Process and Production - Cinema 4D Prototyping

During this workshop we learnt how to create prototypes; this is useful to mockup designs so the client can visualise them in real space. We experimented with both a can and a bottle in this task. 

Can

Screenshots of the process

Starting with the can, we looked at building simple objects in Cinema 4D and since we had done packaging design earlier in the year we put the focus on packaging. The benefit of using Cinema 4D is that it reduces costs of printing when you are only in the prototype stage but still have something to show to the client. 

First we began by setting up the folders to organise all the files provided by Jay. Then we setup the artwork in illustrator which involved moving the rulers so that the 0 was in middle and to bottom of the can; illustrator automatically places the 0 in the top left hand corner but for Cinema 4D this needs to be changed so the object will sit right in C4D space. The file was then saved as an illustrator 8 and opened up in C4D by going to file > merge > open artwork. A lathe was added to both shapes, then I opened up the four views to move some of the points to clean up the top of the can. After that I turned on gouraud shading and added a floor and background. At this stage a material was created and on this material we went to reflectance > layers > click on default specular > remove and the add reflection (legacy), click on layer fresnel and change settings to dielectric which is for metal. Change preset custom to PET. We then went back to colour tab and added our artwork to the can, by going to texture and opening up the can label file. 

As i'm not good with measurements I wondered where the measurements from the can had come from and how I could do it myself for future reference in terms of creating artwork for the can. To do this you measure the height and width of the can to work out the circumference.  

Going back to C4D we noticed that the label had been placed in reverse; this is because when is wraps it doesn't know which direction it needs to wrap in. You can correct this by going to the projection tab > change it to cylindrical > un-tick tile > right click on material > fit to object. Then we created another material, repeat the reflectance step, change type to GGX and then change the roughness to 20%, change global reflection brightness to 60% and specular brightness to 50%, colour change V to 36%. Then add reflection material to top lathe. Next was to add lights and we changed the coordinates to X: -500 Y: 1000 Z: -500, general > shadow > shadow maps (soft). Go to mode > view settings > view tab and tick shadows so you can see shadows in the view point, this is so you don't have to render preview it all the time to see the shadows. Copy the light and paste it name the 2nd light fill, then change X coordinate to 500%. Change intensity of second light to 50%. 
We had to add an area light, we did this by going to coordinates change them to X: 500%, Y: 300%, Z: -400%, Rotation head 45 degrees. Change the background colour to orange and change the render settings, to best and add ambient occlusion to get the best results. 

Key words: Lathing - when the shape wraps round and shapes something along the axis. 

Bottle

Screenshots of the process

After creating the can it was more straight forward when creating the bottle as we had already learnt most of the process it was just about applying it to another shape. So as before we had prepared the file in illustrator and then merged the bottle in C4D and added lathes to bottle and liquid. Then we went to content browser and clicked on the preset > broadcast > materials > glass > glass stained > un-tick bump box so that the lumpy texture disappears and finally add it to bottle in the objects list. Now copy and paste the material > go to transparency > on both colour tabs change the colour to white.On the second one change the colour to a beer colour and add to the liquid object. Now add a cylinder to the scene and set it at radius 73 and height 240, so that it wraps around bottle and covers it, this is for the label to sit on. 

We then added a new material and added an alpha channel, we then went to > add texture > tick the invert button and add it to the cylinder. We were taught that PNG files are better as they are lossless, this is best for C4D. Go to the cylinder caps and turn them off. Then click on material and change projection to cylindrical. Turn off tiles. Right click on materials and select fit to object. Then go to label material and go to colour > add texture and bring in the bottle label. Group cylinder, bottle and liquid together so you can move them as one. Add reflectance to the bottle repeating the same steps as I did for the can but lowering it further. The next step was to add a star and make it 20 points > 33 inner radius and outer 37, change to XZ. Add a circle and change radius to 33, and XZ. Then copy the circle and change it to 29, another at 17 and another at 0. Add the star and circles into loft once created. Now go into side view of object > move circles until happy with position of how the lid looks. Go to loft and change the object settings to,  mesh subdivision, U: 41, V: 2 and isoparm subdivision U to 3, and tick organic form. 

We went to simulate on the tool bar > cloth > cloth surface > subdivision 2 > thickness 0.5 > tick limit box and add material for cap reflectance. Remove default specular and add legacy reflectance. Next add dieletric fresneal and PET custom colour tab, then add the cap file using texture and add to cloth surface, if it's messed up it is because the material is square, we can fix this by the mapping, it has to be changed to look down on the object, so we went to the material tab and changed the projection to flat. Right click for another material and fit to object. Click the cube on the left with the checkers to do fit to object on the material, again it is upside down so we rotated it 180 degrees and changed the background colour. Finally we changed the render settings to the same as we did for the can. 

Thoughts
I enjoyed this process and production session as it is something I can see myself using in the future when prototyping products for clients and so on. It has been a valuable skill that will improve me as a designer; its something that can make my work look more professional with its mockups. Below is the renders I produced from the workshop, I'm pleased with the outcomes although in the future I would like to use my own artwork.