C4D Tutorial: How to Animate a Square Collapse

Maxon's Cinema 4D is a powerful 3D computer animation, modeling, simulation and rendering software, and it is also widely considered to be one of the easiest 3D software to learn and use. The existence of Cinema 4D can be seen in the many works created by CG companies or artists. Cinema 4D also supports many renderers, such as Arnold, Redshift and Octane, which is a great help for its rendering.After making a scene or model in Cinema 4D, the last step of rendering sometimes takes a long time, and then your computer is also occupied with this work without being able to do anything else. The rendering speed depends on many factors, such as the amount of rendering work, camera, models, etc. So how to improve C4D rendering? As a leading C4D render farm and C4D cloud rendering service provider in the CG industry, Fox Renderfarm will introduce you some ways to speed up C4D rendering.How to Speed up C4D Rendering?1. Update your software and renderer to the latest version.2. Optimize the polygon mesh. For the far view you can reduce the number of unnecessary mesh faces.3. Optimize the objects or polygons in the scene as needed. Some places that the camera can't shoot, such as the reflection of lights, refraction, glossiness, etc., can be hidden or deleted.4. Reducing the rendering accuracy as needed can speed up the rendering speed.5. Use Cinema 4D cloud rendering service for batch rendering and speed up Cinema 4D rendering.There are many render farms that offer cloud rendering services for Cinema 4D, but here we introduce you Fox Renderfarm, which also supports renderers Arnold, Redshift and Octane.Advantages of Fox RenderfarmPowerful On-Demand RenderingMultiple Software &x26; Plugins Supported: 3ds Max, Maya, Arnold, V-Ray, Redshift, etc.CPU &x26; GPU Rendering Are Both AvailableSecure &x26; Confidential: TPN-Accredited VendorOscar-Winning Entries Service Team24/7 Live Customer Care &x26; Technical SupportMassive SSD Storage System to Solve the I/O BottleneckProgram to Help CG Students and Educators Realize DreamsLet's take a look at the tutorial for using C4D cloud rendering online.Step 1. Preparations for Cinema 4D web submission:1.1 Register to get an account with $25 free trial. In the case of web login, please visit web login for details.1.2 In the case of web transfer, please visit web-upload for details.1.3 Compare the local and could asset directories.Step 2. Cinema 4D web submission process (4 steps: submit > analyze > render > download):2.1 Click the “Submit” button on the left, select the software for submission > set a project path (Note: this project path contains all the materials used for the Max file) > select the document for rendering, after that, click “Continue”.2.2 Select software version and hardware configuration corresponding to the file (Note: selection of the rendering system), click "Go Analysis", and wait patiently for the analysis to complete.2.3 Click the job with “Analysis Done”, set render parameters and then submit it for rendering (Note: the actual rendering only starts at this job)2.4 On the rendering page, click the job > export the file > download.That is all about tutorial of Cinema 4D cloud rendering online. If you have anything else you don't understand, you can consult the customer service or your account manager, but remember to sign up to get an account, and the benefit for new users is a $25 free rendering voucher. If you are a student or educator, you can get a bigger discount, check out our GoCloud Program. Fox Renderfarm is always committed to providing better and more affordable cloud rendering services for everyone in the CG industry!

IntroductionIn this article, the best CPU &x26; GPU render farm and cloud rendering services provider, Fox Renderfarm, will tell you what are topology and retopology of 3D models and how to retopologize a model in C4D.When using 3D software for modeling, everyone has their methods and processes, and the construction of the same model will vary from person to person. But what makes a good model? If a model is poorly structured, how to optimize it? These problems involve the topology and retopology of the model. With these questions, let's take a look at what problems we need to pay attention to in the modeling process.What are topology and retopology?Traditional topology is a subject related to mathematical geometry, but we discuss the topology concepts related to 3D modeling here. Now let's understand the topology, and then the retopology.•TopologyWe know that a model is represented in 3D software by a series of surfaces combined at different angles. In my opinion, the topology of 3D modeling is the structural distribution of the surfaces of a model, which is wiring. There are so many ways to combine surfaces when trying to represent and make a 3D model. For example, look at the cube below, although the distribution of surfaces is inconsistent, the appearance looks exactly the same.Each model has its own topology. Some are industrial models exported by industrial design software, such as ProE and SolidWorks; some are made by scanning or other reverse engineering; some are the common model format, such as *.obj, *.fbx, etc. that are exported by different 3D software. Here comes a problem: even if it is the same model, the topology generated in different ways can sometimes give us troubles in the subsequent animation and reprocessing.•RetopologyOnce you understand topology, retopology is straightforward. It is about reconstructing and representing the same model, using a better topology-a more appropriate distribution of surfaces.When retopologizing a model, it will pay more attention to using an appropriate number and size of surfaces to represent a model. And if you need to make point level animations (character’s body animation, cloth, etc.), you should pay more attention to building out some ring and loop structures, so that you can deal with the unsatisfactory animations (such as model collision, overstretching, etc.) produced after extrusion and stretching the surfaces.What is a good topology?First of all, making a good model should try to avoid triangular surfaces and n-gon surfaces connected by more than 5 edges, and try not to make poles with more than 5 edges in important positions. Otherwise, crossed surfaces or unsmooth effects may appear in these places when making subsequent point level animations. For example, for models designed by industrial software, there are a lot of triangular surfaces after the format is converted, and it will be troublesome to create chamfering effects or add subdivisions for these edges.Secondly, a good model should have a good edge flow, which is not only convenient for selection, but also offers a good tension during subsequent animation production.Some positions that need to be animated, such as eyes and mouth, should be modeled with appropriate structures and enough surfaces to support the animation details.What are the benefits of retopology?•A good topology can make the animation betterModels with reasonable structures will show better modeling when it is squeezed and deformed. As three cubes with different topologies that are shown below, some surfaces of them will be torn after they are twisted to a certain degree.•Models with good topology will be reworked more efficientlyFor these models, when we want to add chamfers or add some details to them, we can quickly modify a specific part of the surface. However, for models with unsatisfied wiring, we can only add details by increasing the distribution of modification lines again, which will be inefficient for some complex structures.•Retopology allows for faster mappingFor the production of some mapping, the stretching of UV is needed. If the density of different areas of the model is so different, or if there are both triangular surfaces and N-gons, it will make our work very tedious. So after retopology, the model can make the production and performance of material mapping become more effective.What are the ways of retopology in C4D?There are not many ways to retopology in C4D, but we usually use other software's retopology function to improve the modeling. I will introduce 3 methods of retopology as follow.•Remake some parts of the modelFor some parts with simple structures, it can be made directly through geometry, and then connecting these parts to the model.For some surfaces, shrink wrap and polypaint can be used to retopologize parts of the structure. For example, use shrink wrap to fit some evenly distributed surfaces to the model, and then optimize and merge the structure.•Using volume objectsIn the version after R20, using volume objects can directly generate a model with relatively uniform wiring, but there is not much room for manipulation, and sometimes the edges are not ideal. And if you want more details, you have to produce a lot of surface models.•Using QuadRemesherIn addition to the two methods above, we can also use the QuadRemesher plugin for retopology. For this plug-in, the developer has only released and tested the version applied to Maya and 3ds Max before. Recently, the C4D version has finally come out. I can say that C4D did not have an easy-to-use retopology plug-in before, so the release of QuadRemesher allows us to save more time. Its use is also very simple. Only need to adjust the number of generated surfaces, size and density, you can directly get an ideal model.ConclusionRetopology can help us get a more satisfied model, but how to build and process a model depends on our production needs. Here is a good guide article for you to know more: 3D Modeling Tutorial: Handheld Fan. If you want to create your work using the shape of the model only, then you can just create the shape that meets the needs. If you want to make mapping, animations and others for the model, then you should add lines appropriately according to the requirements of the animation. The model structure can improve the efficiency for the later stage.After the model is built, if you are not too pleased with the effect of C4D rendering, you can look for a cloud rendering farm like Fox Renderfarm to help you render. Hope this article helps you!

The leading cloud rendering services provider and GPU &x26; CPU render farm, Fox Renderfarm will share with you a C4D tutorial. In this project, will learn how to use field forces to create a diamond dispersion effect with particle motion on the surface.I was looking for inspiration on the web when I overheard this dynamic effect and felt it looked good after rendering, so I wanted to replicate the effect using C4D:So today we'll use C4DR21's Field Forces to create this diamond dispersion effect with particles moving on the surface!Let's Start MakingIn C4D, first create a new sphere, segmentation can be appropriate to increase a little, type selection for Lcsahedron, Radius value slightly changed a little smaller:Add a Disolacer deformer to the sphere, add a noise wave to the shader, and the global scaling of the noise wave can be slightly larger to create this bumpy sphere effect:Then add a Subdivision Surface, Subdivision Editor and Subdivision Renderer under Object are set to 1:Next is a new feature of C4D R21, we add a Volume Builder to the object. C4D R21's volume generation has added a new mode of vector, it can convert the object directly into a vector, we increase the accuracy of Voxel Size a little bit:Next, create a new Random Field and drag it into the volume generation. By default, random fields are created in a cubic space:First we can change the creation space to below the object, representing the creation of vectors based on objects:But now the direction of the vector is not what we want, because by default it is the direction of the object normal, and for the sake of observation I have slightly enlarged the scale of the random field here:Back in Volume Builder, we change the blending mode of the Random Field to Cross, so that the direction of the vector is the direction of the surface to which the object is attached:But now the vector is not used, we need to convert it to a field force, so create a new Field Force and drag the volume object into it, selecting the type as Volume Object：Now you may not see any effect, you need to create a new Matrix, with Subdivision Surface as the object Object. Distribute it as a surface is fine, then let the matrix generate TP particles, the number can be slightly more:By default, the field force does not affect the particles, so you need to do some simple settings. First of all, create a new xpresso tag, and create a new particle transfer in the TP particle creation body: then add a PForce object in the TP dynamic item, which is also a new feature of R21, and then drag the field force into the PForce object, so that the TP particles can be affected by the field force:Clicking on play will reveal that the particles will fly out after a period of motion:This is because the mode of the field force is not correct, so change the mode of the field force to set the absolute rate, and then increase the intensity a little, you can see the particles hovering along the surface of the object:Next we add Thinking Particles to the matrix, change the Limit to From End, then set the Amount to 50, and then play to see the beautiful circling lines:I think the number of particles seems to be a little bit more, so I changed the number of particles to a smaller one:When we feel it is almost ready, we can first convert the trace object to an ABC file, make a copy of the subdivision object, and back up the rest and turn it off:Now the lines are appearing from nothing, we want it to be the same as the reference case that is always there, so we can offset a little bit in the animation of the ABC file, and then change the frame duration to 180 frames:The next step is simple: create a new gem, resize it appropriately, and add a chamfer deformer to it. Create another larger gem, then add a lattice to this gem, with smaller cylinders and spheres. Rotate the angle of the lattice and the sphere, and put them into a group:Set the keyframe in the group's rotation , remember to change the curve to linear, and then you can move on to the rendering.Open Redshift, set the render size, first I still use the linear space, and then the scene does not need global lighting, so turn off the GI. Then I did not improve the number of reflections and refraction, because I compared and found that the default parameters seem to look better: create a new HDRI ambient light; you can try more mapping, preferably with the color of this dispersion so the effect will be better:Add the RS object label to the sample bar, select the curve mode for the hair on it, and then properly adjust the curve to control the thickness of the beginning and end of the sample bar:Next is the material, first use a gradient node to connect the material of the sample bar to the color of the luminescence. Change the mode of the gradient node to Alt. I gave the intensity of the glow to 10. Because we are rendering hair, we can give a hair position node to connect to the gradient, so that the hair will have a little gradient according to the position color:The material of the sphere is nothing special, it is an ordinary dark green reflective material: the next is the material of the jewel body, in fact, is a glass material, I slightly gave it a little reflection of the rough, and then the dispersion I adjusted to 2:In the optimization options deselect Weak internal reflections. Then in the lighting details, change whether to affect refraction to always:The final lattice material is very simple, is a common luminous material, and then use a gradient color to control the color of the luminous and transparent channel. Sampling settings due to the glass and there is dispersion, my maximum and minimum uniform sampling 256/16, other local samples are 512:The Final ResultFinally, add some glow and see the effect:Fox Renderfarm hopes it will be of some help to you. It is well known that Fox Renderfarm is an excellent cloud rendering services provider in the CG world, so if you need to find a render farm for C4D, why not try Fox Renderfarm, which is offering a free $25 trial for new users? Thanks for reading!BY:野鹿志