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My C4D Question Thread lol
- Thread starter Pokemanz
- Start date
Concerning resizing - even if the C4D quality does become get bit reduced after being scaled, it's not going to be that noticeable at all, especially if you plan to use them in signature pieces or even headers/banners. Actually, in my experience, that's the main way people use C4Ds. Sometimes they can be left at full size, but normally they're pretty huge and if you limit yourself in that regard you'd have to do a lot of C4D searching every time you wanted to use them, haha.
Also, I might as well give you a quick rundown of the different types of C4Ds there are. There are many ways to approach C4D usage, but it's clear that some methods work a lot better than others.
EFFECT C4DS [EX: x] - I find that effect C4Ds are frequently used to add lighting effects. That being said, they're usually set on layer modes like Screen and Lighten to get rid of the black backgrounds. Rarely do I ever see them being set at a layer mode like Normal.
BUBBLE C4DS [EX: x] - They are exactly what they sound like: C4Ds done in the shape of bubbles/circles. Again, these are normally set to Screen and Lighten. People are pretty big on lighting with bubble C4Ds as well.
ABSTRACT C4DS [EX: x] - These C4Ds come in all shapes and sizes, and they can add structure and/or increase flow. Unlike the previous two types of C4Ds, I see them set to Screen, Lighten, AND Normal - this is because abstract C4Ds can be renders or have a black background.
WIREFRAME C4DS [No example because this is last minute and I initially forgot to add this, whoops] - These C4Ds are line-based, and are normally put on Multiply or Darken since the wireframe C4D itself is usually black on top of a white background. They make really nice backgrounds but they can be used for foreground/other details too.
ILLUSTRATOR SHAPES [used here and here] - Not exactly C4Ds per se, since they aren't created by the Cinema 4D program (as far as I know), but they are similar. I mainly use these to add something extra to the background and/or make some areas look a bit more busy. There are many other ways you could use them though, since the random lines are actually pretty flexible. Just make sure to transform it (rotate AND resize) to fit the graphic. Imo the best layer mode to use with these is Normal, since I feel like illustrator shapes should be an interesting and eye-catching element/feature, but honestly you're always free to experiment with whatever. Same goes for everything else too. I'd say that a part of design is breaking rules and seeing where that gets you; what I've mentioned about everything so far is merely the most common/widespread usage.
Ah, and you mentioned that you wanted pack suggestions in the OP, so I'll give you a download link to a collection I put together of C4Ds and illustrator shapes that I use most often: [x].
Cam, asked me about this a while ago iirc so I thought I'd share it with you as well ;-]
Disclaimer - None of the resources inside the contents of that folder were made my me. They were merely collected by me.
If you want, give the contents a look through, to see if they'll fit with your style or not ;-]
If they don't, I recommend browsing deviantART by using the C4D types I mentioned above as search keywords. That will lead to an inevitable downloading spree, and I can guarantee that you'll come across a few packs you'll really like eventually. Good luck :-]
Also, I might as well give you a quick rundown of the different types of C4Ds there are. There are many ways to approach C4D usage, but it's clear that some methods work a lot better than others.
EFFECT C4DS [EX: x] - I find that effect C4Ds are frequently used to add lighting effects. That being said, they're usually set on layer modes like Screen and Lighten to get rid of the black backgrounds. Rarely do I ever see them being set at a layer mode like Normal.
BUBBLE C4DS [EX: x] - They are exactly what they sound like: C4Ds done in the shape of bubbles/circles. Again, these are normally set to Screen and Lighten. People are pretty big on lighting with bubble C4Ds as well.
ABSTRACT C4DS [EX: x] - These C4Ds come in all shapes and sizes, and they can add structure and/or increase flow. Unlike the previous two types of C4Ds, I see them set to Screen, Lighten, AND Normal - this is because abstract C4Ds can be renders or have a black background.
WIREFRAME C4DS [No example because this is last minute and I initially forgot to add this, whoops] - These C4Ds are line-based, and are normally put on Multiply or Darken since the wireframe C4D itself is usually black on top of a white background. They make really nice backgrounds but they can be used for foreground/other details too.
ILLUSTRATOR SHAPES [used here and here] - Not exactly C4Ds per se, since they aren't created by the Cinema 4D program (as far as I know), but they are similar. I mainly use these to add something extra to the background and/or make some areas look a bit more busy. There are many other ways you could use them though, since the random lines are actually pretty flexible. Just make sure to transform it (rotate AND resize) to fit the graphic. Imo the best layer mode to use with these is Normal, since I feel like illustrator shapes should be an interesting and eye-catching element/feature, but honestly you're always free to experiment with whatever. Same goes for everything else too. I'd say that a part of design is breaking rules and seeing where that gets you; what I've mentioned about everything so far is merely the most common/widespread usage.
Ah, and you mentioned that you wanted pack suggestions in the OP, so I'll give you a download link to a collection I put together of C4Ds and illustrator shapes that I use most often: [x].
Cam, asked me about this a while ago iirc so I thought I'd share it with you as well ;-]
Disclaimer - None of the resources inside the contents of that folder were made my me. They were merely collected by me.
If you want, give the contents a look through, to see if they'll fit with your style or not ;-]
If they don't, I recommend browsing deviantART by using the C4D types I mentioned above as search keywords. That will lead to an inevitable downloading spree, and I can guarantee that you'll come across a few packs you'll really like eventually. Good luck :-]
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Basically what derezzed said. That is a very good rundown on c4ds, and they are almost always sized down. If not, like he said, they are practically unusable. Transforming them to create flow is also nice. If you know how to do clipping masks, they also make for nice bases for clipping masks, adding the effect of a c4d while also blending because you typically use a duplicate of the image in them. Hope these helped, and I can always help if needed, just vm me 
Pokemanz
dont be such a sour wolf
Bump with new question!
Wow thanks you two, this was really helpful!
Basically what derezzed said. That is a very good rundown on c4ds, and they are almost always sized down. If not, like he said, they are practically unusable. Transforming them to create flow is also nice. If you know how to do clipping masks, they also make for nice bases for clipping masks, adding the effect of a c4d while also blending because you typically use a duplicate of the image in them. Hope these helped, and I can always help if needed, just vm me
Wow thanks you two, this was really helpful!
Frankly speaking, I wouldn't recommend trying to render C4Ds at all if the type that you're looking to render are effect/bubble/wireframe C4Ds. Layer modes will honestly do the trick for those. If you want to render a C4D that falls into one of those categories, it's going to more troublesome for you, and won't be worth it imo.
If we're talking about abstract C4Ds, however, I'd understand if you wanted to render those. Fortunately, there's a really easy way to do that in GIMP if they have a solid-colored background (which they normally do). This method involves alpha channels.
The fact that the C4D you want to render doesn't have an alpha channel is pretty weird; what's the link to it?
If we're talking about abstract C4Ds, however, I'd understand if you wanted to render those. Fortunately, there's a really easy way to do that in GIMP if they have a solid-colored background (which they normally do). This method involves alpha channels.
The fact that the C4D you want to render doesn't have an alpha channel is pretty weird; what's the link to it?
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Pokemanz
dont be such a sour wolf
Yeah I doubt I'll be able to render them myself considering they're what I believe to be effect C4Ds, but they're really cool looking and I was hoping to use them.
Here's a link.
I'd definitely love to try some of these out but they don't have Alpha channels so I don't think I can remove the black background. The only thing I could do is keep the background.
In fact, it appears as though most of the packs I downloaded from dA don't have Alpha channels included, but these are all effect packs.
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^ Ah, that's a fractal pack, actually. They're not effect C4Ds, in fact, but I can see why you got the two mixed up, haha. They do look a bit similar. (So if you wanted to download anything like that pack, you would have to search 'fractal' instead of 'C4D'.)
Anyway, I'm actually pretty familiar with greentunic's works because I use them quite often myself, and I know for a fact that they can be rendered.
I took 5-02 from that pack, and I was able to render it without any problems whatsoever. [original] vs [render]
Here's what I did:
1- Opened it up in GIMP
2- Duplicated the layer once (so I had a backup in case anything went wrong)
3- Layer > Transparency > Color to Alpha
4- In "From: [color] to Alpha", choose black as the color to get rid of
5- Hit OK, everything's done
I had no idea what the hell you were talking about when you said the image didn't have an alpha channel, lmao. I suspect you can apply those steps above to any fractal in the pack as well - not just 5-02.
Hope that answers your question.
(Though again, you can just set fractals like those to a layer setting like Screen or Lighten. Even if the rendering is this easy, I doubt that's the way fractals are meant to be used. That's because rendering strips a lot of details; that's the reason why a black background is implemented in the first place, I presume.)
Anyway, I'm actually pretty familiar with greentunic's works because I use them quite often myself, and I know for a fact that they can be rendered.
I took 5-02 from that pack, and I was able to render it without any problems whatsoever. [original] vs [render]
Here's what I did:
1- Opened it up in GIMP
2- Duplicated the layer once (so I had a backup in case anything went wrong)
3- Layer > Transparency > Color to Alpha
4- In "From: [color] to Alpha", choose black as the color to get rid of
5- Hit OK, everything's done
I had no idea what the hell you were talking about when you said the image didn't have an alpha channel, lmao. I suspect you can apply those steps above to any fractal in the pack as well - not just 5-02.
Hope that answers your question.
(Though again, you can just set fractals like those to a layer setting like Screen or Lighten. Even if the rendering is this easy, I doubt that's the way fractals are meant to be used. That's because rendering strips a lot of details; that's the reason why a black background is implemented in the first place, I presume.)
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Pokemanz
dont be such a sour wolf
I'm trying out using different fractals and effects and things are going pretty well thanks to the background-removing trick. One thing I noticed though is that some fractals have a bit of their own background, meaning that even when I remove the black it still has a colored background that shows in an obvious square shape when I try to move it around in an image.
Here's an example:
I suppose I could just blend/blur the edges but I was hoping there was some sort of trick to lessen the background so I could just get more of the actual effect in the picture.
Here's an example:
I suppose I could just blend/blur the edges but I was hoping there was some sort of trick to lessen the background so I could just get more of the actual effect in the picture.
I'm trying out using different fractals and effects and things are going pretty well thanks to the background-removing trick. One thing I noticed though is that some fractals have a bit of their own background, meaning that even when I remove the black it still has a colored background that shows in an obvious square shape when I try to move it around in an image.
Here's an example:
I suppose I could just blend/blur the edges but I was hoping there was some sort of trick to lessen the background so I could just get more of the actual effect in the picture.
Well, thats the only way I know of (erasing the edges a bit), but it isnt really necessary to remove the black or white background, as certain layer modes do that for you (eg for black screen and dodge, white: burn, multiply.), however it does work. But yeah, the only wa I can think of is low opacity erasing the edges some.
