From the course: Cinema 4D R20 Essential Training: VFX

How is C4D used by VFX artists? - CINEMA 4D Tutorial

From the course: Cinema 4D R20 Essential Training: VFX

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How is C4D used by VFX artists?

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- [Instructor] Let's be clear from the outset. When working with Cinema 4D, there is no single way of doing things. Multiple routes can get you to the same outcome, and using Cinema 4D encourages artistic freedom of expression. It's worth pointing out that Cinema 4D comes in several versions. While most of the tools such as modeling, materials, lighting, takes, they're present in all versions. My recommendation, to get the most out of Cinema 4D, is to invest in the studio version, which has everything a professional 3-D artist requires, including some of the tools that we'll be focusing on in this course, such as the Motion Tracker and Dynamics. Visual effects at scale is about pipelines, not single software solutions. The pipeline being a set of stages or processes that get us from concept to completion. There are many stages in a VFX pipeline, and it pays to work in a flexible manner. In visual effects, what you do ripples out and has repercussions beyond the next person in the pipeline, so when working on visual effects shots, a common practice is to iterate, or version up, as you go. That's why it's great to get into the habit of using Cinema 4D's Save Incremental command, so that you can track progress and go back to an earlier version if needed. Also, if you need to send your project on to another artist, there's an option to Save Project with Assets. Now, this will collect any textures you have used in your materials, and keep them in one place for easy distribution. The Take system in Cinema 4D is another form of versioning, as it allows you to save different states within the same file, which we'll be looking at later in this course. Other tools, such as the Motion Tracker and Projection Man fit into a 3-D VFX pipeline, and Cinema 4D has the capability to import and export a number of formats, including Alembic, OBJ and FBX, all common file formats used in visual effects. While it's not covered in this course, Cinema 4D integrates with programs like Substance and Houdini, and when you're coming to get work out of Cinema 4D, it has deep integration with compositing apps such as Adobe After Effects. It's important to understand your contribution to the whole pipeline and what you need to deliver to make it work. As we've said, visual effects is not just about the individual, but the team, so it's important to remember from the outset that you don't have to excel at every aspect of visual effects production. Let's continue and look at some examples of work to get some inspiration.

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