How to Create Abstract Paint Strokes in Cinema 4D

In this tutorial, I’ll break down how I created this abstract, organic candy paint stroke text inside of Cinema 4D. I’ll show you how I created the base geometry using Spline Wrap and then I’ll go over how I used the Jiggle Deformer to create some nice organic undulation movement! The Jiggle Deformer is an awesome way to apply cloth sim like looks to your geometry! I’ll finish off the tutorial by showing you how I created the material for the text. If you have any questions, be sure to hit me in the comments below! Have fun and if you make something with this technique, be sure to share it! Enjoy!

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12 Comments

Jonathan Hunter August 25, 2015 at 4:43 pm

Hey EJ,

thank you for this tutorial, really cool and interesting, i find you very easy to follow and i think your videos are more fun than Greyscalegorillas. You’re a cool guy. I definitely learnt a lot here and enjoyed what I created.

I made it a looping gif but i think the file size is too big because it won’t finish uploading.

But I’ve uploaded my efforts to Youtube!

Thanks again! You’ve motivated me to get up off my backside over summer and find my love for design again.

https://youtu.be/u0pErjhivf8
Jack Oliveira September 18, 2015 at 1:24 pm

pretty cool but it would be much cooler if it had a “writing” effect revealing the words .. maybe you’ll update the tutorial later ?
Izik Sheptovitsky September 20, 2015 at 12:54 am

it’s actually pretty easy:
in the spline wrap there is a property called “To” and “From”. These will do exactly what you seggested.
e11world September 25, 2015 at 2:34 pm

Pretty amazing tutorial. This was very helpful. My machine is just a bit too slow to render even the one frame. Any suggestions to make this process faster to review while working?
Izik Sheptovitsky September 26, 2015 at 4:44 am

via GIPHY
Izik Sheptovitsky September 26, 2015 at 4:45 am
Izik Sheptovitsky September 26, 2015 at 4:53 am

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0pErjhivf8&w=796&h=447%5D
Anais Terry February 3, 2016 at 12:51 am

Can you do the same thing with Text instead of a Spline?
EJ Hassenfratz February 3, 2016 at 5:23 am

You sure can!
Alejandra April 25, 2016 at 4:20 am

Can you please tell us what setting did you used for the final render? I’m new at this so Im kinda lost when it comes to render!

Thank you!
sasha May 10, 2017 at 9:12 pm

Hey, So I followed the tutorial almost purfectly but after I added the turbulence to the jiggle and hit play it did nothing. I think the problem is I didn’t add any depth to the spline? I don’t know how to do that, could you please tell me how, thank you!
EJ Hassenfratz May 10, 2017 at 10:02 pm

Hey Sasha! Looks like you definitely missed a step, make sure you’re following every step, including the hierarchy order. it has nothing to do with spline depth!