Quickstart

English
CINEMA 4D Visualize 3

CINEMA 4D Visualize
CINEMA 4D programming team
Christian Losch, Philip Losch, Richard Kurz, Tilo Kühn, David O‘Reilly, Thomas
Kunert, Cathleen Bastian, Aleksander Stompel, Ole Kniemeyer, Kent Barber, Jens
Uhlig, Frank Willecke, Sebastian Rath

Projects, materials, plugins and additional applications

Aleksander Stompel, Eric Smit, David S. Drayton, Bernd Lutz, Johan-Bernd
Zweverink

Documentation
Oliver Becker, Jörg Henrich, Dominic Kunz, Wilhelm Kunz, Bernd Lutz, Holger
Schömann, Scot Wardlaw, Peggy Jörke, Aron Schmid

Layouter
Aron Schmid

Welcome...
... to CINEMA 4D Visualize. This edition has been especially created to let
professionals in creating breathtaking images and animations of their designs.

CINEMA 4D is easy to learn and is known for its legendary speed and stability.
Users worldwide rely on CINEMA 4D every day, including Hollywood studios that
have been successfully using CINEMA 4D in major film and television productions
for years. CINEMA 4D Visualize offers a toolset unmatched in its flexibility and
ease of use.

In tune with our efforts to continue to provide the best possible support for
CINEMA 4D customers please visit us at www.maxon.net to make any suggestions
or send your comments about CINEMA 4D Visualize. In addition, our technical
support team will be happy to answer questions regarding any issues that may
arise while using CINEMA 4D Visualize - at no additional charge. You can contact
them at [email protected] or toll free in the U.S. at 1-877-ANIMATE.

Your MAXON team wishes you lots of fun and success with CINEMA 4D Visualize!
 4 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Contents
1. The Visualize library_____________________________________________________________________________________________ 5
1.1 Environment Projects_________________________________________________________________________________ 5
1.2 Materials________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9
1.3 Objects___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11
1.4 Cameras_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12
1.5 Animation_____________________________________________________________________________________________________14
2. Importing Files______________________________________________________________________________________________________15
3. Preparing CAD files______________________________________________________________________________________________16
3.1 Allplan__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17
3.2 Vectorworks 2011______________________________________________________________________________________20
3.2.1 Installation___________________________________________________________________________________________20
3.2.2 Preparing Projects_____________________________________________________________________________20
3.2.3 Altering the polygon count of solids_______________________________________________ 21
3.2.4 Use________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 22
3.2.5 Saving files in CINEMA 4D format__________________________________________________ 22
3.2.6 Transferring modifications back to CINEMA 4D__________________________ 23
3.2.7 Sending files from Vectorworks to CINEMA 4D___________________________ 23
3.3 ARCHICAD 12 and later versions____________________________________________________________ 23
3.3.1 Installation___________________________________________________________________________________________ 23
3.3.2 Use________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 23
3.3.3 Loading and saving CINEMA 4D files (*.c4d)________________________________24
3.3.4 Workflow leading to CINEMA 4D_____________________________________________________25
3.3.5 Synchronization mode______________________________________________________________________ 27
4. Editing Geometry________________________________________________________________________________________________29
5. Working with materials_______________________________________________________________________________________ 31
6. Lighting ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 37
6.1 Direct or indirect______________________________________________________________________________________ 37
6.2 Using IES files____________________________________________________________________________________________38
6.3 Example Projects______________________________________________________________________________________38
7. Rendering_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________57
8. In closing...___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 58
CINEMA 4D Visualize 5

1. The Visualize library

Included in CINEMA 4D Visualize is a comprehensive library that contains specially
created materials, objects and animation Projects designed to help you quickly
create effective visualizations.

In the following we will go into more detail regarding this library and show you
how to use it.

1.1 Environment Projects

6 CINEMA 4D Visualize
CINEMA 4D Visualize 7

First, drag any environment Project from the Content Browser onto the Object
Manager. The object will be active (signified by the name highlighted in orange).
The object’s various parameters can be seen in the Attribute Manager. The only
ones that are of interest to us, though, are the “Settings“ parameters. Click on the
button with the left mouse button to access the “Settings“ parameters.

Every environment Project already has a set of sliders. You can use these sliders
to manipulate various properties of your environment Project such as Brightness,
Shadow, Reflection and more. Each environment Project lets you vary these
properties differently. Experiment a little with these settings.

The Interactive Render Region is a very useful tool, which lets you quickly view
results of changes made to your Project, including effects, in near final render
quality! The image quality can be defined using the triangular slider at the edge
of the rendered area (render time is dependent on render quality). The Interactive
Render Region can be activated by pressing the icon at the top right of the layout
or by selecting the command from the „Render“ menu.

Tip:
The floor’s color would normally be found in the material settings, the light’s
brightness in each light’s settings. As you can see, the sliders in the “Settings“
menu make changing these parameters of an environment much more convenient.
8 CINEMA 4D Visualize

If you like to experiment and start adjusting concealed sliders, it can happen that
a slider unexpectedly jumps back to its original position. This means that you have
most likely run across a parameter that is controlled “remotely“. In this case, the
values entered in the “User Data“ will be given priority.

If you don’t want to view your visualization from only a single perspective, load
the “Camera Animation“ file into your Project by simply dragging it into the Object
Manager from the browser.

Tip:
In theory, a CINEMA 4D Project can contain any amount of cameras, e.g. for
setting up various perspectives without having to constantly move the camera. If
no camera object is placed into the Project, CINEMA 4D lets you view your Project
through the default “Editor Camera“.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 9

1.2 Materials
In contrast to simple CAD materials, CINEMA 4D materials offer 14 material
channels that can be used to affect the look of any texture. Each of these channels
can in turn be assigned additional layers with additional properties.

However, to make your life and the creation of your visualizations easier we have
included over 350 predefined high-quality materials. This will help you hit the
ground running and will save you from having to get acquainted with all material
features before being able to create breathtaking images and animations. Of
course we encourage you to get to know all the material editing possibilities
CINEMA 4D has to offer! The predefined materials can all be found in the Content
Browser.

Brick

Concrete

Floors

Glass
10 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Outdoor Surfaces

Metal

Roof Tiles

Sketch Materials

Tiles

Wood
CINEMA 4D Visualize 11

These materials can be added to the Material Manager by double-clicking them

in the Content Browser. The material can then be assigned to an object. For even
faster results simply drag the material from the Content Browser onto your object
in the Object Manager!

If you want to replace an object’s existing material with one from the Content
Browser you can also drag the new material onto the object’s Material tag. This
will automatically replace the existing material with the new material.

1.3 Objects
In addition to the extensive material library, CINEMA 4D Visualize also includes a
comprehensive object library with over 500 objects from companies such as COR,
Wilkahn and more, which you can use to liven up any Project. These objects were
optimized for use in CINEMA 4D, including high-quality materials and even special
functions. For example, lights can be turned on and off or dimmed via the User
Data settings.

Double-clicking an object in the Content Browser will add it to your Project. It’s
that easy! The object will be placed at the current coordinate system’s null point.
Since the object is automatically selected all you have to do is move it to its proper
place in the Project or edit it as desired. Of course the object can also be scaled,
rotated and much more. Select the desired editing tool and make sure the “Use
Model Tool” is active, otherwise only the object’s axis or individual axes will be
affected. Click in the viewport and move the mouse. You can limit editing to a
single axis by placing the cursor over the desired axis (it will turn yellow) and
clicking and dragging the axis. The object will only be moved, scaled or rotated
along that particular axis.

Positioning an object is made easier by pressing the “F5” key to activate all views.

Since CINEMA 4D automatically adapts units of measure, all objects should appear
in the correct scale in the Project, whether the was created using centimeters,
maters or inches. If the units of measure are not correct (which can occur when
importing CAD files) it may be necessary to scale the objects from the Content
Browser accordingly. To do so, select the object to be scaled in the Object Manager
and adjust its scaling in the Coordinates tab. Usually an object will have to be
scaled by a factor of 10 or 100.

Many of the objects in the object library have been given simple attributes designed
to make defining important object properties much easier. These attributes can
be found in the Attribute Manager’s User Data menu.
12 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Tip:
These User Data settings mainly serve to ease access to attributes that would
otherwise be found at different locations throughout the Project. For example,
the brightness of a light would have to be adjusted within each individual light.
The sliders in the User Data menu can be viewed as a kind of remote control for
consolidated settings.

1.4 Cameras
This directory contains two cameras with predefined attributes. One is a Shift
Camera that works like a camera with at shift lens; the other is an Orbit Camera
that moves along a fixed circular path around an object. Both cameras can be
edited using the User Data settings.

Tip:
A CINEMA 4D Project can, in theory, contain an unlimited number of cameras,
for example to view a Project from various angles without having to move a
camera each time to do so. If the Project does not contain a Camera object, the
Project will be viewed through the default Editor Camera. You can switch between
camera views via the Viewport’s Camera menu.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 13

The shift camera works similar to a real camera equipped with a shift lens. After
adding this camera to your Project (double-click on the camera), select and
position it. The camera cannot be tilted up or down when positioning it. This
camera’s vertical field of view is not affected by tilting the camera but by changing
the shift value in the User Data menu. This ensures that all vertical lines remain
parallel and avoids “flipping lines” while walking through buildings.

The Orbit Camera lets you quickly create a fly-around around an object. The Orbit
Camera consists of three components:

• A moving “movie camera”

• A circular path along which the camera moves

• A so-called Null-Object that serves as target for the camera.

After you have placed the camera into your Project you can edit its animation
attributes in the User Data menu:

• “Movie Camera Distance” (radius of the circular path)

• “Focal Length”

• The start and end points of the camera’s path. Values of 0% and 100%
respectively will result in a complete rotation. Reducing the end value to
20% will shorten the camera’s path. However, the overall length of the
animation will remain the same (the object will simply move five times
slower: 5x20=100).

• “Animation Bank” (defines the camera path’s banking angle)

• “Movie Camera Height” (defines the height of the camera and its path)

• “Movie Camera Target Height” (defines the height of the camera’s target
point)

The length of the animation is defined in the Project Settings dialog window or in
the “Document End” field.
14 CINEMA 4D Visualize

1.5 Animation
CINEMA 4D Visualize includes two animation objects that let you create an
animation that spans a single day or an entire year. All you have to do is define
the attributes accordingly and start the animation. The (CINEMA 4D) global Z-axis
represents the North.

To make aligning and illuminating your Project easier, the new Sky object displays
a compass rose at the Project’s center. This lets you easily align your Project and
check the orientation of the sun.

The following properties can be edited in the Attribute Manager:

Basic
• “Start” time or date

• “End” time or date

• “Cloud Movement” (defines the speed of the cloud movement)

• “Clouds” (turns clouds on or off)

Advanced
• Switch between simple and physical sky models (“Physical Sky”)

• The intensity of the surrounding environment’s light (“Sky Intensity”)

• The intensity of the sunlight (“Sun Intensity”)

• On/off switch for lens flares (“Lens flares”)

• On/off switch for atmospheric effects (“Physical Atmosphere”)

• The rendered atmosphere’s density (“Atmosphere Density”)

• Adaption of the atmosphere’s size to the Project size (“Atmosphere

Scaling”)

The length of the animation correlates directly to the length of the overall
animation, as is the case with the camera animation. The overall length of the
animation can be defined in the “Edit / Project Settings..” menu.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 15

2. Importing Files
Even though CINEMA 4D possesses its own powerful modeling capabilities, you
will most likely prefer to work with your CAD application when modeling – even
though you now own your CINEMA 4D Visualize. What is important, then, is the
ability to conveniently import your CAD models into CINEMA 4D.

CINEMA 4D has always possessed numerous import filters for importing foreign
file formats. Some common formats are DXF and VRML as well as STL or OBJ. But
in most cases, CAD files are transferred using the IGES format. A component of
each CINEMA 4D Visualize is the IGES 4D filter, with which you can import IGES
files up to V5.3 .

You will find the settings under “Edit > Preferences > Import-Export > ...“
16 CINEMA 4D Visualize

3. Preparing CAD files

There are two fundamental reasons why a 3D model should initially be created
using a CAD application:

First of all, CAD applications contain special tools for the creation of architectural
models, e.g. for the creation of walls, windows, stairs, etc. Second, CAD applications
are the primary applications used by architects, drafters and planers with which
they can achieve the quickest results.

Properly preparing your CAD models for use in CINEMA 4D is very important for
optimal workflow when working with CINEMA 4D Visualize. The better organized
and logical the layer structure and complex objects are the easier it will be to edit
your project in CINEMA 4D.

Complex CAD objects often contain hierarchies with hundreds of individual

objects. Structuring such objects clearly and concisely ensures a much better
overview of the overall object. Furthermore, a properly structured object lets you
quickly hide any unnecessary elements for faster rendering.

Also make sure that the CAD project’s point of origin lies at a favorable location
for import into CINEMA 4D (e.g. at an object’s edge or at its center). CINEMA 4D
will assume this point of origin when the project is imported. Depending on the
complexity of your model it may be better to add individual elements one after the
other using the “File / Merge” option.

Cameras and lights are for the most part easier to place and edit in CINEMA 4D
and offer a more comprehensive set of parameters. Therefore, this step should be
completed in CINEMA 4D Visualize. Since CINEMA 4D calculates all textures anew,
objects viewed in CINEMA 4D will look completely different than when viewed in a
CAD application. Individual objects created in CAD applications should be assigned
their own textures in the CAD application so that they can later be optimized in
CINEMA 4D or switched using the Material Exchanger. The texture size and scaling
can subsequently be edited in CINEMA 4D.

The most current versions of many CAD programs let users save and reopen
their Projects in the CINEMA 4D file format, making it easier to exchange files
between these applications and CINEMA 4D. A description of this file exchange
functionality can be found in the respective application’s documentation.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 17

The file exchange with ARCHICAD also let you merge parts of objects to which
changes have been made in a CAD application without deleting existing objects in
CINEMA 4D. This means you can add new or changed parts without overwriting
existing light or material settings.

To do so, open the CINEMA 4D file containing your object and add an altered
Project using the “Merge” command.

Tip:
Due to an upgrade to the file format in R12, the Send To command and/or the
Synchronization mode may not be compatible with your CAD package. Please
visit www.maxon.net/cadcompatibility for more information.

3.1 Allplan
When modeling in Allplan make sure that individual elements of your model are
spread out over several “Drawing Files”. We also suggest you use the architectural
elements in your project to create as many “Drawing Files” as possible. The
“Drawing File” structure is displayed as a directory tree in the “.c4d” file upon
export. One directory will be created for each “Drawing File” and will contain the
name and number of that “Drawing File”. Various architectural elements, as they
are known in Allplan, will in turn be placed into a sub-directory of each “Drawing
File” directory (e.g. walls, roofs, stairs). 3D elements will also be placed in a single
“Drawing File” sub-directory.
18 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Also make sure that your model consists of an optimal number of polygons - not
too many and not too few. CINEMA 4D often requires fewer polygons than CAD
applications for such shapes as rounded walls or supports. The reason for this is
that these objects can be smoothed in CINEMA 4D using a phong shader. However,
when large radii are used a higher subdivision of such objects will be required.
Experiment with the settings to achieve the best results.

It is also helpful to texture your model prior to exporting it. For basic texturing
simply use different colors for the different textures. You can also assign different
surfaces to different elements. These will then be exported with your model and
can be edited in CINEMA 4D’s Material Editor.

Common textures such as glass should always be assigned the same surface or
color. This makes it easier to switch them with other materials in CINEMA 4D (e.g.
using the Material Exchanger).
CINEMA 4D Visualize 19

Whether you prefer create your light sources in CINEMA 4D or in Allplan and
export them to CINEMA 4D (where these lights can also be edited) is entirely up
to you.

Check your model in Allplan before exporting it to CINEMA 4D , e.g. to make sure
all surfaces have been correctly covered or to switch from “Drawing Files” to
“Layer” structure in the animation settings. Of these two structures we suggest
you choose “Drawing Files”. You can export your model to CINEMA 4D directly by
right-clicking on the Allplan Project and selecting the corresponding command
from the context menu that appears (alternatively you can select “File / Export”
from the main menu). After having entered the file name simply select the
appropriate file format.

After the file has been saved you will be asked if you would like to open CINEMA 4D
to continue working. If you select “Yes” CINEMA 4D will be started and the
exported file opened. Once CINEMA 4D is open set “Units” to “cm” in order to be
able to work according to scale.

Tip:
The CINEMA 4D coordinate system uses “Y” as the up-axis and not the Z-axis, as
is the case in Allplan! Nevertheless, models will be imported correctly.

Tip:
Due to an upgrade to the file format in R12, the Send To command and/or the
Synchronization mode may not be compatible with your CAD package. Please
visit www.maxon.net/cadcompatibility for more information.
20 CINEMA 4D Visualize

3.2 Vectorworks 2011

3.2.1 Installation
The Renderworks module automatically installs all components needed for the
Exchange between Vectorworks and CINEMA 4D. Please refer to sections 3.2.3-
3.2.7 on how to use the Renderworks specific Exchange functionality.

Please note that the export functionality of Renderworks 2011 and above differs
from the export functionality available in previous versions of Vectorworks. It is
no longer possible to export the structure based on either Classes or Textures,
unless you install the Exchange plugin mentioned below.

In case you do not have the Renderworks module installed, or if you want an
exported structure based on either Classes or Textures, please download the
Vectorworks 2011 Exchange plugin for CINEMA 4D R11.5 and R12 from the MAXON
website and follow the included instructions (http://www.maxon.net/downloads/
updates/plugins.html).

3.2.2 Preparing Projects

Working with CINEMA 4D in conjunction with Vectorworks is made easier by
creating separate classes for objects (e.g. walls, doors, incl. elements, windows,
incl. elements, etc.). These classes will be converted into layers for CINEMA 4D.
In Vectorworks, fill colors of classes can be used to give each individual layer its
own color.

After having prepared a Project, the Layer Browser (shortcut shift + F4) can be
used to select and sort objects (e.g. select objects from layers, hide objects, etc.).
CINEMA 4D Visualize 21

3.2.3 Altering the polygon count of solids

With Renderworks for Vectorworks, the polygon count of solids can be reduced
or increased in before exporting a Project to CINEMA 4D. Prior to exporting the
Project, enable Custom Renderworks and choose the desired Curved Geometry
option in the pop-up dialog’s Custom Renderworks Options.
22 CINEMA 4D Visualize

3.2.4 Use
Two methods are available for exchanging files between Vectorworks and
CINEMA 4D.

Vectorworks 2011 can save native CINEMA 4D (*.c4d) files. Changes made to the
file in Vectorworks can be assumed seamlessly by using the Melange-based Merge
functionality.

Opened Vectorworks 2011 files can also be directly sent to CINEMA 4D where they
can be modified or have objects added to them.

3.2.5 Saving files in CINEMA 4D format

To save a file in the CINEMA  4D file format, select the File / Export / Export
CINEMA 4D (3D only) command.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 23

3.2.6 Transferring modifications back to CINEMA 4D

To transfer modifications made in Vectorworks back into a CINEMA 4D file, the
modified Vectorworks file must first be saved in the CINEMA 4D file format. This
file can then be loaded into the CINEMA 4D Project via the Merge command
(CINEMA 4D main menu).

The following processes will be carried out:

• New elements will be added

• Deleted elements will be deleted

• Existing elements’ geometry will be updated

• Materials will be maintained

3.2.7 Sending files from Vectorworks to CINEMA 4D

In addition to saving in the CINEMA 4D format, files can also be sent directly to
CINEMA  4D. If you want to send a Project to CINEMA  4D, select the File / Send
to CINEMA 4D (3D only) command. CINEMA 4D will be automatically launched if
it is not already running. The command will trigger an initial setup in which the
CINEMA 4D executable has to be set.

When sending modifications of a Vectorworks project back to CINEMA 4D, the

Merge function (6.3.5) can be used to update the already opened CINEMA 4D
Project.

3.3 ARCHICAD 12 and later versions

3.3.1 Installation
Download the plugins from the Graphisoft Web site and install them as described
in the installation guide.

3.3.2 Use
Two methods are available for exchanging files between ARCHICAD and CINEMA 4D:

• ARCHICAD 12 can read and save native CINEMA  4D (*.c4d) files. This
is the recommended, most current method of interfacing with Melange.
Changes made to the file can be assumed seamlessly, just as with previous
versions of the plugin.
24 CINEMA 4D Visualize

• Opened ARCHICAD 12 files can be sent „live“ to CINEMA 4D (hereinafter

referred to as Synchronization Mode) where they can be modified or have
objects added to them, and be sent „live“ back to ARCHICAD 12.

First, make sure that the ARCHICAD (Options / Project Preferences / Dimensions)
and CINEMA 4D (Edit / Preferences / Units) units of measure correspond.

3.3.3 Loading and saving CINEMA 4D files (*.c4d)

If you want to open a CINEMA 4D Project file (*.c4d) in ARCHICAD you must make
sure the „Save Polygon Objects for Melange Exchange“ option (Edit / Preferences
/ Document) is enabled when saving the CINEMA 4D file.

In ARCHICAD, go to “File / Open” and select “CINEMA 4D file (*.c4d) as the file
type in the dialog window that opens. Now you can load any CINEMA 4D file.
Primarily geometry and materials will be loaded.

To save a file in the CINEMA 4D file format ARCHICAD must be set to the 3D view
(e.g. “View / 3D View Mode / Perspective”). Select the “File / Save As” command
and select “CINEMA 4D File (*.c4d)” as the file type in the dialog window that
opens:
CINEMA 4D Visualize 25

3.3.4 Workflow leading to CINEMA 4D

Let’s say a colleague of yours creates an object in ARCHICAD and you want
to render the Project in CINEMA 4D. After the colleague has saved his file in
CINEMA 4D format, as described above, you can open the file in CINEMA 4D using
the Open command. You will have a similar structure to the one below.

The Project elements are located under the correspondingly named Null Object in
the Object Manager. For example, the group, “ARCHICAD Environment” contains
all lights and cameras of the original file; the “Windows” group contains all windows
(this structure should remain unchanged if you are planning on modifications
in construction). Modifying names or changing the order of Project elements is
unproblematic in ARCHICAD - IDs are assigned internally upon export which are
recognized by CINEMA 4D, allowing them to be placed correctly in the hierarchy.

This structure is created according to the ARCHICAD object classes. For example:

• Wall (walls)

• Beam (beams)
26 CINEMA 4D Visualize

• Column (supports)

• Slab (ceiling)

• Roof (roofs)

• Mesh (free-standing surfaces)

• Object (objects)

• Window (windows)

• Door (doors)

• Lamp (light sources)

While you were editing the Project in CINEMA 4D, e.g. replacing materials with
high-quality CINEMA 4D materials or adding a Sky, your colleague decided to
make a modification to the original ARCHICAD file - he removed a window from
one wall and added a window to another wall.

Of course these changes must also be assumed by CINEMA 4D. If the above-

mentioned structure was not modified, the changes made will be automatically
assumed and the newly created materials in CINEMA 4D will be maintained and
even be automatically applied to newly added elements.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 27

Tip:
When creating new objects in CINEMA 4D, make sure these lie outside of the
ARCHICAD hierarchy in the Object Manager (i.e. not within the „ARCHICAD“ Null
Object). Otherwise these objects may be deleted when a modified file is opened

All you have to do is tell your colleague to save the modified ARCHICAD file
in CINEMA 4D format. This file can then be loaded into the already edited
CINEMA 4D Project via the Merge command (CINEMA 4D main menu).

The following will occur in doing so:

• New elements will be added

• Deleted elements will be deleted

• Existing elements’ geometry, incl. UVW tags, will be updated

• Materials will be maintained

3.3.5 Synchronization mode

The second method with which ARCHICAD and CINEMA 4D files can be exchanged
is in Synchronization Mode. While both applications are running, objects can be
passed seamlessly back-and-forth between the two.

From ARCHICAD to CINEMA 4D

• If you want to send a Project to CINEMA 4D and add an object there, select „Design
/ Design Extras / CINEMA 4D Exchange / Create new element in Cinema4d“.
28 CINEMA 4D Visualize

• If you want to edit a single ARCHICAD element in CINEMA 4D, select the element
in question and the „Design / Design Extras / CINEMA 4D Exchange / Edit selected
elements in Cinema4d“ command.

In either case, CINEMA 4D will be started and the elements sent will be loaded.
ARCHICAD and CINEMA 4D will be in Synchronization Mode. When editing or
creating new elements for the first time, ARCHICAD will open the Finder/Explorer
dialog box. Browse to the CINEMA 4D installation folder and select the CINEMA 4D
executable (CINEMA 4D 64bit.exe or CINEMA 4D.exe).

From CINEMA 4D to ARCHICAD

After modifying or adding objects in CINEMA 4D while in Synchronization Mode

you can send these back to ARCHICAD via the „Send to ARCHICAD“ command
(File menu). You will have to enter a file name so the geometry can be cached as
a temporary file.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 29

The Send To ARCHICAD command will always launch or use the previously-used
ARCHICAD version. Please note that it will always give preference to the 64-bit
version.

For more details, please refer to the Graphisoft documentation.

Tip:
Due to an upgrade to the file format in R12 and above, the Send To command and/
or the Synchronization mode may not be compatible with your CAD package.
Please visit www.maxon.net/cadcompatibility for more information.

4. Editing Geometry
Depending on the origin of your imported file and the export or import settings
used, your geometry may have to be edited once it’s been imported into
CINEMA 4D. If polygons penetrate each other, change the import settings and re-
import the object. Editing the geometry would otherwise be too involved.

If you want to simplify the geometry, or separate parts of the object or join
separate elements, use the CINEMA 4D tools. You can find a detailed description
of these tools in your Online help.

One problem that can occur when importing CAD files is that the surface normals
and the vertex normals are not assumed. This can occur for various CAD formats
and is noticeable in that an object is not illuminated correctly. It will be dark and
matte.
30 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Although this problem is often visible in the shaded mode, it may sometimes first
be visible when the image is rendered.

If this problem occurs, enable the affected object’s Normal tag. In the Attribute
Manager you can then correct the orientation of the normals.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 31

Two more helpful, and necessary, functions are “Untriangulate“ and “Optimize“.
“Untriangulate“ let you clean up your object geometry, for a better overview.
The “N-gons“ option is especially good for removing unnecessary triangles in the
editor view. The „Optimize“ function deletes unused points and duplicate surfaces
and points from polygon objects. Be careful when editing very small objects,
though. The tolerances may have to be corrected in order to avoid optimizing
your object so much that it disappears!

5. Working with materials

First the basics: Materials used in simple visualizations can often be equated to
elaborate colors, some containing a texture (an image file used to simulate a
surface such as wood or stone, for example). Properties such as transparency and
highlights are also quite common in visualizations of simpler nature. The materials
in CINEMA 4D offer a wide variety of possibilities for the creation of breathtaking
visualizations, among them fourteen material channels. Each of these channels
can themselves contain additional layers with various properties that affect the
look of a given texture.

Tip:
Several of the same commands such as “Copy“, “Past“ or “New” appear
throughout CINEMA 4D. Even though each of these common commands has a
different location they can share a common keyboard shortcut. For example,
CTRL+n can be used to generate a new empty Project (if the viewport was active)
or a new material (if you happen to be working in the Material Manager).

It‘s always good to have a thorough fundamental understanding of how materials

are assigned and projected. Whether problems are encountered when importing
or exporting, applying textures to objects created in CINEMA 4D or subsequently
editing materials assigned to imported objects. You can find a detailed description
regarding these issues in the CINEMA 4D context-sensitive help system. In this
chapter we will briefly explain how to work with materials and help you recognize
and solve problems.

A material can be assigned to a CINEMA 4D object via drag & drop. Simply drag
the material from the Material Manager and drop it onto the object in the Object
Manager. CINEMA 4D will automatically create a Texture Tag for that object.
32 CINEMA 4D Visualize

The Texture Tag contains all information needed by CINEMA 4D for a given texture
(e.g. name, projection, scale, orientation, tiling and more). The material properties
can be edited to achieve the desired look. A texture not only affects the object to
which it is assigned. It also affects the entire hierarchy of that particular object‘s
Child objects.

The above image shows an example of an object hierarchy. Usually within a

hierarchy, a Parent object‘s properties will be passed on to its Child objects. In
the example above, the Parent object‘s Texture Tag properties are passed on to
all objects that lie below it in the hierarchy. This is an efficient method of applying
the same texture and texture properties to several objects at once. When a Child
object is assigned its own Texture Tag it will no longer be affected by the Parent
object‘s Texture Tag properties. If objects within a given hierarchy need to be
assigned a different texture than that of the Parent object simply assign these
objects their own Texture Tag.

So, if you ever run across panes of glass that are made of concrete, take a look at
your hierarchy to see if they are a Child object of a wall or other element with a
concrete texture, and assign them their own Texture Tag.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 33

As we already mentioned, CINEMA 4D offers a wide variety of material projection

types. The projection type defines how a material will be assigned to an object. The
most common types of material projection are Cubic, Spherical and Cylindrical.
The type of projection that should be used depends on the shape of your object.
Straight elements such as walls, ceilings, floors, furniture fronts, etc., would do
best with the Cubic projection type whereas rounded objects such as columns
should be assigned the Cylindrical projection type. If you apply a material to an
object and the result doesn’t look correct, changing the material’s projection type
might solve the problem.

What if you have a material that is projected correctly but needs to be scaled in
order to be proportional to the object to which it was assigned? Since the Texture
Tag contains all necessary settings CINEMA 4D requires for fitting projected
materials onto objects all you have to do is adjust the scale and tile settings to
make your material fit.

A material can be viewed as a piece of wallpaper that has been laid onto an object.
Often photos of real objects or surfaces are used as materials. These are often
limited in their resolution and only show a fraction of the entire surface (e.g. a
brick wall). This is why materials can be “tiled” in CINEMA 4D. Tiling a material
means its pattern will be repeated on the object to which it has been projected.
If, for example, an object exported from a CAD application does not bear the
material it was assigned or is gray it might be because the “Tile” function is not
active. This will result in the material only appearing on a small part of the object
and the rest of the object appearing gray. Adjusting the size and number of tiles
will visibly affect the size of the material on the object.

Let’s say you want to apply a photo with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels that
represents a wall 2.5m high. Use the Cubic projection type to project this material
onto your modeled wall. Cubic projection has “Tiling” activated by default and is
set to a scale of 100 cm for each of the three axes.
34 CINEMA 4D Visualize

The material is currently scaled to 200 cm (from -100 cm to +100 cm on each

axis). However, your material needs to be scaled to 250 cm and the image you
are using has a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, which is not square. To scale the
material to a height of 250 cm, set the “Y” axis’ value to 125. The width (=the
values that have to be entered as the “X” and “Z” axis values) can be calculated
as follows: 125/600*800. The calculation is entered directly into the input fields.
After confirming your entry CINEMA 4D will automatically calculate the material’s
correct size.

Applying a material is much quicker if it only has to “look good” and does not have
to fit an object exactly. In CINEMA 4D a material can also be edited in the viewport
using the Tool menu’s “Edit Texture” function. This function lets you change the
material’s placement as well as its size.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 35

After assigning a material to an object via drag & drop, select a projection type
and adjust the material’s size and position using the “Edit Texture” function. You
can also use the “Scale” and “Move” tools from the main menu. Using a photo
to texture an object can result in seams being visible when the material is tiled.
CINEMA 4D offers the “Seamless” option with which it attempts to make these
seams less visible. It cannot, however, remove these seams. This is why CINEMA 4D
Visualize includes a wide variety of seamless tileable materials. More detailed
information can be found in the CINEMA 4D integrated help system.
36 CINEMA 4D Visualize

A very useful function when working with CAD projects is the Select Texture Tags/
Objects function, located in the Material Manager. This function lets you select
all Texture Tags used by the selected material throughout the entire project. If,
for example, you assigned a single material to fifty objects and want to edit the
material at some later point all you have to do is select the material in question
and execute the Select Texture Tags/Objects function. All Texture Tags that use
that material will automatically be selected and you don’t have to select all fifty
objects or Texture Tags individually. You can even switch materials for all fifty
objects by simply dragging the new material onto the Attribute Manager’s “Mat”
field. You can imagine how much time this will save in editing!

Another method of replacing a material with another is to ALT+drag the new

material from the Material Manager onto another material. The material being
replaced will be displayed in the frame around the material beneath the cursor.
When you release the mouse button the new material will replace the old one
Project-wide.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 37

Also included in CINEMA 4D Visualize material library are the Sketch and Toon
line styles. Sketch and Toon line styles are not really materials, though. They are
simply managed in a similar fashion. These line styles can be categorized as more
of a rendering effect - which has to be activated in the “Render Settings...” menu.
When applied, Sketch and Toon will evaluate the edges, vertices, cuts and hidden
lines of a model’s geometry. The edges will literally be traced, either very exactly
or in a stylized look, depending on the style selected. To change an object’s line
style select its Sketch and Toon tag and drag the new line style into the “Default
Visible” field in the Attribute Manager. You can also make hidden lines visible by
dragging a line style into the “Default Hidden” field.

6. Lighting
After a project has been imported into CINEMA 4D and the materials have been
applied, the most complex part of the Project creation process has to be tacked
- lighting.

A sheer endless number of books, tutorials and other publications have been
authored about how to properly light a 3D Project. The fact that so much has
been written about the subject gives you an impression of the importance and
complexity of lighting a 3D Project.

6.1 Direct or indirect

Lighting consists of two basic types - direct and indirect. Which type is used
depends on each designer’s experience, preference and ability. As is the case
with many visualization elements, both lighting types are based on real-world
observation and attempt to emulate natural light.

When using direct lighting, experienced users utilize numerous light sources with
various levels of intensity and falloff (see context-sensitive help system) to simulate
natural light. Sunlight that shines through a windowpane, for example, not only
illuminates areas onto which it directly shines. Light is also reflected throughout
the room from various objects in the room, such as walls, floors, furniture, etc.,
which can create a completely different lighting mood. Trying to simulate this
using numerous individual light sources can become quite chaotic when working
on a large, complex presentation and would require a lot of experience on the part
of the person setting everything up.
38 CINEMA 4D Visualize

An alternative to the aforementioned method is using Global Illumination (simply

called GI). With GI, the render engine itself takes care of creating realistic lighting
for you. It does so by generating points of measure (Samples) throughout the
Project and creates a corresponding dispersion of light based on the results these
Samples return. Using GI in our example above would be a much easier and more
accurate method of creating a natural dispersion of sunlight.

Calculating indirect light is by nature much more complicated than calculating

direct light and therefore also requires more time to render. However, if you
compare the effort and skill required to set up such lighting using direct lighting,
the extra render time becomes more than acceptable. Furthermore, even
inexperienced users can use GI in their creation of great-looking presentations.

6.2 Using IES files

Many lighting manufacturers offer precise data for the spatial dispersion of light
for their products on their Web sites. These files are mostly in the IES file format
and can be imported and used in CINEMA 4D Visualize. In order to achieve more
realistic lighting results for your visualizations, we highly recommend using the
IES files in your Content Browser’s Visualize library or downloading IES files
direclty from the lighting manufacturers themsleves.

6.3 Example Projects

Now that you know a little more about GI and how it has been integrated into
CINEMA 4D, we will take a look at its workflow in a couple of example Projects.
We will go as much as possible into detail and additional information can be found
in the comprehensive AR3 documentation. All sample Projects can be found on
the installation DVD in the “More Projects and materials” folder in the “Visualize
Tutorial” directory.

Project 1 / Simulating daylight

Let’s take our first steps into the world of Global Illumination. The first example
Project consists of an interior room that we will illuminate with sunlight.

Open the CINEMA 4D file,start01a.c4d. Our Project already contains all necessary
objects, some of which are hidden for the editor view and render module (Visible
in Editor / Renderer set to Off). These objects, furniture and lights, have very
little influence on the overall lighting, and are hidden in order to make rendering
images faster.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 39

First, we need a sky and a sun. We will add a CINEMA 4D Physikal Sky object. Add
a Sky object by selecting it from the main CINEMA 4D menu (Create / Physical
Sky / Physical Sky). Switch to the Sky object’s Time and Location tab and enter
11:00:00 for the Time and 2 July, 2008 for the date. Click on the down arrow to the
right of the City text field and select Europe / Germany / Friedrichsdorf (MAXON
DE). Additional information regarding the Sky shader can be found in the AR3
documentation.

To activate GI, open the Edit Render Settings... menu (Render / Edit Render
Settings...) and click on the Effects... button. Select Global Illumination from the
menu that appears. GI will automatically be enabled and its parameters will be
displayed at the right. All parameters are arranged within the tabs shown.

We will temporarily reduce the accuracy of the GI, which should speed up work
for the following steps. To do so, switch to the Irradiance Cache tab, set Record
Density to Preview and set the Sampling tab’s Samples setting to Low.

It is also helpful to set your CINEMA 4D layout to 4-up (F5) when setting up your
basic lighting. This lets you get a good impression of the overall lighting mood
more quickly and reduces render time a little more.

Before we go into detail regarding GI parameters, here’s a little tip regarding our
Project: The room has several windows through which enough sunlight should
enter to brightly light the room. In general, brightly lit Projects are easier for GI to
calculate. Therefore, make sure to illuminate your GI Projects accordingly.
40 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Our example Project also contains GI Portals to further optimize the illumination
process. Portals are not standard CINEMA 4D objects but are polygon surfaces to
which a special light-emitting material is assigned. Portals make it easier for the
render engine to calculate the global illumination simulation by telling the render
engine from where the light is entering the room. More information regarding this
can be found in the AR3 documentation.

Now we will turn our attention to the new GI’s parameters, beginning with the
General tab’s parameters. The first parameter is the GI Mode parameter. Since
GI can calculate various types of indirect lighting, MAXON has predefined several
types from which to select. In our first example, we will use the IR (Still Image)
mode. This mode is easy to work with and offers good render results. For those of
you who were patient enough not to render your Project yet, go ahead and render
it in the Viewport (Render / Render View or Ctrl/Cmd + r). The image should
render very quickly - but will still be quite dark.

So, why is the image so dark? Those experienced photographers amongst you will
surely know why. It’s not easy setting up the correct lighting for an indoor Project.
If light is measured at a window the room will appear too dark. If light is measured
at a dark point in the room the windows will appear overexposed.

By default, the CINEMA 4D lighting system is set up for the illumination of outdoor
projects, which is evident by the correct illumination in the area of the top left
window. Of course these settings will cause an indoor Project to be rendered too
dark. Although without the Physical Renderer (see CINEMA 4D documentation) we
have a camera for which we cannot define aperture or shutter speed, and instead
we have the sky, which can be adjusted to generate more light. To do so, switch
to the Physical Sky object’s Details tab and increase the Strength setting to 750.
Render the Project again.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 41

Even though the Project is still too dark we can see how the sky and the sun
create a natural illumination in the room’s interior. Now let’s turn our attention
to the Diffuse Depth parameter in the GI’s General tab. This parameter defines
how often light will be reflected from surfaces. Currently, the parameter is set
to the default value of 1, which means that the sunlight that falls on the left wall
is only reflected once and illuminates the surrounding area. Raising this value
will increase the number of times the light is reflected and brighten the overall
illumination accordingly. Increase the value incrementally up to 5 and render the
Project after each increase. This will give you an impression of how the Project is
affected by increasing values.

The room is now brighter and has a natural illumination. There are several ways
in which the desired brightness can now be achieved but not all can be applied.
Increasing the Diffuse Depth further would brighten the Project correspondingly
but the render time will increase accordingly and colors may end up being washed
out. Another possibility would be to increase the Primary and Secondary Intensity
values, which will increase the direct and indirect light’s energy. However, these
parameters are a little advanced for novice users because their effects are
difficult to predict. Increasing the Sky’s Strength value would also not be a good
idea. This would only lead to the already bright areas around the window being
overexposed even more and the remaining parts of the Project would remain
largely unaffected. You can increase the Strength value to see what happens...

The simplest method is to increase the Project’s Gamma value. Set it to 2.2 (a
value of 1 represents the default value for outdoor setups) and render the Project.
Much higher gamma values are generally not necessary because they would result
in too much contrast being generated. If you have enabled the Linear Workflow for
rendering, a value less than 2.2 may suffice.

To fine-tune the lighting and correct the overexposed areas around the window we
will utilize the Color Mapping effect. With this effect, dark areas can be brightened
quite nicely, minimize overexposure and add more contrast to the Project -
everything a photographer could wish for. In the Edit Render Settings... menu,
click on the Effects... button and select Color Mapping. Disable the HSV Model
option and enable the Affect Background option. Use Dark Multiplier to increase
the Project’s brightness. A value of 3 will give the Project the right brightness.
Use the Bright Multiplier parameter to raise the Project’s overall contrast. Set this
parameter’s value to 1.1 and render the Project.

Since our Project’s sky is still a little too dark we will increase its brightness. Set
the Physikal Sky object’s As Seen Intensity parameter in the Sky tab to 200. This
will brighten the sky without influencing the Project’s illumination.
42 CINEMA 4D Visualize

The final light setup

Now our Project is bright enough, has sufficient contrast and renders very
fast. Achieving the desired illumination will require only low GI settings and the
presence of only the most necessary objects.

After having found the correct illumination for our Project we can now optimize
our GI. First, set the light and objects groups to Visible in Editor On, then press the
F1 key on your keyboard to switch to the Single View mode to get a more detailed
view of the Project.

As we already mentioned in the introduction, bright and well-lit Projects are

easier to render using GI. How well this works for our Project is demonstrated in
the following:

Corners, shadowed regions, window frames and fine details are areas to which
special attention needs to be paid. The Render Region function (main menu:
Render / Render Region) can be used to render a specific region of your Project
to check for artefacting or other render errors without having to render the entire
Project. GI can then be adjusted, if necessary. Regions of a rendered image whose
brightness to not match its surroundings are called artefacts.

If you inspect our example Project closely you will only find two minor inaccuracies
at the ceiling windows. Otherwise the rendered Project shows no visible errors.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 43

Two problem areas

So, how can these inaccuracies be removed?

Quite easily. In order to achieve the desired lighting mood we set the Record Density
value in the GI’s Irradiance Cache tab to Preview to minimize the render time. But
before you start setting all GI parameters to Medium or higher we recommend you
begin by slowly increasing individual parameter values. Otherwise you will risk
increasing render times greatly or losing track of the changes you have made and
what effect each modification had. So, let’s start by increasing the Record Density
to Low and rendering the image in the Viewport.

There you go - our inaccuracies have vanished!

Despite the GI parameters being set to low values they still suffice for rendering
a harmonious, realistically illuminated image. Of course some details, such as the
shadow behind the sofa at the rear of the room, are not quite fine-tuned as they
could be. This is merely a question of the amount of time you can or want to invest
in your visualization. Our example setup is simple, fast and looks good. Those
seeking more realism are welcome to take some time to (slowly) tweak the GI
settings to achieve the result they want.
44 CINEMA 4D Visualize

An example of a Project that has been fine-tuned to a higher degree is the Project,
start01c.c4d. In this Project, all GI values have been set to Medium, the floor has
been given a more realistic matte reflection and the antialiasing (see CINEMA 4D
help files) has been set to Best. The improvements can be seen in particular on
our old friend the shadow behind the sofa, where the increased accuracy is clearly
noticeable. Of course higher GI parameter values will lead to longer render times.
Compare the render time (at the bottom of the interface) for these Projects.
As usual, it’s a matter of how much time and effort you want to invest in your
visualization that is often the deciding factor.

The same rendering with higher settings

Now that we have successfully illuminated our indoor Project we can move on to
our next example.

Project 2 / Artificial light at night

Motivated by our first successful venture into GI we can now tackle our next
challenge. We will now light our indoor Project using artificial light instead of
natural sunlight. You might recall the earlier statement that bright and well-
illuminated Projects are easier to render using GI. This would suggest that using
artificial light to illuminate a Project at night would cause major problems. Well,
don’t worry, it won’t. What we will do is try to adapt our workflow from the first
example Project to this Project.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 45

First, open the CINEMA 4D Project start02a.c4d. We will apply the same
methodology as in the first example Project in order to get the quickest results.
Set the Visible in Editor and Visible in Renderer parameters to Off for the light
and objects groups.

What, even the light? Even when it is pitch dark at night a very small amount of
ambient light will still enter our room. In contrast to a white or yellow artificial
light, this light generates a pleasant lighting mood. Enable GI in the Edit Render
Settings... menu (Effect... button). The parameters in this example will almost
mirror those of the first example Project.

Since much less light is present in the Project we will set the Diffuse Depth value
(General tab) to 8. This will cause the light in our room to be reflected more often,
thus making the scene brighter overall. In the Sampling tab, set the Samples to
Low, and set the Record Density setting to Preview in the Irradiance Cache tab.

Let’s begin by setting up our light sources. First, we’ll again need our Sky object
(Create / Physical Sky / Physical Sky). Set the Time parameter in the Time and
Position tab to 22:00:00 and the date to 03 July, 2008. Again, select Friedrichsdorf
(MAXON DE) as our city of choice. To further reduce our render time, press the F5
button on your keyboard to switch to the 4 Views. Render the Project.

Since we hid our lights the room is, of course, rendered very dark. You can, though,
clearly make out the understated light generated by our sky that also slightly
brightens the areas around the window openings. This bears two advantages: In
addition to our lamps, we will have more light in our scene, which is always useful
when rendering with GI; we have a more interesting lighting mood than if we had
only used the lamps to illuminate our room. Now activate the lights and render
the Project again.

We have now run into a couple of common issues. Even though the room is still
somewhat dark we already have very bright regions around the lamps. If we were to
compensate by giving several light-emitting Project elements more energy these
bright regions would become even more overexposed. For example, reducing the
brightness of the lights would result in minimizing the overexposure problem but
would also make the overall Project too dark.

In our first example Project we saw how using Color Mapping helped in achieving
the desired illumination of our Project. Therefore, call up Color Mapping from the
Edit Render Settings... / Effects... menu, disable the HSV Model option and enable
the Affect Background option. In order to brighten the scene, increase the Dark
Multiplier setting to 5 render the Project.
46 CINEMA 4D Visualize

The dark regions are now brighter and the overexposure has been minimized, just
as we wanted. As you see, Color Mapping is a very useful function that can make
your life quite a bit easier when creating visualizations.

After the desired lighting mood has been achieved we can turn our attention
to optimizing our GI. As in our first example, increase the Record Density value
(Irradiance Cache tab) to Low and activate the furniture. Switch to the Single View
mode so you can get a better look at the details. Again you can use the Render
Region render option to check specific regions of the Project for render errors.

The final light setup

Despite the low GI settings, obvious render errors are still difficult to spot. The
opening in the wall is the only region where a little more fine-tuning is needed.
Instead of trying to increase the Project’s brightness by adjusting the Record
Density value and thereby generating an unnecessarily high number of sample
points, we will try to improve the quality of the existing sample points. This is
exactly what the Samples parameter does (Sampling tab). Increase its value to
Medium and render the Project. Also increase the Smoothing setting to Heavy.
This will cause the reference points that now work harder to be calculated together
with points that lie farther away.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 47

The same image after sample quality was improved

As you can see, this minor modification was enough to improve the render quality.
Of course the settings could be increased to show even more details. Instead
we will move on to our next example Project so we can further hone our Global
Illumination skills.

Project 3 / Daylight simulation using HDRI

On to our next example Project. Open the CINEMA 4D file,start03a.c4d. As in our
previous Projects, all Project elements not relevant to the illumination have been
turned off for the editor and renderer in order to speed up rendering.
48 CINEMA 4D Visualize

A little info about our Project setup before we get started: The room in this
Project will not be illuminated using a Sky object but rather with HDRI. HDRI are
basically normal bitmaps but have a deeper color depth and have the ability to
save brightness information from the Project. More information regarding HDRI
can be found in the AR3 documentation.

In the Object Manager you will find the Sky object (don’t mix this up with
CINEMA 4D’s Physikal Sky module). The Sky object is nothing more than a large
sphere that surrounds our entire Project. This sphere has a material whose
Luminance channel contains an HDRI. We can illuminate our indoor Project using
this sphere alone. Of course this type of illumination is also well-suited for outdoor
renderings or pack-shots if a specific color or illumination look is desired.

Let’s get started with the actual illumination. We will us the GI mode, IC (Still
Image), which we used in our first example Project. Since we were able to quickly
get good results using this mode in our first daylight simulation we will first test
the same settings in this Project. In the Edit Render Settings... menu, switch to GI’s
General tab and set Diffuse Depth to 5. The GI settings should be familiar to you
by now. Set the Sample setting to Low and the Record Density in the Irradiance
Cache tab to Preview.

So, why aren’t we using any GI Portals? In many Projects it is impossible or very
difficult to place a polygonal object at each individual window and apply a light-
emitting material to it. A good example would be a high-rise building. Nevertheless
you still have to be able to correctly illuminate such an object. This is exactly what
we will demonstrate with our third example Project.

After setting the basic GI parameters, render the Project to get a first impression of
what the illumination looks like. Again, you can press the F5 key on your keyboard
to switch to the 4 View mode for faster rendering. As you can see, the Project is a
little dark and needs to be brightened so we can optimize the illumination.

But how is this done with an HDRI?

CINEMA 4D Visualize 49

If the brightness of the HDRI itself is increased the visible brightness will increase
accordingly and the view through the window will eventually turn completely
white. A similar effect would result if Color Mapping were used. Fortunately there
is a simple solution to our problem. Each material has a Illumination channel that
contains several parameters that affect GI, and GI Portals. The parameter we’re
looking for is the Strength parameter at the very top, next to the Generate GI
option. This parameter can be used to define the degree to which each material
should influence the GI calculation. Using this method, a material’s visible
brightness can be left as is and still greatly increase (or even decrease) its affect
on GI. Set the Strength value to a whopping 130 and render the image.

Tip:
If a particular surface influences the color of surrounding surfaces too much (e.g.
a red floor that influences the color of the bright white walls too much), simply
reduce the floor material’s Saturation value (next to the Generate GI option).

As you can see, our HDRI now generates noticeably more light without having
increased the visible brightness. Now we can concentrate on other lighting
aspects. As with our previous example Projects we will increase the Record
Density value (Irradiance Cache tab) to Low and switch to the Single View mode.
Render the Project.

Take a good look at the Project and you will notice two problems: Details are
lacking on the window frames and the stone surface between the window frame
and the floor; spots, or so-called artefacting, can be seen on the stone surface.

First, let’s take care of the artefacting. In order to remove them we must first know
how they were created. As we mentioned in the introduction, GI generates sample
points when in IR mode. In our current Project, the Record Density parameter
(Irradiance Cache tab) tells GI how many samples it should generate. Since a
sample point is not created for each point on the monitor (this would take far
too long), a discrepancy occurs between the parameter and the rendered image.
The Stochastic Samples mode also plays a role in the creation of artefacts. This
parameter tells GI how exact each sample point should “scan” its surroundings.
And finally, the Smoothing parameter also has its part in all of this - it defines the
degree to which the generated sample results should be mixed with the sample
points.
50 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Currently, our Project has a low number of sample points with a low level of
accuracy, mixed to a minimal degree. As you can imagine, using “poor” sample
points and mixing them together “poorly” won’t exactly create the best-looking
image. This means we can eliminate the Record Density parameter as the culprit.
We will now check to see if improving the sample accuracy of our existing sample
points results in a removal of the artefacting. Increase the Smoothing parameter
to Medium and render the image.

There is already a noticeable improvement but slight artefacting can still be seen.
To remedy this we will further increase the accuracy of our sample points by
increasing the Stochastic Samples value to Medium. It may seem a little tedious to
increase the value of individual parameters but doing so can prevent render times
from skyrocketing, especially for complex Projects that contain a great number of
objects. This method also lets you maintain an overview of which modifications
lead to the resolution of which problems.

The Project after artefacts were optimized

CINEMA 4D Visualize 51

Our image has another problem: lack of detail. This actually puts us in quite a
predicament. What we really need to do is allow GI to generate more sample points
in order to increase the level of detail. However, to do so we would have to modify
the accuracy or the mixing of the sample points accordingly in order to avoid
artefacting. We must keep in mind that mixing sample points will reduce detail.
For example, a small sample point in the shadow region of a window frame would
not be able to come to complete fruition if it were mixed with a large number of
surrounding sample points.

So, what should we do? Fortunately, the Irradiance Cache menu contains
a parameter that can help in just such an instance - the Details Enhancement
parameter. A detailed explanation of how this parameter works would simply take
too much time. Simply put, the Details Enhancement parameter functions like
the Ambient Occlusion (see help files) function in that adjoining regions or those
in close proximity to one another are darkened. A common example for such an
effect is the underside of a sphere lying on a table with indirect lighting. Diffused
light, generated by reflected light, creates a soft shadow around the area at which
the sphere rests on the table. The closer the objects lie to each other the darker
the shadow will be. This is exactly the behavior that the Details Enhancement
parameter simulates.

Project with Details Enhancement enabled

52 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Enable Details Enhancement and click on the black arrow to the left to open its
underlying parameters. Reduce the Quality Ratio to 50% to speed up rendering.
In order to see how our settings work with the remaining Project elements, make
them visible in the editor and renderer and render the Project.

Things are looking better. The artefacting has been eliminated and the level of
detail has been increased. It would have taken us much longer if we had simply
increased the sample count and optimized this value later. In many cases it is much
more effective to utilize GI for the creation of a homogeneous, soft illumination
and enable Details Enhancement for increasing the level of detail.

Project 4 / Outdoor Project with daylight

After having practiced on a few indoor Projects we will now create an outdoor
Project illuminated by natural light. Open the CINEMA 4D file, start04a.c4d.

As usual, objects that have little or no influence on our lighting setup have
been turned off for the editor and renderer. The sky, however, has already been
activated.

In order to visually lend our Project “warmth” the Use Warm Colors option has
been activated in the Sky object’s Sky and Sun tabs (more information regarding
the Sky object can be found in the CINEMA 4D help files). Enabling this option
automatically gives the sky a somewhat “warmer” color mood without having to
define a color manually (which, of course, is also possible).

Now we will turn our attention to the GI settings. As usual, activate GI in the Edit
Render Settings... menu by selecting it from the Effects... button’s menu. For faster
rendering, reduce the Irradiance Cache parameters: Set Stochastic Samples to
Low, Record Density to Preview, Smoothing to Minimal and Oversampling to None.

Leave the General tab’s settings as they are for now and render the Project to
get an impression of what it will look like. Our low Irradiance Cache settings let us
render the Project very quickly. As you can see, the Project is still a little too dark
so we will raise the Gamma value to 2.2 and render the Project again.
CINEMA 4D Visualize 53

That’s better! Have you noticed that our model is illuminated on all sides despite
a Diffuse Depth value of 1? Outdoor Projects generally contain free-standing
objects and these are illuminated directly from the sun as well as indirectly from
all sides by the sky. A Diffuse Depth value of 1 is therefore generally enough to
illuminate the Project sufficiently and saves a lot of render time. As we explained
in the introduction, the Diffuse Depth parameter defines how often light should
be reflected in a Project. Depending on the number of “reflections” defined, GI
will repeatedly check the resulting lighting. In our example Project, increasing the
Diffuse Depth value to 5 will increase the render time by 100% - reason enough
to carefully consider the number of times light should be reflected in a Project.

Leave the GI settings as they are and let’s work on the overall lighting, of which
the Project could use a little more. This time we will increase the overall lighting
by modifying the sky’s and sun’s Intensity, i.e. the amount of light generated, in
the Sky object itself. Click on the Sky object in the Object Manager to access its
parameters in the Attribute Manager.

In the Attribute Manager, switch to the Sky tab and increase the Intensity value
to 175%. In crease the Intensity value in the Sun tab to 125%. Render the image.
As you can see we now have enough light in our Project but the sky itself is still
a bit too dark. This can be easily corrected by increasing the Sky tab’s As Seen
Intensity value to 150%. Render the Project.

The sky’s brightness now matches our Project’s brightness much better. You may
be wondering why the Intensity and As Seen Intensity values “must” be modified
separately. The answer is simple: Because you can. It would be quite frustrating if
this were not possible since you would be forced to choose between a Project that
is too dark and one that is too bright.
54 CINEMA 4D Visualize

The light setup after modifying the sky

After having found the correct illumination for our Project we can now optimize
our GI. Again, switch to the Single View mode for a more detailed view of your
Project and render the Project. Despite our low GI settings the image turned out
nice, except for the area adjoining the gutter.

So, how can this be corrected? First, set the Record Density value to Low. Use
the Render Region render function to only render the affected region. Changing
the Record Density value didn’t change much. So, what now? Should we set all
parameters to High? Of course not!
CINEMA 4D Visualize 55

Let’s take a second to reflect on how GI works. GI doesn’t create sample points
for the monitor but decides how many should be used based on the Record
Density value. The results these sample points return are then mixed based on the
Smoothing parameter’s setting. The gutter on our house is a very narrow element,
thus offering few sample point with which GI can work. Hence, it can happen that
a sample point above the gutter measures the brightness of the sun and another
sample point below the gutter measures the brightness at this location. When GI
attempts to calculate these results the area below the gutter can turn out too
bright because they are given additional brightness from above the gutter.

Now that we have found the possible source of our problem we can work on a
solution. The Irradiance Cache options, Distance Map and Check Record Visibility
will help us solve our problem. Exactly how these parameters work can be read
in the AR3 documentation. However, here’s a very brief description to give you
an idea of what they do: If Distance Map is enabled, GI will examine those areas
at which surfaces meet. In our Project such an area would be where the gutter
meets the wall, among others. GI will save additional information regarding
adjoining surfaces as well as those that lie in close approximation to each other.
This information will be utilize for future calculations in order to prevent light
from passing through these surfaces. The Check Record Visibility option examines
whether or not sample points can actually be seen by the camera prior to
rendering. This prevents a sample point that lies above the gutter but cannot be
seen by the camera from affecting the area below the gutter.

Let’s see what effect these parameters have on our Project. Enable them in the
Irradiance Cache tab and render the region again. A bit of artefacting can still be
seen. Increase the Stochastic Samples value from Low to Medium, and increase
the Smoothing value from Weak to Minimal.
56 CINEMA 4D Visualize

Image after GI optimization

Artefacting has, for the most part, been eliminated. Thanks to the low Diffuse
Depth value and the moderate GI settings, render time has been kept to an
acceptable minimum.

In conclusion:

In each of our example Projects planning ahead and carefully selecting

modifications let us:

• Quickly find a fitting lighting mood

• Quickly solve problems

• Create great-looking visualizations

• Keep render time to a minimum

CINEMA 4D Visualize 57

7. Rendering
In important feature in CINEMA 4D Visualize Release 13 is that you can execute
rendering using the Linear Workflow function. This eliminates the effect of the
gamma value on the render process. Using Linear Workflow produces higher-
quality images with less effort. We recommend using this function, which
is enabled by default for all new Projects. This parameter can be found in the
Preferences menu.

CINEMA 4D offers numerous options for rendering your Project. You can use the
“Interactive Render Region” and “Render Active View” tools to get an impression
of how your Project will look when rendered - while still working with the Project.
The “Interactive Render Region” offers you a very fast and accurate view of
what your Project will look like when rendered. When activated, a white frame
will appear in the active view and the area within the frame will be rendered.
This area can be enlarged, made smaller or moved using the handles at its edges
and corners. The small triangle on the right side of the frame lets you adjust the
quality, and speed, of the rendering.

Once you have completed your Project it will have to be rendered. To do so, click
on the “Render in Picture Viewer” icon located in the top icon palette. The image
or animation will be rendered in accordance with the settings defined in the
Edit Render Settings menu. These settings can, of course, be edited to fit your
project’s requirements.
58 CINEMA 4D Visualize

In order to save your image or animation you need to enter a path and a file name
in the “Render Settings...” menu. All other render settings are explained in detail
in the integrated CINEMA 4D help system.

8. In closing...
The MAXON Computer team hopes you enjoy working with CINEMA 4D Visualize
and wishes you much success with your visualizations. We also hope CINEMA 4D
not only makes creating visualizations easier and more impressive but also that
CINEMA 4D opens new doors to exciting new creations in 3D. Don’t forget to stay
updated on what’s new with CINEMA 4D.

Your MAXON team.

© 2012 MAXON Computer GmbH • All rights reserved
Max-Planck-Str. 20 • 61381 Friedrichsdorf • Germany
Tel. +49-(0)6172-5906-0 • Fax +49-(0)6172-5906-30
MAXON is Part of the Nemetschek Group
www.maxon.net