Zero to VR Day 3: Getting Started with Cinema4D- Basic Shapes
Hey people of the internet, you’re fantastic. You smart folks have already started reaching out and giving advice on how to best learn VR. And it turns out there are a couple of different ways of going about it.
There is no one way to learn VR. Here are three examples:
- You could start with a program called Blender to learn 3D, as it’s free, simple to use, and easy to get started. This would be good to gain a general sense of 3D and then move on to more complex creation in C4D. So this path would be 1) Blender 2) Cinema4D 3) Unity. This would be good for someone with no previous experience who wants to ease their way into this and not get burned out/overwhelmed along the way.
- You could Start with Cinema4D and then go on to Unity. I’ve read that Unity requires knowledge in C#, and if you have no coding experience you might be pretty overwhelmed and quit. So if you want to get a grasp on 3D modeling to make the transition easier first, this is a great option, and what I am going to do.
- You could start and end with Unity. This makes the most sense if you’ve got some C# experience, because by going right into the thick of it you’ll build a better skill set from the get-go.
Only you know what’s right for you. For me, I’m going to start in C4D (Cinema4D) and see how that goes.
Okay so I just got C4D. This is what the interface looks like.
So to get started, see that light blue cube on the top menu that I’ve highlighted for you?
Click on the little arrow in the bottom right-hand corner to see all the shapes you can start with.
I clicked on a cylinder, because as you can see from my picture below, the red arches are made with cylindrical bases.
So let’s talk about the top menu. The two top left ones (the one with the mouse and the yellow one with the four arrows) move the object around on the plane. The yellow square resizes the object without changing its dimensions. The one that looks like a recycling symbol turns your object to face in different directions.
I used this tutorial to put my Kyoto cherry blossom photo in the background as a reference pic. So with me using that and after a little while of playing around, I had a slanted, elongated cylinder.
The red arches in the photo are wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, though. So how do I make one side of the cylinder wider than the other?
I could either make a really long cone and cut the top and bottom off, or take two discs of different circumferences and connect them… neither of which I know how to do.
So after hours of trying to figure it out, sifting through videos, trying different shapes and different approaches, I found the “top radius” option on the cone’s object specifications. Holy shit. The answer was so easy. I hate everything.
So, about four hours after opening this program (I wish I was joking), I’ve created a red cylinder. FML.
Adding the other arch though, took three minutes as it was as simple as copying and then rotating. Thank goodness!
The rest of the basic arch went by quickly. This is what I’m ending with today. Not too pretty, sure, but it’s a start!
That’s it for today. Tomorrow is a very busy day, so expect a sparse post.
Also, it’s cherry blossom season here in Taipei. So here’s a photo for you.
Summary
You can either learn by doing Blender, then Cinema4D, and finally Unity. Or you can start with Blender and then do Unity, or start off by just diving into Unity like a total badass. How you start is up to you, but I’m still moving forward with Cinema 4D and then Unity.
Graduated cylinders are hard, except they’re not because the cone shape has a “top radius” option.
When you start this program, you’re probably going to struggle pretty hard on stuff that will be so easy you’ll be embarrassed when you finally figure it out.
Cherry blossoms.
See you tomorrow!
