Lighting and Shadows in Cinema 4D – a Thorough Overview
In this tutorial you will learn basic lighting in C4D. No matter if you are an intermediate user or an absolute beginner, there is something to be learned here about the many lighting & shadow options and control toggles within Cinema 4D.
The four basic light types (omni, area, infinite, and spot) and the three basic shadow types (shadow maps, raytraced, and area), and all of their correlated options will covered in detail. You will also learn about some of the lesser used lighting types, lens effects, volumetric lighting, render times, and some technical details about making light look good.
Before you begin I recommend installing the Drop To Floor plugin, available here: http://www.kuroyumes-developmentzone.com/products_cinema_4d.html.
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By Eli McMakin
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what??? thats it?? that final effect is what we will be makin in the end???
i dont care how much technical u get but if the end result is that i wont be goin through the tutorial…
wat happened to you cgtuts?????????
“In this tutorial you will learn basic lighting in C4D”
There’s no need for an awesome supercool end effect in a tutorial for basic lighting.
I think this tutorial could be very useful for alot of people.
thanks Ron this tut is especially helpfull for those who just started Cinema 4D today as a first year student like me gone are the days of AE now to move on!!! Thanks Ron noobs need all the help they can get….
Like how to model an Underground Parking lot scene please>>>>>
It is a good tutorial for beginner. If you have no clue how to set the lights right the best model will look like nothing. So don`t complain – it is very usefull for some beginner and maybe for you too. There is no wasted time in such things if you dont know how to archive the final result.
Who cares about the end result when you are watching a tutorial? It’s about what you learn WHILE watching the tutorial.
Damn… What happened to you Umerzafar?
all i am sayin is that cgtuts n the rest of the family of tuts sites started out as makin great eyecandy, xplaining the basic stuff briefly on tutorial start n then proceedin to real cool stuff… that rhythm is not there anymore..
i say leave these basic tuts for other sites to xplain and just keep the meat here… or make a basic stuff tab up with other buttons for beginner stuff.
cgtuts still rocks and expectations are higher every time i visit it that it will show some kick ass combination of techniques… keep that up.
This is an amazing tut! Informative and brings confidence to use and explore different lighting. It’s not all about what you made at the end result. it’s about the knowledge you have gain to put your creative mind in gear (if you have any)
and produce an end result. YOU SOUND LIKE A STUDENT WANTING TO FOLLOW THE STEP AND THEN WOW YOUR TUTOR OR STUDENT FRIEND WITH WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. CG TUTS Thank you!
BOOOOOOOOO!!!
If you actually watch this tutorial, you will find that it is really quite excellent, and very informative too. It is meant to be an overview of the lighting tools, so that you will be able to use them effectively to light your own artwork. So, in this case, it is not really about the geometry or creating a final product step by step, as much as it is about understanding the tools.
good tut I think, thx!
Eli McMakin, if you know tell me how in to cinema 4d create “reflection occlusion”?
C4D does not support this directly. There is some math on page 91 in this document that might help if you are willing to do some coding of your own: http://www.debevec.org/HDRI2004/landis-S2002-course16-prodreadyGI.pdf
It kind of skimmed over a few things. If you could get into lighting techniques a little bit I think it would be much appreciated (you know, how to light people, objects, etc.)
I also wish that someone could do a good in-depth tutorial on caustics, Gi, and some of the other advanced lighting functions in C4D.
Perhaps that could be an intermediate/ advanced follow up tut for Eli. I’ll run the idea by him, and see what he thinks of it:)
This tutorial is just great,
in cg packages there are always some basic things that we never had to use. So going back to fundamentals is always good. Lot learned from that…
LOL(a big one)…im shocked to see this tutorial here. well umer, lucky you, got paid for this.:P
There is nothing wrong with this tutorial. It is for beginners, and therefore simple and straightforward. I suppose you’re shocked that I did a tutorial on 3ds Max basic poly modeling tools, or that Karan did an intro to the Blender interface too…
How old are you Abojung? You picture looks like your a 13 year old kid, and if so, flaming does not become you.
Wow why is everyone complaining that they didn’t get a free step by step eye candy piece that they can show off to thier buddies and brag about how good they are. All of this is Free! stop complaining!
Can’t Agree more !! (Y)
So Good.
It’s an amazing..
It would be nice that you make another tutorial about Global illumination, AO and caustics.
It’s great to learn something new that you can experiment with. =)
Some nice looking balls
Good tutorial. Thanks for making. Please continue with GI tutorial.
I watched the tutorial till minute 12, while doing alot of things in between those 12 minutes. I just couldn’t keep my concentration to this video… Next time please present it like your interested in learning something to others. It all sounds so dull…As for the tutorial, till minute 12, it was just excellent, can’t give anything about the minutes after that…
Cool tut, but could someone tell me how to install the plug ins?
Sorted now nevermind
I’ve been using C4D for about 4 months now.. but I was using 3ds MAX for 7 years.. so I C4D was a piece of cake for me.. plus it gives me the realism .. almost as Vray does.. and it renders much faster.. so I kinda have experience with 3D softwares and C4D specially .. nevertheless.. This video was so helpful and rich in information.. almost 50% of them I already know.. but the other Half is pretty cool =)
Thanks alot for this tutorial .. and please please.. make another video about Ambient Occlusion !!
I know a lot of thing about GI .. but it still have some details I’d like to know so this would be perfect if u make a video about GI too !!
Thnx a Lot !!
Sounds like there is user demand for a follow-up tutorial on AO, GI, and maybe even caustics. I will see what I can do.
I’m with Eli on this one; this kind of stuff is important. I’ve had kid after kid come into my office for interviews, and you have no idea how many of them are more concerned with ‘stuff that looks good’ than this kind of thing. And how many of them I kicked to the curb. You learn this kind of thing – the ‘why’ over the ‘how’ – and I guarantee you’ll have an edge when you’re looking for a job.
Look at the tutorials I’ve made for this place; most of them are fugly, but the techniques are solid. If you can’t see the importance of that, then you’re not going to go as far as you could.
Very helpful for me.
Thanks for the tutorial, Yes please do some on Global , AO and Caustics. Keep it
simple and straight forward the “eye candy” is our job.
thanks for tutorials my friend nice tut
THE BEST 41 MINUTES i have spent on watching a C4D tut.. i learned everything i wanted to know regarding lighting and shadows considering the amount knowledge i have on modeling.. thanx man u did a good job.
I’d just like to say as a first time commenter…
I’ve been using cinema 4d for nearly a fortnight now and this ‘tutorial’ taught me about omni versus area lighting… That is really all it managed! And it was booooring…
Pep your tuts up man and write a little flow chart for yourself so you don’t spend a large portion of your video ‘deciding’ what to do next while we (the viewers) drift off to sleep…
Sorry to sound so harsh with this comment but… I just wasted 40 minutes of my LIFE on this and it never even touched on the techniques required to properly light a ‘typical’ scene with multiple objects… Yet the title said this was ‘A thorough overview’ into lighting and shadows.
Realistically this ‘tut’ should have been HALF the length at most and COULD have covered GI and AO… You know I’m right!
Great tut again!
Excellent tutorial – I very much enjoyed it, and learned a great deal. I suggest you ignore the few idiots trying to tell you otherwise. Would very much appreciate it if you did one on GI too. And caustics !
You couldn’t be more wrong umerzafar.
I think what makes all the tuts sites so great is that they do offer tutorials for all levels from guys who really know the software.
I’ve used 3DS Max for years but since moving to the Mac I’ve started to use C4D and this tutorial has been very useful.
You shouldn’t really be relying on tutorials to create “cool eye candy” as you put it. Tutorials are about showing you the tools so you can create the cool stuff yourself. Something isn’t truely cool when you’ve just followed someones steps, it’s the creative aspect that makes something cool to my mind.
Keep the tuts coming!!!