A Beginner’s Guide to 3D Simulation in Cinema 4D

An introductory project-based course for the aspiring 3D motion graphic artist.

A Beginner’s Guide to 3D Simulation in Cinema 4D
A Beginner’s Guide to 3D Simulation in Cinema 4D

A Beginner’s Guide to 3D Simulation in Cinema 4D udemy course free download

An introductory project-based course for the aspiring 3D motion graphic artist.

In this series of lessons we will cover the fundamentals of 3D Simulation to help you gain a basic understanding of the tools and techniques used in the industry.


Part 01: Introduction to 3D Simulation Techniques


  • Overview of the Mograph cloners, random effector, rigid body tag, collider body tag, friction and bounce settings

  • Experimentation with parametric primitives and various geometry for different dynamic effects

  • Splines, lathe nurbs, rigid body tag, collider body tag, friction and bounce settings

  • Create a vase being filled with spheres

  • Using an emitter with a rigid body sphere to start a simulation

  • Work with the initial linear velocity

  • Overview of the random, formula, push apart and step effectors

  • Use of spherical, cylindrical, cone, linear, radial fields and falloff settings


Part 02: Domino’s Project


  • Model the domino’s with splines and extrude nurbs

  • Use domino images from the asset browser to texture the model

  • Use the selection field to apply materials to the front, back and side of dominos

  • Use of the MoGraph Cloner in object mode in conjunction with a spline to duplicate the dominos along a path

  • Adjust the cloner’s distribution settings for evenly spaced dominos

  • Use rigid body and collider body tags to set-up the simulation

  • Use and emitter to create the initial impact by setting the initial linear velocity for domino’s to fall

  • Refine bounce, friction and rigid body settings

  • Define final output render settings to complete the animation


Part 03: Maze Project


  • Model the 3D environment and add a collider body tag

  • Create a sphere inside a cloner and assign a rigid body tag to start the simulation

  • Model the maze geometry using parametric primitives

  • Create shelves, front and add collider body tags

  • Adjust the maze geometry to control the simulation

  • Duplicate the sphere cloner to add additional animation to the scene

  • Create sides to the maze to prevent spheres from falling outside of it’s borders

  • Use the display tag to hide geometry in the perspective view

  • Apply procedural Cinema 4D materials to the maze and spheres

  • Use gradients on the spheres and refine their parameters for added visual interest

  • Create a camera animation to follow the simulated sphere movement

  • Define render settings for final output