Cinema 4D Tutorial: Three Ways to Create Pixel Art

Today the leading cloud rendering service provider, Fox Renderfarm, is here to share a 3D artist's process of making 3D abstract art materials using Cinema 4D.Here is a set of pictures of 3D abstract art:!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 1This set of images of 3D abstract art may seem like a lot, but in fact they all evolved from one way of making them, so here Fox Renderfarm shares a way in which you can flexibly change many forms for the 3D abstract art. So where does this richness of color come from? The code used in this piece is the OSLshader, which is open source on GitHub (https://github.com/redshift3d/RedshiftOSLShaders).!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 2In today's tutorial we will use the first image as a basis for a series of explanations from modeling to materials of 3D abstract art, including the use of OSL in this respect.Final Result:!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 3 Part 1. Modeling Step 01 Spline PenWe start by using the Spline Pen tool to draw the shape of the Spline we want, which will relate to the shape of our final result.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 4This section needs to be made as best as possible to avoid changes later on (as there is a risk that the later changes will make it look worse).!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 5 Step 02 ClonerNow we add a Cloner Effector and add the objects we want to clone to its sub-levels.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 6Then we change the mode of the Cloner to Object and put in the spline we just drew.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 7Adjust the number up so that our subject looks smoother later on.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 8 Step 03 Adding DisplacerWe now add a Displacer effect to the spline to break up the too-similarity between them.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 9Of course, this needs to be put into a sub-level of the sample bar to have any effect. Next, we add a Noise to the Displacer so that we can control the extent of this break.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 10Then we move on to Noise Shader, where we make a suitable adjustment to both the scale and the ratio of the texture. Of course you can also adjust the seed number to suit your own purposes.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 11 Step 04 Adding RandomLet's now add a Random effect to the cloner so that the objects we clone have a random transformation effect and are not so uniform.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 12 Step 05 Adding PlainNow let's add a Plain effect to the cloner, also to break up the too uniform situation.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 13Then we adjust one of his scale, here the value is adjusted according to your actual situation, the figure is just a reference.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 14We then use a Shader Field to control the extent of this scale. Of course, here we also add a Noise for control.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 15At this point, our main form of 3D abstract art is basically complete and we need to process it later.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 16 Step 06 Creating Volume Builder and Volume MesherNow that we have the basic form, we need to smooth it out and make it look more like that. Here we can use the Volume Builder to do the latter.First create the Volume Builder and Volume Mesher all at once. Then place our cloner under the volume builder and we are done with our initial processing.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 17Next, is a tweak to the details. We change the voxel size to a smaller size and add an SDF Smooth. This gives us a very smooth model. This is the effect we want.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 18Of course, if you are not happy with the shape you can go back to the beginning and make a tweak, but remember to turn off Volume Mesher and Volume Builder or your computer will get stuck and explode.Then if you want to cut the bottom of the form flat, we can just create a cube and put it into the Volume Builder. Then change the mode to minus. (Remember to turn off Volume Builder when you do this, as it will reduce the computational load.)!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 19When we have finished adjusting all of them, we are ready to proceed to the next step. Select the volume grid directly for Right click > Current state to object.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 20-22 Step 07 Topology ModelNow we have a good model, but the number of faces is too much, so we need to give it a final touch. Open the topology plugin QuadRemesher and do the topology.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 21Once the topology is complete, you've got a nice model that you can happily render.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 20-22Well, here ends the modeling section, and summarize a few points that can control the form：- The Spline itself- Noise inside the Displacer of Spline- Random values and different objects of Cloner - Noise in the Plain effector Part 2. Material Rendering Step 01 Building a SceneWe create a background, camera for a simple scene build.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 23In this case the camera is pointed squarely at the subject of the model, and then the focal length is adjusted to 135 MM, as this focal length does not have much deformation.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 24 Step 02 Adding a LightNow you need to give the scene a light, in the Redshift Renderer you can choose HDR (Dome Light) for the lighting. Then add an HDR map, change the saturation to 0 if you don't want to use HDR colors, then go to the coordinates and adjust the ambient coordinates so we can adjust the lighting to the angle we want. If you don't think it's bright enough you can increase the exposure. Now that the initial build of the scene is complete, let's move on to the materials.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 25 Step 03 Adding MaterialCreate two default material spheres and rename them: body and background, then apply them to our background and body respectively.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 26 Step 04 Turn Off ReflectionWe double-click on the material sphere to open the one called Background and turn off Reflection, because as a background, no reflections should appear.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 27Changing Color to black and Weight to 0 here is one way to turn off Reflection. Now you can see that the reflection is no longer there.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 28 Step 05 Adding GradientNow add a gradient layer on top of the diffuse channel, here you need to use the Ramp (gradient node). Simply open the node editor and press Shift plus C to bring up the search. Then output Ramp and double click to create the node. Then link it to the diffuse color of the material.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 29In this way a black and white gradient is obtained.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 30Now just change the color of the black and white gradient. If it is reversed, you can adjust the position and the distance adjustment can change the strength of the gradient color.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 31 Step 06 Making ColorsNow it's time to start making the materials for the main body by copying the OSL code to be used: RedshiftOSLShaders/TurbulentColor.osl at main · redshift3d/RedshiftOSLShaders · GitHubThen find the OSLShader node in the Nodes panel, copy the code in and compile it.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 32The properties menu is then available.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 33The final adjustment looks like this. You can adjust it to suit your model. The color is now done, and the next problem is the bump.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 34 Step 07 Making BumpNow to tackle the bump, you can find the black and white texture you want for the bump, we have found a black and white texture of a fingerprint here.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 35Then put it into the Node panel and make a link using the Bump node.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 36However, in order to fit the model better, a Triplanar is used here. This way the mapping will fit the model better without the sub-UV.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 37Here we have changed one of the scale of the map to be smaller, and this you can adjust according to the actual situation.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 38 Well, here the color and bump of the main material has been solved, so let's tackle the little dots next. Step 08 Making Dots on the SurfaceAgain, for these dots we have used an OSL code, still copying this OSL code first: RedshiftOSLShaders/Dots.osl at main · redshift3d/RedshiftOSLShaders · GitHubThen make a copy of the default material node, create a new OSLShader node, copy the code in and compile it. Then, after making the appropriate adjustments, you get a result like the one shown below.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 39At this point, you can add a gradient to it to make it black and white, so that it can be used as a bump map. Then you can also give it a color correction so that you can change the color (or you can use the gradient to change the color).!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 40 Step 09 Mix of MaterialsNow make a merge of the two materials, here using the material blending node.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 41Then give the very first color into the layer of the base color, and then give the material Dot to layer 1.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 42Now you can see that there is no effect, because you still need to make a mask, just like the PS mask. Here you can use the bump of the dotted material as a mask.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 43The effect is now complete and it is finally time to render the output. Step 10 Rendering and OutputYou can take a look at the following settings as a reference. You can use C4D's own renderer for this, but of course this will be a little slower. Alternatively you can use a render farm to help with the rendering process. The advantage of using a render farm is that it reduces the load on your computer and speeds up the rendering.!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 44!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 45!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 46Final Result:!C4D Tutorial of Making 3D Abstract Art Materials 3Fox Renderfarm hopes it will be of some help to you on making 3D abstract art materials with C4D. As you know, Fox Renderfarm is an excellent cloud rendering farm in the CG world, so if you need to find a render farm, why not try Fox Renderfarm, which is offering a free $25 trial for new users? Thanks for reading!

The best cloud rendering service provider, Fox Renderfarm, will share with you a C4D tutorial from 3d artist Flynn. This tutorial uses the C4D R20 version, if using the previous version, you need to adjust some relevant parameters. The tutorial involves a lot of techniques, you can understand and deepen the use of various commands through the case. IdeaThe idea of production will be more important than the learning of operation, so we will talk about the overall thinking process first. Firstly, the first idea was tested. I created a Cube, a Taper effect, and added a Step effect in Falloff. Then use the Cloner to scale to make a rotated column, and then perform a circular radial clone on this basis. AT last, I got a circle, but the circle was not perfect, especially the joint was incomplete, so the method was abandoned.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseThe second idea is to directly use a disk to operate the surface on the disk, and this method constructs a suitable figure, but the control of the figure is a problem, we can only operate the whole figure but can not operate on a single column, and each part of the axial direction is located in the center, and can not make the feeling of turning.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseNow there is a problem, in order to better control the animation of the graphics, we need to use the cloned graphics, and directly cloned graphics can not become the desired shape, and directly make the shape can not be very good control, so we need to change the thinking, use cloning to create objects, and then use other methods to make the disk effect. So, using cloning, and then deforming the cloned object, we can achieve the desired effect. ProductionFirstly, to realize the animation control of a column of cells around, so we first make a cell clone object, and directly use the linear mode to create a column of element objects.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseThen add a Plain to the cloned column element, and adjust the displacement scaling rotation attribute under Parameter. Also add a Field effect in Falloff, and adjust Field/Field to X-. Drag the Linear Field to see the animation effect.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseIn order to rotate the elements more closely, we also need to adjust the axial position of the basic cube. Select Cube first, then adjust the pivot position in Spline/Axis Center.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseAfter making the control effect of a unit, we clone it into multiple copies and stack it together evenly.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseAdd a Spline Wrap and then add a Circle to constrain it to Spline Wrap/Object/Spline. And change Axis to +Z. A new Null is formed by the Spline created and the null made previously.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseOne thing to note here is that the scope of influence will be changed according to the size of the object at the same level, which will cause the shape to change with the movement of the linear domain. Therefore, we need to check the range box of the deformer to maintain the shape of the shape. When the scope box is fixed and the number of clones is changed, the objects outside the scope box will not be affected by the deformer, and we need to re-fix the scope box.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseThen we can adjust the size of the disk by changing the size of the disk, and then set the keyframe to the Linear Field. We can get an effect from the outside to the inside.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseThen the most critical step is that we don't want the motion of each column to be synchronized. At this time, we can use the random effector to achieve this out-of-sync effect. We can use the random effector to make a random offset of the key frame of the motion of each random Linear Field to get the final effect.!C4D Tutorial How to Animate a Square CollapseThe above is all about how to animate a square collapse with C4D. We hope you can learn something from this article. If you need a rendering service, you can try us at Fox Renderfarm, we have been the leading cloud rendering services provider in the industry for many years. Don't understand why you need a render farm? Then why not find out what is a render farm? Fox Renderfarm continues to bring news of modelling with various 3D software, so feel free to follow us!

In scientific research drawings, three-dimensional model diagrams can show more information than two-dimensional plane pictures, especially when designing and preparing nanostructures, three-dimensional model diagrams can intuitively show the design ideas and synthesis paths of materials. For example, in this paper (Ref. Joule 2018; 2: 725-735.), published in Joule magazine, a high-level, high-value, and incisive paper that showcases nano aesthetics, a three-dimensional model is used to intuitively express the synthesis path of the material. Harmonious color scheme and rich details: One of the ingenious features of this group of three-dimensional model diagrams is that irregularly stacked small balls are used to represent the SnO2 layer, which means that SnO2 is stacked by granular nanocrystals.In this article, Fox Renderfarm, the best could rendering service provider, will share with you a Cinema 4D tutorial about how to make a core-shell structure. This tutorial is written by 3d Artist Yuan Liu. Now let’s introduce a modeling method for stacking model of small balls of any shape in C4D software.The specific modeling path is: modeling the shape of the target polygon→clone ball to fill the target polygon→dynamic collision to make it regular arrangement. (If you need the effect of partial fusion between the small balls, add a step of volume generation)The specific completion effect is shown in the figure below!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4DOpen C4D, here is the R20 version as an example1. First, perform polygonal modeling to make the geometric shape of the target shape.Here is an example of a notched spherical shell1.1 First create a sphere in the geometry menu bar (default Radius 100), select the sphere, click to convert to editable polygon (or keyboard C key).!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D1.2 Select the frame selection mode in the selection tool, select the surface mode on the left, and select only visible elements on the hook in the frame selection setting.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D1.3 Press F3 to enter the right view, select a quarter of the sphere, and delete with the DELETE key!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D1.4 Press F1 to return to the three views and create a Cloth Surface!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D1.5 Drag the sphere with part of the surface deleted into the Cloth Surface, and set the Thickness of the Cloth Surface to 20cm.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D1.6 Middle mouse click on Cloth Surface, you can select Cloth Surface and sphere at the same time, right click and select "Connect Object+Delete", turn the second dot behind to red, cancel the polygon rendering, and check X-ray in the basic properties .!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2. Then use the clone tool to collide with the rigid body to realize the uniform filling of the small ball in the target shape.2.1 Create a new sphere with a radius of 3.5 and a segment of 12 types of icosahedrons (can be adjusted by yourself, the more segments, the easier it is to freeze); create a clone generator in the generator column, and drag the new sphere into a subset of the clone .!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.2 Set Cloner mode as the object, drag the cloth surface into Cloner's object frame, change the distribution method to volume, and set the number to 5000~10000 (depending on the size of the model).!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.3 Select Cloner and create a rigid body label (label→simulation label→rigid body); label collision setting: apply label to the child, select the top layer for independent elements; in the force attribute, set the follow displacement to 6 (can be adjusted by yourself).!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4DCtrl+D to enter the project settings, in the general dynamics settings, change Gravity to 0.2.6 Click the play button to play the ball movement animation. After playing to 10 frames, the ball basically moves to a position corresponding to the shape of the grid.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.7 Create a new sphere as a shadow effect. Keep the sphere position and properties as default; double-click the blank position in the material area to create a new material. Here, create two new materials and drag the materials to the corresponding objects (sphere and clone).Double-click the material ball to open the material editor. The material settings are as shown in the figure: For the shadow material, only the transparent channel is checked, and the channel color can adjust the shadow depth; for the ball material, check the color and reflection channel, and add a diffuse layer to the reflection layer, diffuse Add a Fresnel texture to the layer color. Adjust the color and position of the color mark in the Fresnel texture settings to change the color of the ball.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.8 Long-press the left mouse button on the ground option, select the sky in the pop-up menu to add a sky background to the environment, search for HDRI in the content browser on the right, you can find the HDRI shader preset by the software, here you can choose a suitable one, double-click to add it to Material window, and drag the HDRI shader to the sky just created.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.9 Select the sky and select the rotation tool to rotate the angle of the sky to find a suitable light angle; after adjusting the angle, add a composite label to the sky, and uncheck the camera visibility in the label settings, so that you can only render during rendering Lighting does not render the sky.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D2.10 The following is the rendering settings, as shown in the figure, click to open the rendering settings window, check the Alpha channel in the save column, and set the format to PNG, so that a picture with a transparent background can be rendered; after finding the angle, click to render to the picture Viewer, wait for the rendering to complete and click Save. (To save the transparent background picture PNG+Alpha)!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D3. The following is the partial fusion between spheres through volume generation.3.1 Change the sphere type of the cloned subset to tetrahedron, and set the number of segments to 3 (minimum value); create volume generation and volume grids in the generator column, drag the cloned object into the volume generated subset, volume Generated as a subset of the volume grid.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D3.2 In the volume generation settings, click Clone to check Use grid points, change the mesh radius to 3 cm, and the voxel size to 1 cm; drag the material of the cloned object to the volume mesh; change the radius of the shadow sphere to 90~95 cm to prevent overlapping of the shadow sphere and the stacked sphere. Finally, render it to the image viewer and save it.!How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4D4. If you want to add a layer of spherical shell to the outside, you only need to create a cut spherical shell according to the method in the first step, adjust it to a suitable size, add a subdivision surface, and give it a material. The color of the material can be adjusted by yourself. !How to Make a Core-shell Structure in Cinema 4DThis kind of ball clone filling and rigid body collision method is used to make the stacking effect of the balls. It is suitable for any closed polygon model, but it is necessary to coordinate the relationship between the number and size of the balls and the size of the target polygon. The number of balls is too small. Too much is easy to cause lag. In addition, you can reduce the number of subdivisions of the ball as much as possible without affecting the rendering effect, so as to improve the calculation speed.