Spinning Objects Along One Axis Using Dynamics in Cinema 4D

Posted by eyedesyn on May 23, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 comments

In a response to a question I was asked on Vimeo about how to spin objects on a single axis using dynamics, I go over a couple ways you can achieve this effect so the dynamics rotation looks realistic and can interact with real world physics and gravity.  First, I’ll show you how to get a cube to spin on it’s edge and then show how to slow it down to a stop and topple over.  Then I’ll demonstrate how you can get your logo or text have a cool, dramatic, and energetic spin reveal using dynamics on a logo made with Text Edge FX.

Check out Text Edge FX here.

Example Render:

Controlling Light Object Intensity with Effectors in Cinema 4D

Posted by eyedesyn on May 15, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 comments

In this tutorial, I’ll explain a very simple way that you can effect Light Objects intensity in Cinema 4D with an effector and how to get a “turn on/turn off” look as well as a gradual light fade on/fade off type of example.   I’ll go over another use for this method to create a noise meter animation where meter bars light up and glow, all controlled with an effector.  And to finish it off, I’ll throw a little Cappucino & Mograph Effector action to animate the noise meter to look like it’s reacting to crowd noise and sync it with a shaking camera as the intensity builds as the “crowd” gets louder!

If you haven’t learned about the many awesome uses of Cappucino, check out my Cappucino 101 tutorial here.

Example:

 

MAXON NAB 2012 Rewind

Posted by eyedesyn on May 1, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 comments

NAB week was so much fun getting the opportunity to hang out with all the cool kids who work at MAXON and all of the amazingly talented speakers!  If you haven’t seen them yet, all of the Cinema 4D NAB 2012 Presentations are now posted on Cineversity here:

MAXON NAB Rewind 2012

This years speakers included an amazing line up of talented folks including:

Nick Campbell, Colin Sebestyen, Casey Hupkey, Dave Glanz, Barton Damer, Claudio Jeno, Rob Garrott, Royale, Chris Smith of CSTools fame, and myself.

Everyone was rocking it hard and there is plenty of knowledge to be soaked up from these presentations!  I know I learned a ton that has already helped me in the very first week I got back to work, so be sure to check everyones amazing presentations!

Update:  My presentation was uploaded to Vimeo, you can check it out below!

 

Cinema 4D 101: Intro to Cappucino

Posted by eyedesyn on April 30, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 comments

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, NAB week was crazy fun presenting for the great people at Maxon and hanging out with talented folks like the gorilla himself, Nick Campbell, but I’m back and ready to keep the learning going!  In this new Cinema 4D 101 tutorial, I’ll be going over a more than likely untouched feature inside of Cinema 4D called Cappucino.  It’s mainly used in conjunction with character animating, so unless you do a lot of that, I’m sure the only cappucino you know is the hot, tasty kind.  But there are so many other useful uses for it!  So what does it do?  Cappucino is simply a method of recording mouse movement in your viewport and converts it to keyframe data.  Used creatively, it can be extremely useful!  In this tutorial I’ll be showing you multiple ways to use Cappucino to easily add movement to an object, create a “write-on” effect, and ability to keyframe dynamics simulations live and interactively in your scene as you the simulation play out.

Cinema 4D 101: Complex Animation With Only Two Keyframes

Posted by eyedesyn on April 13, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 comments

In this Cinema 4D 101 tutorial, I’ll be showing you the efficiency of using combinations of mograph effectors to create complex and dynamic animations inside of Cinema 4D. I’ll teach you the basics of stacking multiple effectors so you can enhance your workflow and achieve nice looking animation quickly and easily, saving you loads of time that you would have spent keyframing the moves you wanted manually. And with no limit to the amount of effectors you can use on objects, the Mograph Module and Effectors are one of the most powerful tools inside of Cinema 4D.

Example:

Text Edge FX v1.2: Bevel Kit for Cinema 4D

Posted by eyedesyn on April 9, 2012
Posted in: Home, Products. Tagged: , , , , , . 13 comments

I am excited to announce the release of my new product, Text Edge FX!  Text Edge FX is a must have tool for anyone who works with 3D type or logos inside of Cinema 4D.   Sam Welker of thinkparticle.com & I have been working hard to create this preset that will immediately be a staple in your everyday 3D workflow. This is a preset based on my Edge Effects tutorial that is a tool that creates brilliant looking text and logos super fast!  Text Edge FX is a quick and easy way to add custom bevels and edges that go above and beyond the already great bevel options in C4D!  Along with applying bevels on your type, you can also put bevels on any spline shape you bring in, whether it be a logo made in Adobe Illustrator or a spline shape made directly in Cinema 4D.  With it’s extremely intuitive controls, endless customizable options, and over 30 custom bevels and the ability to make your own custom bevel shapes, it’s essential for anyone who needs to make amazing looking text or logos instantly!

Check out Joren Kandel from The Pixel Lab‘s review of Text Edge FX here!

Version 1.2 Update Features:

• Individual controls for both front and back bevels
• Inner Bevel Kit bevels now integrated into Text Edge FX for easy access

Get Text Edge FX HERE!


Features include:
• Gorgeous looking text, super fast!
• Infinite bevel options including individual controls for both back and front bevels
• Full control of bevel & text subdivisions & phong angle
• Editable text capping & fillet edges
• Comes with over 30 custom bevel splines, including the Inner Bevel Kit
• Ability to use your own custom bevels
• Simple & intuitive interface & controls
• Free updates

Free Cinema 4D Model: US Presidential Seal

Posted by eyedesyn on April 6, 2012
Posted in: Free Sh*t, Home. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 comment

Hail to the chief!  It’s an election year and I’m sure some of you out there have to do some political animations, so here’s a nice freebie to get you through this years presidential election campaign!   Available for free download is the the seal of the President of the United States, fully textured and ready to go!   This file is compatible with R12 & above and I also included an .OBJ file for those with R11 and below or any other 3D software.

Download US Presidential Seal Model Here

Darkened Text Edge Effects In Cinema 4D

Posted by eyedesyn on April 2, 2012
Posted in: Home, Tutorials. Tagged: , , , , , , . 13 comments

I’m back with another Cinema 4D text tutorial, this time I’ll teach you how to add darkened/gradated edges to your font to get a glowing effect with the Proximal Shader.  By using the Proximal Shader, you can reference the text polygons points and vertices to drive the gradient that is applied to the texts edge.  Then I’ll show you how to use it in conjunction with global illumination to make it look like your glowing text is casting light in your scene.

UPDATE:  Realized the way I positioned the Material viewer, the very bottom got chopped off, but the setting that is chopped off that you can’t see is the Intensity setting.  Doh!  Apologies!

Example:

Springs & Spline Dynamics in Cinema 4D Part 02: Floating Balloons

Posted by eyedesyn on March 28, 2012
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Here’s part 2 in my series of tutorials utilizing the combination of Spring & Spline Dynamics together  to get some really cool dynamic animation!  This time around, I’m going to go over how to use Springs & Spline Dynamics to make a floating balloon on a string, a bit of an upside-down setup featured in Part 1.  There’s two techniques I use to get this floating balloon effect:  First is showing how to float a balloon that is fixed or attached to a point or object, and the second is more of a free floating balloon setup.  If you know of any other techniques you know of, please share!  Enjoy!

Part 1: Dangling Objects Off a String

Example: