Tutorial Details
- Software: Maxon Cinema4D (with Sketch & Toon) (R12 Required For Project Files)
- Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced
- Part 1 Length: 50 Steps
- Full source files available to Premium members! Click here to log in, or click here to find out more!
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
Over the course of this two part tutorial, Konstantin Muromtsev will show us how to create a truly unique, cinematic ship escape animation in Cinema4D. You’ll learn how to use various tags, the Mograph tracer object, SweepNURBS and how to switch between multiple camera angles using the Stage object. This tutorial will help you understand some of C4D’s post effects and how to create simple, yet effective standard and sketch materials for the project.
Step 1
We will start by sketching the basic idea, one of main objects in this scene are tentacles. To create them, we’ll use the "Mograph Tracer" object and Sweep NURBS. But first, we need to create the path for the object that will be traced. So to start create a spline (Objects > Create Spline). I suggest to using a "Linear" spline, then converting it to "Bezier".
Step 2
Create a Platonic object (Objects > Primitives > Platonic), and change the Type to "Dodeca".
Step 3
Add a "Align to Spline" tag to the Platonic object. Use the spline from step 1 in the "Spline Path" field, and add a keyframe to the "Position".
Step 4
Add another keyframe to the Position (for example 16% at frame 30) to make the Platonic object move. Create a "Tracer" object (Mograph > Tracer) and add the platonic to this object. Move to Frame 30 to see the effect of the Tracer object and then move back to Frame 0.
Step 5
Now we need to make the Platonic object spin. Add an Xpresso tag to the Platonic object, and add "Rotate" from the system presets. Add the Plantonic object, then a "Global Rotation" input for the Plantonic, and connect it with the "Rotation" output port on "Rotate".
Step 6
Move to Frame 30. As you can see the traced path is looking much more interesting now.
Step 7
Create a Sweep NURBS object (Objects > NURBS > Sweep NURBS) and add the Tracer object and Rectangle spline to it. In the Sweep NURBS attributes, change the scale graph so it will be smaller at the end.
Step 8
Make the Platonic object not visible in both the Editor and the Renderer.
Step 9
Next create a Sphere object, scale it up and place it at the start of the spline. The tentacles will grow from it.
Step 10
Now we need to create a ship that will be escaping from the tentacles. Since this tutorial is not about modeling, I will only give a brief description of how to create it.
Step 11
Start with a basic Cube shape and using the Extrude, Knife, Extrude Inner and the basic Move/Rotate/Scale tools, create a shape for the ship you’re happy with.
Step 12
To create the flames for the ship’s nozzles, start with a Sphere object. Rotate it and using the brush or magnet, make a flame-like shape.
Step 13
Decide where you will use different materials and set selections (or split selection).
Step 14
Use Symmetry (with a ZY symmetry plane) on the flame shapes. Then create a "HyperNURBS" and add the ship and flames to it.
Step 15
Create a Null object, add Align to Spline (like in step 3.) Add the ship to this null object, and make sure all the ship’s coordinates are set to 0.
Step 16
Move a few frames forward. It is not unlikely that the Sweep NURBS will intersect with the ship’s geometry. So to correct that, move the ship forward on the Z axis.
Step 17
Open the project settings and increase the "Maximum Time" and "Preview Max Time" (to 220 for example.)
Step 18
Delete the keyframes at Frame 30 (which we used to test the animation) and add keyframes near the end of the document (100% values for both Align to spline tags). Now we have a basic scene – the next step is adding the materials, cameras and so on.
Step 19
Time to place the cameras. We will go from simple cameras with rotation only, to chasing ones. Select an interesting point of view via the Editor Camera and add a Camera object to the scene.
Step 20
This camera will focus on an object using only rotation. Using the target tags is usually not a great idea. Use manual rotation instead and add keyframes using the "Record Active Object" button (F9 on keyboard). This method usually creates unnecessary data (like scale keyframes for the camera) but is good for fast keyframing.
Step 21
The next camera will be moving ahead of the ship and will show us the front view. Select the point of view with the editor camera, and create a Camera and add it to the Null object containing the ship. This will make the camera move with the ship, and we will still be able to control it’s movements.
Step 22
Add a "Vibrate" tag to this camera, check "Enable Position" and "Enable Rotation". Experiment with the "Amplitude" and "Frequency" values, but keep them low to avoid the possibility of losing the target.
Step 23
Play the animation. The "Vibrate" tag will move and rotate the camera according to the "Amplitudes" and "Frequencies", making the movement of the camera more interesting.
Step 24
The next camera will be placed inside the tentacles and will move with them. So place the camera behind the ship.
Step 25
Create a null object and add an "Align to Spline" tag to it (it’s possible to copy the tag from another object by holding ctrl, while moving the tag). Add the camera to the null object. The point of using a null object is for the possibility of controlling the camera’s movement more freely.
Step 26
Copy the "Vibrate" tag from the previous camera. Adjust it if needed.
Step 27
Using Editor camera, select another view and create a camera.
Step 28
Animate the camera by moving and rotating it, then using the "Record Active" object function (F9 on keyboard). Remember to use as many keyframes (steps) as needed to achieve a smooth feel.
Step 29
Look at the scene, and adjust the positions of the cameras and keyframes. You can add more cameras if needed (for example: an overview camera, that will show the entire scene, or a camera similar to the ones in Steps 21 or 24, but at another angle).
Step 30
For the second cluster of tentacles at the end of the scene. Create a new spline so it’s almost intersecting with the existing path.
Step 31
Copy the "Sweep NURBS" object (with all the objects in it of course), and change the "Spline Path" in the "Align to Spline" tag for the Platonic object.
Step 32
Decide when the second tentacle will move, and then add keyframes to the "Position" of the "Align to Spline" tag.
Step 33
Now we have fully animated our scene. To use multiple cameras during the animation (and rendering), we need a special scene object. This is called a "Stage object" (Objects > Scene > Stage). It determines when the camera, sky, environment and so on are used in the animation. With this object we can easily switch between the cameras in the scene with only one keyframe.
Step 34
Move to 0 F (first frame), and drag the first camera to the "Camera field" in the Stage object, and add a keyframe. Note, that now if the Stage object is active, you won’t be able to switch to another camera (The Stage object need to be off to switch between cameras).
Step 35
Play the animation forward, then drag another camera to the "Camera Field" and add a keyframe. Now play the animation from the start to see that everything is working correctly.
Step 36
Continue to work on the cameras. The important thing here is to allocate the correct amount of frames for each camera, considering that they’re already animated. Also this kind of work with cameras requires constant tweaking of their keyframes.
Step 37
At this point doing a test render is a good thought. Open the Render settings (ctrl+B) and change the output options (I changed the Film Aspect to 1.778 – 16:9). Also change the "Frame Range" to All Frames.
Step 38
At the "General" options rollout, change the "Render Engine" to Software Preview ( we don’t need to waste time on a full render, since we only need to see the motion). Render the scene.
Step 39
Time to add the first basic materials. Create a new material (double click in material manager). For "Color", I used orange (R:255 G:138 B:0). Also Uncheck "Specular", because we will not have any lights in the scene except the default lighting.
Step 40
Check the "Reflection" channel and decrease the brightness to 25%. We will use reflection and luminance objects to fake lighting. I used this as the ship’s main material.
Step 41
Duplicate this material, and change the "Color" to default, decrease the brightness to 10%.
Step 42
At the "Reflection" rollout, decrease the brightness to 5%. I used this material for the ship’s windshield.
Step 43
For the material for the ship’s nozzles. Create a new material, and uncheck "Color" and "Specular". Check "Luminance" and choose a blue color (R:84 G:148 B:255).
Step 44
Now Duplicate the nozzle’s material, and change the color to White (R:255 G:255 B:255) and increase the brightness to between 400-450%. We will use this material to fake the lighting.
Step 45
Create another new material, and change the "Color" to White, set the Brightness to 30%, and uncheck the "Specular" channel. This material will be for the tentacle base.
Step 46
Duplicate the material, and slightly decrease the "Brightness" of the "Color" channel.
Step 47
Check off Reflection, and decrease the brightness to 30%. This material will be assigned to the tentacles.
Step 48
The last standard material is for the flames. Duplicate the nozzle’s material and slightly change the color.
Step 49
Check the "Transparency" channel, and Copy the color from "Luminance" channel, decrease the brightness to between 70-80%.
Step 50
Assign the created materials to the corresponding objects (except for the "White Luminance" material, since we don’t have the object for it yet).
Conclusion Of Part 1
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By Konstantin Muromtsev
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Just wonderful
If you don’t know how to create one, you can grab some free 3d models from here: http://www.glossyicon.com/category/3d-models/
wtf? for real? that is by far the worst thing on cgtuts i have ever seen.
Agree, I dont understand what is this…
Well, I wouldn’t say it like that and I appreciate the fact that the author has taken time to make it but I have to say that I think that the final result doesn’t look fancy at all and that the practical use of this tutorial is missing :(
all of my opinions are based on the “final product” video. it appears that the ship is parented to the camera during a few of those shots which is just weird. why not use the ship as the cameras target object? you can do really nice stuff with the camera if you align to spline but this is just a really bad example. overall it appears that the ship is escaping some kind of spinny tentacle thing but the end result is so half assed and rushed through. the tentacle thing could easily be made with other methods. why not a simple tracer object with a sweep nurb or it?
does cgtuts still pay for people to write tuts? if so this guy just made an easy buck.
This is the most meaningless thing for cinema and entire site :x Just cant catch the point of this tutorial and in the other hand its bad animation and lets dont talk about texturing and other stuff…better delete this tutorial or you’ll risk to get blind….
the texturing and the modeling i think is for a cartoon style (look tutorial details) it doesn’t have to be perfect.
this tutorial can give ppl some ideas and can be helpful for ppl who r starting to use cinema 4d.
btw… all those steps with the camera r unnecesary
Maybe they are not paying anymore
This is a very long tutorial.
i wait and wait for new c4d tutorials to come out. they hardly do and then this comes out. what a huge disapointment. who ever is running this site needs to make it more of a priority to actually teach us some cool stuff. not crap like this. i dont think i need to point out the bad texturing, bad modelling, bad animation, bad camera movement, not to mention horrible camera staging. cg tuts needs to step it up and bring something to the table that no one else has. dont allow beginners to make tutorials ;) you let ppl down.
Not a super polished ultra good finished clip but this guy has done some good tuts in the past.
I wont recreate this but it does give me a few ideas for my own projects.
So thanx
i think the tut is all about the technique… not really an eye candy but you will surely learn a thing or two…
Criticism based merely on subjective sentiment and without any reasonable points is worthless. To see practical use of the tutorial you actually need to follow it.
Hi
I didn’t follow the tutorial to be honest but I understand the reaction in the comments.
People who come here don’t just want tutorials to see the practical use … they also want to get inspired. How do you expect people to be enthusiastic when there’s no sign of passion when looking at the final product.
This tutorial doesn’t inspire anyone to follow. When going through all the steps of a tutorial, at the end you expect to have made something sexy.
That’s why apple products sell.
seriously? something sexy? why dont you go troll greyscale gorillaz lame site this is about technique not some polished rendered balls made over and over again by a hack which I’m sure you love.
This is the worst tutorial I have ever seen. It shows you how to make a really ugly and boring piece. Artist needs to pay more attention to design before trying to teach others.
Heys guys, as one of the people who commissioned this tutorial, I feel I need to step in and say something. First, I’m shocked by the negative response this has received so far and I honestly don’t understand it.
While everyone is welcome to express their opinions (whether positive or negative) regarding any of the tutorials or content on the site. I feel in this case, many of your comments towards this tutorial are unjustified. As it seems like many of the complaints are coming from people who haven’t even bothered to read through the tutorial before deciding to trash it.
If you did read through it and didn’t like it, then that’s fine. You’re welcome to post your thoughts to the author and us in general, but taking the time to comment on something you haven’t read is not only useless, but is completely counterproductive.
Konstantin has created a number of excellent tutorials for the site. We chose the ship escape because we felt it was not only extremely unique, but was something a lot different then anything else we have available for our C4D users. We believe the techniques shown are useful and will help anyone looking to create a similar animation. Weather you personally like the final result of this tutorial or not, doesn’t mean the techniques shown are useless or that the author put any less work into creating it.
Take a car modeling tutorial for example, you might personally think the car the author chose to model is the ugliest car you’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t mean that the techniques being taught to you are any less useful (then if you personally liked the car). What’s important with any tutorial, is the technique, not the final result, as it’s only a means to demonstrate the process.
It’s very easy to criticize something when you have nothing invested in it, but remember at the end of the day. Someone took the time to create a tutorial in an attempt to help others out by sharing their knowledge. Which is something a lot of artists are not willing to do. Just something to keep in mind when commenting in the future.
Ben, I understand what your saying and I read through the tutorial. But at the end of the day your asking designers and artists to not pay attention to the visual art and just follow the technique. But if we are not seeing how the technique can be used to make something look cool then it loses all inspiration and that is why I come to cg tuts to begin with. As designers and artist we need to be able to not only show technique, but final product. I personally feel I have never seen a final cinema 4d render on cg tuts look this unfinished. I feel it cheapens the site and cinema 4d to even show this. Im sure the designer is a great artist and no jabs at him, maybe he was just rushing it. Just some words for thought for future tutorials.
Hey Dave,
Thanks for your reply, and I do agree with you on your points. I never stated that you should pay no attention to the visual art of a particular tutorial. My point was that a tutorial’s worth is not only represented by the final result. In many cases the final result of a tutorial may not be cool looking or even that artistic, but if the fundamentals used to create it are solid, then following that tutorial may be a benefit, regardless of the final product.
i read through the tutorial. and wondered why i just wasted my time. as someone who is ultimately trying to learn new creative things, i didnt learn one thing in this long boring tutorial. i respect the time and work the author put in. im not saying he is bad, im saying this tutorial is bad and a huge disapointment to me and those who are looking to be inspired. do you want to know the secret in gettin successful and positive comments, and positive traffic to tutorials? sexiness, inspiring, funny, well put “video” tutorials. the number one complaint i see on tutsplus is about written boring tutorials, if i was running the site, i think i would make it priority to get rid of long boring written tutorials dont you think? ppl stress their negativity because they are frustrated because of the disapointment. we expect quality and inspiration, and are only trying to express the “help” in a wrong way. with that said, sure ppl are immature, i never comment, but this one just took the case for me and i have to come out and say something. you have dropped the ball when it comes to c4d. now do something about it. and dont get mad at what i said, its true response, from a true fan of this site.
Hi Ben
I can only say this (this is my personal point of view but I think many can relate to this) … I am a designer and I visit the tuts+ network on a regular basis. I even pay for your tutorials because I think it’s worth the money.
This is what happend when I visited this site yesterday.
- Oh, cool … a new C4D tutorial! Happy, happy, happy!
- Open tutorial.
- Watch final result. …
- Watch final result again. …
- Skip the tutorial to see the comments.
- No, I am not alone.
This reaction I would not have had when visiting some other C4D tutorial website.
I visite your network because I get tutorials that look awesome and from which I can learn a lot. It doesn’t matter if I visit psdtuts or aetuts or vectortuts or … I get quality. Good looking, clear to follow and a lot to learn from. These three thing set your network apart from a lot of other sites.
You don’t understand the reaction of a lot of people who commented? Well, the reason is simple. If they visite one of the sites in this network and they don’t get “good looking”, “easy to follow and “learned a lot from it” … they feel they don’t get what they expected and are dissapointed. That’s just the way it is. It doesn’t matter how good and practical this tutorial is. Good and practical can be found on numerous other tutorial sites online. That’s why you get a lot of reaction from people who didn’t even read the tutorial.
I very much respect the tutorial writer and I don’t want to break down this tutorial, I am sure there’s a lot of usefull stuff in it. I just try to look at it from another perspective. This network has a visitor profile and when tutorials don’t live up to this profile, visitors are dissapointed.
sorry but it looks dire
people think this tutorial is for make an awesome movie of a ship, they are wrong. this tutorials is about ANIMATION not modeling and rendering. this is a good tutorial for poeple who dont know how to animate in cinema 4d (like me) and i don’t really understand why does people think this tutorial sucks.
I clasific this tutorial as BASIC.
PD: srry for my bad english :)
the author should remake the tut
It look like there is some interesting use of the mograph and the render is cartoon ; it not a tut about raytracing . It more a tut to see what and how can you achieve something that you could use in a different scene , take the idea and use it differently.
Finally I see some reasonable comments :)
Well, yes the end result looks a bit rubbish, but that’s not really the point is it ? The world and web is full of things to inspire you – you read this to get some techniques maybe you didn’t know about…
If I didn’t already know about the stuff covered, I would have followed it and made a better ship, and then gone radiosity, and binned the cartoon shader. Which would inspire me to experiment further, if the techniques weren’t enough.
bit of help needed if anyone is still here, my tracer is making sharp turns on a smooth spline. ive tried subdividing the spline into loads of points, ive tried a few points in soft interpolation, ive tried everything i know to make it trace a smooth path but have almost given up.
That’s probably happening because you forgot to change type of the spline. If it’s set to linear you usually won’t get smooth spline. Also try to delete tracer object, save your scene and reopen it, then add tracer again.
First of all, i’d like to say that i have learned allot from this tutorial since i just began with Cinema 4d a few months ago and didn’t knew anything about camera’s and animations and stuff.
Now i do have some knowledge about these features, and maybe this isn’t a tut for people who are working with the program for years, but you sure helped a beginnner with it.
I will recommend it to my classmates whom are also beginners :)
Thanks allot and keep on going!