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Software Tutorials
C4D
Fix Nvida GPU crash:
Re-anchor axis:
Short cut:
Different movements:
1/2/3 + L/R mouse, or Alt + L/M/R mouse
F/G → Move forwrad/backward frame by frame
Shift F/G → Go to Beginning/End keyframe
H → Frame Everything
S → Frame Selected object
F1 to F5 → Different perspectives
Hold V on the screen without any layer selected: Option Bar menu (e.g. shift projects)
C → change the object to polygon
B → Bridge Tool, Normal status is E → Move Tool
Hold Ctrl + Drag the layer/object → Duplicate
Hold Alt + create object → Parent above the object
Hold Shift + create object → Child below the object
Ctrl+D → Open Project Setting
Shift+C → Open Command Line
Ctrl+Tab → to type command in Node graph
M → T → Extrude
Remark:
1.C4d default an ambient light on the scene (to let us see the scene), it’s deleted automatically once we add any light on the scene.
2.When there is multi layers created keyframe, it is easier to see by: Window (top menu) → Timeline (Dope Sheet), a separate window pop up showing all layers keyframes
3. Quick preview of full timeline animation: Render to Picture Preview → Make Preview → Mode: Hardware OpenGL preview → after calculation, in Picture Viewer window, R click on rendered file → show file in explorer/finder
New Material parameters:
Double click on blank space at bottom box, click it to open open Material Editor:
Reflectance: Add → Beckmann → Reduce Layer 1 Normal to 50% (reduce reflective surface), 10% roughness (to make the surface not too flawless)
Create Vector Path:
Click Spline Pen (pen icon next to cube) → Text
On Text layer, Object (Bottom R corner) → Change text content, fonts, align, etc
(it’s just a vector path, won’t be seen in render, extrude is needed to make it visible)
Make the Spline/Vector be 3 dimensional:
Create Extrude to layers(top menu) → Drag Text Layer into Extrude Layer to pair them up
At Extrude Layer, Object (bottom R corner) → Movement (adjust extrude thickness); Caps → adjust certain parameters)
Edit Shapes:
At Extrude layer→ Object → Tick Hierarchical;
then at Text layer→ Object→ Tick Separate Letters (Break the text to individual letter)
Select the needed object (this case is Text layer), Click Made Editable (1st icon of left bar). It makes Extrude in control but able to edit each letter in different layers
Use Point/Edges/Polygons icons to edit the objects
Create a new Null and drag all letters in it, then apply designed material on Null
Create Camera for render:
Click Camera button to add on layers (it lines up based on the latest perspective)
To look new camera instead of default perspective view: Cameras (between View and Display on 2nd top menu bar) → Use Camera → Camera
Auto focus the object: At Camera layer: Object →Focus Distance → Click the circle arrow cursor (just next to the values, the cursor will become a cross) → select the object on screen that want to be in focus
Import to AE:
Open AE, import the C4D project saved →
In CINEWARE fx → Renderer (Standard Final for full quality view)
Project Settings: Camera → Select Cinema 4D Camera → Set Camera (can switch different cameras view C4D built without opening C4D to do it)
If already set cameras in AE that want to use, change Camera in Project Setting to Comp Camera
Live Render Preview:
Window → New View Panel → Drag the window next to the main screen →
Hold Render to Picture Viewer icon → Interactive Render Region (now the new screen shows instant update whenever anything made)
Match still background perspective with newly placing 3D objects:
Create a camera → R click → Tracker Tag → Camera Calibrator
→
In its menu → Image tag, choose the wanted background image from PC and import (adjust aspect ratio, image scale, brightness, etc)
→
Go to Calibrate tag → Add Grid (a grid show in screen) → drag those 4 corners of point to match the image perspective → Hold Shift+ L click the horizontal lines on grid I wanted to be x-axis, L click (The selected lines turn red) → Repeat the same on vertical lines to choose y-axis (Lines turn green this time, if I want vertical lines as z-axis, then hold shift, L click once more, then lines turn blue)
Turn on camera view to see if the perspective of Grid match the background image), if yes
→ Create Background Object (Background layer is made)
Now import any mesh or object will match the background image perspective (find the imported object with different viewport and put it under the camera frame area)
Create a plane for reflection → Drag background image material on plane →
Add Compositing tag, tick Compositing Background and Seen by Camera
Create Sky → Duplicate background material, this time only turn on lumiance and choose the image as its texture → Add Compositing tag again but this time untick Compositing Background and Seen by Camera
10 Things didn’t know in C4D
1.Input units for length → automatic calculate into cm
2. Material Editor, directly select color from any image → choose 3rd left icon (next to RGB), drag the image in box, hold Ctrl and select by dropper (3:30-4:20)
Also use Color Wheel (1st left icon), can choose complementary (split) color easier
3. Can drag the setting values from any layer’s menu into the scene (6:10). if R click → display, can set the visibility of the menu
If multi parameters want in scene: Select all needed in setting → R click → Add to HUD
4. Figure (default mannequin) can be rigged with different part of body if R click on its layer → Make Editable
(Or R24 above version, use Male Puppet - Character in asset browser, all rigs are already there)
5. Bring up Command Window (Shift C ), type Virtual Walkthrough (then can use mouse and hotkey to move around like in game mode, handy for 3d architecture visualization ), only available before R21 version
Following tabs can play around to fit to make a video:
Shortuts: find the hotkey list
Record tab: Start-Stop recording → check result in Moment Progress → Write Recorded movement into camera → create the camera
Speed: Change walkthrough speed in Movement Speed Ratio
Scale and Threshold: Scale Eye Height/Stairs Threshold % value, or click Set Camera to Eye Level (apply when the scene has stairs to walk up)
Leave Virtual walkthrough mode by choosing selection tool
6. In Edit (bottom R above tabs menu) → Set as Default (can save the settings of the objects created)
7. Noise in Shader, can choose different pattern by click the greyed down arrow next to Noise button. Also R click on the shader picture → Animate → can preview the animation in the picture
8. Naming Tool (in Tools menu on top, or the T icon in top bar, next to XYZ axis) allow changing name of multi-layers (Select all layers need to change name → in Replace (bottom R )type what we want in Prefix box → Replace Name)
If want automatically generate numbers for different layers in same name, type _$N in Suffix for number, _$A for letters
9. Calculation function: e.g. type 100 +-*/ 2, it will do the maths.
Also for random movement, in Coord. tab, e.g. type rnd(360) in rotation → will calculate the random value within 360 degree range)
If multi selected objects, type rnd(360, num) → will apply different values on different objects
10. Command Window (Shift C), type Chess → will play chess with C4D AI system
Optimize C4D viewport:
Set in Preference:
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