Description
The course will cover everything needed to obtain a solid foundation in using the application: from understanding the interface, modeling using the built in primitive and NURBs objects, exploring lighting and material creation, through to animation techniques and the use of expressions and rendering possibilities. Specifically aimed at new users to the application, some experience of 3D would be advantageous, although not essential. After completing this course, you will have an in-depth understanding of the workflow and techniques required to work with Cinema4D in a production environment.
This course covers the fundamental skills required to use the 3D animation software CINEMA 4D to generate original video and animated imagery for a variety of design and multimedia purposes. Emphasis will be placed on the conceptual underpinnings of successful realistic and abstract 3D imagery. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic animation production pipeline through the creation of a number of short animations.
Introduction to Cinema 4D
- The Cinema 4D workflow
- Differences between 2D and 3D
- Navigating the viewports
- Navigating using a three-button mouse
- keyboard shortcuts
- Exploring the interface
- Configuring project settings
- Application preferences
Creating and Understanding Objects- Exploring object hierarchy
- Creating, selecting, transforming objects
- Object categories – active and passive objects
- Comparing object types
- The Attribute Manager
- Creating a basic model with primitive and null objects
Working with Splines - Creating and working with splines
- Selecting and transforming points on a spline
- Nurb types
- Manipulating paths from Adobe Illustrator
Polygonal Modeling Tools - Points, edges, and polygons
- Modeling with the Knife tool
- Modeling with the Extrude tool
- Modeling with the Extrude Inner tool
- The Create Polygon and Bridge tools
- Creating a HyperNURBS object
- Creating a simple model
Using Deformers
- Working with deformers
- The Wind Deformer
- The Wrap Deformer
- The Spline Wrap
Materials and Texturing- Understanding material channels
- Applying materials: Projection methods
- Reflective surfaces / shiny surfaces
- Rough surfaces / bumpy surfaces
- Transparent surfaces
- Using alpha channels to create a label
- Texturing type using multiple materials
Working with Lights - Understanding how lights work in the 3D world
- Adjusting falloff to limit how light affects objects
- Understanding light types
- Creating and manipulating shadows
- Creating light rays with visible light
- Creating a simple three-point light setup
Keyframes and Animation - Understanding keyframe animation
- Animating in the Timeline
- The F-Curve Manager
- Create an animated pause
Camera Movement and Control
- Differences between the Editor Camera and a camera object
- Exploring field of view and aspect ratio
- Explaining parallax in camera movement
- Creating a dynamic camera movement
- Refining and previewing a camera movement
Output and Rendering - The render engine
- Render settings
- Rendering still images vs. animation
- Setting up multi-pass rendering for still images
- Batch-rendering multiple files
Compositing in After Effects - The 3D animation workflow
- Setting up a multi-pass render
- Importing elements into After Effects
- Manipulating 3D renders in After Effects
- Fine-tuning a composition in After Effects
Introduction to MoGraph - Explaining MoGraph
- Using the Cloner object
- Modifying cloners with Effector objects
- Creating animation with the Fracture object
- Creating abstract shapes with the MoSpline object
- Using the Tracer object to create paths
- Creating realistic movement with MoDynamics
Job Opportunities
Benefits
Certification