COVERING OUR TRACKS November-December 2004
by John
Mantzefield
copyright 2004
The
image on this months cover was made with Cinema4D-XL
v8.5 as a 3D rendered model on a textured plane. The
basic idea for the cover came from a lightsaber
tutorial that I found on the Maxon (distributor of
Cinema4D) web site. PDF tutorials like these are
written by Maxon's support staff and by experienced C4D
users. I added several parts to the lightsaber like the
ring and it's support base on the end of the handle and
the display base with it's metal name plate. I also
changed the way the handle's grip surfaces were
modeled.
LEARNING COMPLEX SOFTWARE
Tutorials like these are invaluable when you want to learn how other 3D artists use a program like C4D. The learning curve on a program like this is rather steep, but if you buy the CD .MOV tutorials that Maxon offers and work through some of the PDF tutorials it's possible to make great advances in a relatively short period of time. If you choose to learn software by using the click-around-until-something-happens method you're just cheating yourself by not learning time saving shortcuts and how many useful features can work together to produce useful results.
MANAGING THE LEARNING CURVE
When I bought my first complicated program (like Photoshop) I had a lot of trouble keeping track of the information that I was gathering about how to use these programs. I tried using notepad software and word processors to organize my notes, but with these programs there wasn't any way to conveniently include hand made drawings of unique icons or symbols, small "how-to" sketches, etc.
After
briefly using large loose index cards I switched over
to the system I use to this day. Click on the image to
the left to see an enlarged photo of one of my
notebooks. At an office supply store I bought packages
of white and colored 5X8 index cards (and tab dividers)
and a few 7X9 3-ring binders. You'll also need to buy a
3-hole punch with adjustable spacing to punch holes in
the index cards. I use colored roller ball pens and
various hi-lighters to enter the notes across the long
dimension of the cards. The ringed binders are opened
so that the 8” side of the index cards is at the top.
This unconventional 90 degree rotation of the cards and
binder gives you a convenient layout of your notes that
takes up a minimum of desk space. For additional
software training I have purchased CD and DVD tutorials
from the following companies and can recommend their
products - Virtual Training Corp. (vtc.com) - Total
Training Inc. (totaltraining.com) - Mac-Win Academy
(macacademy.com) and PhotoshopVideos
(photoshopvideos.com).
MODELING THE 3D PARTS
All C4D projects begin by setting up the basic parameters in the Render Settings dialog box. For this project all I needed to enter was the page size of the Mouse Tracks cover and the 170pi resolution of the TIF file that C4D would render. When you create a 3D scene you start by laying out basic shapes on a flat plane. It’s common to use "Primitive" shapes that are selected from an icon menu bar. Primitive shapes are basic forms like a cube, cylinder, torus, flat plane and so on.
LEARNING COMPLEX SOFTWARE
Tutorials like these are invaluable when you want to learn how other 3D artists use a program like C4D. The learning curve on a program like this is rather steep, but if you buy the CD .MOV tutorials that Maxon offers and work through some of the PDF tutorials it's possible to make great advances in a relatively short period of time. If you choose to learn software by using the click-around-until-something-happens method you're just cheating yourself by not learning time saving shortcuts and how many useful features can work together to produce useful results.
MANAGING THE LEARNING CURVE
When I bought my first complicated program (like Photoshop) I had a lot of trouble keeping track of the information that I was gathering about how to use these programs. I tried using notepad software and word processors to organize my notes, but with these programs there wasn't any way to conveniently include hand made drawings of unique icons or symbols, small "how-to" sketches, etc.
MODELING THE 3D PARTS
All C4D projects begin by setting up the basic parameters in the Render Settings dialog box. For this project all I needed to enter was the page size of the Mouse Tracks cover and the 170pi resolution of the TIF file that C4D would render. When you create a 3D scene you start by laying out basic shapes on a flat plane. It’s common to use "Primitive" shapes that are selected from an icon menu bar. Primitive shapes are basic forms like a cube, cylinder, torus, flat plane and so on.
In
situations where a complex cylindrical shape like the
lightsaber's handle needs to be modeled more advanced
techniques need to be employed. On a flat (top view)
plane in C4D the outline of one half of the handle is
drawn with modeling tools that work like Photoshop’s
Pen Tool that is used to make Paths. You click and drag
on control points and make a shape as seen (white line
forming the half cutaway) in the image above at “A”.
The circular white line and it's arrow at “B” indicates
that the white line shape of the handle is rotated 360
degrees by a modeling function called "Lathe NURBS".
This Lathe function instantly makes a completed
cylindrical shape based on the cross section dimensions
of the shape at “B”. The Lathe function is also used to
make other cylindrical objects like a vase, light bulb
or fountain pen. The cutaway view of the lightsaber
handle in the image at “A” shows you how the handle can
be formed by rotating the “B” shape through 360 degrees
to make the fully formed polygonal object. A polygonal
object is made up of dozens to thousands of small, flat
three or more sided planes connected together to make a
three dimensional object.
Another
complex shape that had to be modeled was the raised
ribs on the hand grip part of the handle. This was done
by selecting a flower petal/spoked primitive that was
adjusted in it’s size and the number of spokes to
create the white line shape in the image to the left at
“A”. Two of these spoked shapes were made (one a little
larger) and placed at each end of the object in the
image. Once the two spoked primitives were correctly
positioned all that was needed to make a finished
object was to apply another 3D function called "Loft
NURBS". This function creates a bridge of polygons
between the two end shapes creating the 3D ribbing for
the handle object. At “B” in the image the arrow is
pointing to a flat checkerboard plane that represents
the body of the handle.
The
organization of all the parts (including lights,
colored texture maps, etc.) in a C4D project are
handled in the Object Manager window which you can see
in the image to the left. The spoked end pieces
mentioned above can be seen in the image at “B”. These
shapes are drag/dropped onto the Loft NURBS function at
“A” which is referred to as a "Parent" object to the
two spoked "Child" objects below it. This parent-child
hierarchal structure is used to manage what could
become an overwhelming morass of 3D objects, lights and
surface textures. Null objects like the top one in the
image (titled "Handle Grip Parts") are used as a
container to hold groups of 3D parts. If the negative
symbol (in the square box) to the left of the Handle
Grip Parts name is clicked the entire lower group of
parts collapses into the parent heading. By using this
system that resembles the Mac Finders folder-in-folder
concept it makes the management of large 3D projects
fairly simple. An important element in making this work
is to come up with cleaver yet logical names for the 3D
objects your making and the NULL object containers your
putting them in. This cover project is made up of 36
modeled objects, 10 texture mapping materials and 7
virtual lights.
