Understanding the tools. Options

[Tibs]

In this topic I will try to teach you what the diffirent tools do and what the buttons on the lay-out mean. This will help if you are just learning to use the program.

First off all I will start with the left toolbar you see when you just started Cinema 4D.



Pressing this button will allow you to change the current lay out from Cinema. This can be done by e few presets already present in C4D or one defined by the user.



This button shows the user that he is currentlu working in the 'Object' mode. This means that you can select every object which is presnt in your scene.



When you are not satisfied with the way the coordinate system is located around a certain object you can press this button and change the rotation or X, Y or Z position.



This button shows the user that he is currently working in the 'Point' mode. This means that you can select every point located on the active object. You can now manipulate the location of this point and by doing this manipulating the entire object.



This button shows the user that he is currently working in the 'Edge' mode. This means that you can select every edge located on the active object. You can now manipulate the location of this edge and by doing this manipulating the entire object.



This button shows the user that he is currently working in the 'polygon' mode. This means that you can select every polygon located on the active object. You can now manipulate this polygon and by doing this manipulating the entire object.



The texture tool can be used to edit a texture.



This button basicly has the same function as the third one but this one applies to the texture instead.




When scrolling between these 3 buttons you will change between the object, animation or kinematics tool. What these three tools do is explained here.

* Object : is used when you want to model a certain object.
* Animation : is used when you want to animate a normal object.
* Kinematics : is used when you want to animate a figure which consists out of bones.


I will not explain the other buttons because i personaly don't really know what they do. If at one point I would know what they do I will add them.

The other tools will be explained in the near future. Hope you find this first chapter usefull.

© Deschamps Thibaut - Killanet Technolgy Ltd.

[Tibs]

Ok now I will continue by trying to explain the tools which are found on the top toolbar.



This is the back button, normally this would be coloured in blue when there is a function to undo. When you just started the program this button and the forward one will be gray.



The forward button does the same it does in every other program, when you returned using the back button you can advance again using the forward button.



This row of buttons gives you the choice to select the way you want to manipulate the object, polygon, edge or point. You can select between the normal arrow, the "move" function, the " scale" function and the "rotation" function. The name I gave to these buttons explain what they are used for.



Next to the manipulating buttons you find the coordinate system. You can see there are 3 buttons pressed, these buttons mean that I can now see the 3 axes when I select an object, polygon, edge or point. If you unselect any of these buttons the deselected axis will not be shown. The button next to the 3 axes is used when you would like to have the coordinate system placed as reference to the object, pressing this button will place the reference to world.



Ok next up are the rendering buttons. Pressing the first button will start a render of the active view. This means that C4D will only render the view, you will not be able to save it ( unless you make a print screen and cut it out. ) To "render to picture viewer" you need to press and hold the second button, now you can select diffirent choices. What they do is basicly said in there names. But remember you have to render to picture viewer to be able to save the render. The last button will allow you to to change any render settings you want, these settings will automaticly be saved for the document so you don't have to reset them every time.




Pressing and holding this button will allow you to add any object you can select from this drop down menu.



When opening this drop down menu you can choose which spline you would like to add to your scene. Remember that you can change the chosen spline after you added it in the object area.



This is the nurbs button, it allows you to add any nurbs to your object. The diffirent tools in here are the following:

- Hypernurbs : this will smoothen every edge located in you object, to make you edges stronger just cut your abject near the edge.

- Extrude : this will extrude the selected spline to the liked size.

- Lathe : will rotate a certain spline around a selected axis.

- Loft nurbs : this will folow the path of the selected splines connecting them to each other.

- Sweep : this will make a selected spline follow a certain path ( another spline )

- Bezier : I don't really know what this does, I might add it when I tried it.



The next button will allow you to add any modelling tools to your scene. These are the following:

- Null object.

- Array : will copy a certain amount off object around a desired shape/path.

- Boole : will allow you to perform several boolean operations to 2 objects like add, substract,...

- Instance : will create a copy off the selected object, this copy will automaticly be editted when you change the base object.

- Symmetry : will mirror an object around a selected axis.

- I haven't had the change to try out the other tools but i'm sure you can try and fiddle around with them.



In this drop down menu you can add several things to your scene, these may be lights, cameras, a forground, a background, a sky, a floor, ...



The last button I will explain gives you the oppurtunity to Deform the object you selected. What these deformations do to you object is basicly explained in their names. So if you try and play with these you will see how an object reacts to them.

So this is the other part of the tools, I hope these will help you when you are using Cinema 4D.




© Deschamps Thibaut - Killanet Technology Ltd.

[10am]

Hey, Im just wondering if anyone here knows how to turn on Caustics?
I'm at a total loss... i've tried looking in every menu and all but it's still greyed out!

[Josh]

Caustics are in the settings. Check your render settings

[Sylo-X-]

Im reading a tutorial and it keeps going on and on about a "create new polygon" tool..It dosnt show where it is? is it just a spline or what?

This post has been edited by Sylo-X-: Jun 30 2006, 11:16 AM

[Josh]

I don't use this tool much, but if I remember right, it's in the right click menu. Just right click and at the top of the menu (I think?) is the "Create Polygon" tool. If my memory is right, I think you can also press "m" and then "e" to get to the tool also, but this could be wrong as I never used this tool.

[Sylo-X-]

Thanks, I found it, lol it was right where you said it was. I cannt believe i didnt see it O.o