layout – jamie3d

August 30, 2014

3 Ways To Move An Object To Another Object In Cinema 4D

This tip focuses on three different techniques to move one object to another when using Cinema 4D.

Using parent-child hierarchies: By moving one object into another you can zero the child object’s coordinates and then they will share the same location and orientation.
Using the Transfer [modeling] tool: This tool allows you to transfer the PSR (Position, Scale, Rotation) data of one object to another. It is very quick and produces predictable results.
Using a custom workplane: The workplanes feature (introduced in Cinema 4D R14) allows you to temporarily change the world axis to an arbitrary position and orientation. Once the workplane is set to the new orientation, you can then model on it at that specific angle.

See the short screencast for a demo of everything I mentioned above.

June 8, 2014

Using Objects as Cameras in Cinema 4D

This tip shows an odd method of object control. It demonstrates how Cinema 4D allows you to navigate the scene using any light or object as your camera.

I first stumbled across this option when (if memory serves me correctly) my 3D mentor and former boss showed me a similar option in E.I.A.S. back in the year 2001. This was before Cinema 4D was the Motion Graphics star-child that it is today and if you’ll believe it; before Cinema 4D had the option of selecting and manipulating multiple objects simultaneously. It’s an old feature that has very little glitz and glamour but perhaps this tip will be useful to a few of you folks out there.

September 1, 2013

The Razorback – Part 50: Adding Detail to the K.E.R.S. Housing

This part of the Razorback series focuses on the details of the K.E.R.S. flywheel housing. Most K.E.R.S. systems look like a boring cylinder with some generators and wires. But in this case, I wanted the system to look a bit more mysterious. We just added a triangular brace and a few lines radiating from the central pivot. The end result looks interesting to me, so I’d say that I am fairly happy with it.

July 18, 2013

The Razorback – Part 49: Posing the Machine and Setting Up a Camera

In this part of the Razorback screencast, we start off my looking at the rear tire and tweaking it a bit for accuracy. Once that’s complete, we move on to the concept of layout and posing. It’s a nice mixture of techniques, and I hope you enjoy it.
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July 1, 2013

Customizing the Layout and Palettes in Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D has always had one of the most customizable and intuitive layout systems. The ability to create and reorder palettes is just amazingly powerful. I’ve had a few viewers ask about my layout, and I thought I’d give a bit of insight into why and how I setup my workspace the way I do.

November 15, 2012

Constraining Objects to a Surface in Cinema 4D

This tip shows a quick, repeatable, and simple technique for placing objects (trees in this case) along an uneven surface in Cinema 4D. Make sure to watch until the end for the caveats involved.

October 28, 2011

New Design/Theme

I’m studying up on responsive design and decided to design an exceedingly simple but functional theme for my site.

What you’re seeing right now is just the base theme that I will customize further once I’m happy with the framework.

Try resizing your window or viewing this site on an iPad. You’ll notice that the navigation changes, the sidebar becomes the footer and the prev/next posts buttons become sticky and stay with you when you scroll.

Update: Oct 30th 2011
I’ve removed the sticky prev/next buttons as they don’t play very well with the Android browsers… Booooo!

Update: Apr 10th 2012
I’ve further simplified the design for aesthetic reasons. The sidebar is no more and the typography has been changed a bit. The layout is also no longer fluid. It is still responsive in that it uses media queries, but it’s not ‘flexy’ like it was before.