My early struggles with learning Cinema 4D and lessons learned

Michael Balchaitis
Sep 7, 2018 · 2 min read

I decided to learn Cinema 4D five years ago because I became frustrated with the limitations with After Effects. I loved working in Ae but after a while I found that do make the interesting things I wanted to make required plug-ins and then later required a 3D program. So I went with Cinema 4D after a few Trial periods with Autodesk maya and Blender.

I didn’t like Maya or Blender at first and Cinema 4D seemed so easy to use that I went with C4D studio. I loved using it and new I found my passion. But the process of learning was not always smooth. Here are a few issues and solutions I found along my journey.

Lighting
Lighting has been a bit of an issue when starting out. Taking a photography course either online or a community college could help. I found that learning how actual physical lighting is set up in a studio help me light my scenes better. I have been lucky to work with a professional photographer and I was able to observe his light set-up. But the lighting still was not good looking. Solution. So I took the easy way out and bought a plug-in called Light Kit Pro made by GreyScaleGorilla. This has helped me a great deal. Not only did my scenes and models look fantastic I learn more about lighting because I could physically manipulate the lights in the viewport similar to an actual studio light.

UV Mapping
I loved modeling right away and enjoyed making things, creatures and vehicles. But then it came time to texture and paint the models and that requires UV mapping. Again I went to buying my way out of the problem by purchasing UV Layout by Headus. This was an excellent product at the time. There are better stand alone products out in the market place now. Solution. However, the best solution is understanding that the modeling topology needs to be quads, evenly distributed and with few if any poles or triangles. Also understanding where seems will best be located for minimal disruption. Finally use a grid pattern to see where stretching and squishing occurs so you can modify your map.

Modeling
I love modeling but I certainly had some issues in the beginning. The solution was not to use another program but to understand topology. This is the biggest thing that helped my modeling. Although Zbrush is an excellent tool and can be used in combination with C4D, I found that learning how to fundamentally manipulate the polygons so there is a natural and clean flow makes a huge difference.

I should point out I am still not an expert but I have learned a lot and hope these tips will help you.

If you liked this take a look at my YouTube Channel:

or my Udemy courses.
https://www.udemy.com/user/michael-balchaitis/

Please comment or like, thanks.

Michael Balchaitis

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Created by Michael Balchaitis. Astronomic Skills is a Cinema 4D and Creative software training on Udemy and YouTube.

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