tags > compositing tags > tick compositing background. Next we added a text using the motext tool, I used the letter 'J' for my text and change the font to superclaredon > black > depth 80 > align middle. We wanted caps on this text so we changed the start and end caps to fillet cap > radius 0.5 > steps = 3. 

Next was to add a texture, we un-ticked colour, leaving luminance and reflectance ticked on the options, then change the texture to fresnel - go to display - Gouraud shading lines. We copied and paste the material then go to luminance and change the colour; I chose a deep pink/purple, we then added this to the floor and background. We changed the reflectance and turn it strength down to 50% so that it wasn't as strong on the render. We went to the first material and added a gradient, changed interpolation to none and POS to 80%. We then changed type to 2D V.  Click on texture in objects list and go to tag - change projection to flat and tiles v to 50. We repeated some of the same steps from what we were taught in the first two tasks. This was then rendered using setting used previously.

Thoughts:

Overall I really enjoyed this process and production workshop as I feel the skills I learnt today can be used in the future when creating visual outcomes for projects. I found it interesting learning a new program that can be added to my skill set; although I have got a long way to go before I'm an expert I have some basics in place to improve from. By using this program it will give me another avenue to go down when designing, giving me more options on how to create an outcome. I think that the best outcome was either the first task or the last task as they look bold and dynamic whereas I think the second task needs more work on it. C4D is something that I would be interested in learning more about in the near future.