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Book Review - Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials


HappyPolygon

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Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials

 

The MAXON Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials book provides a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to create 3D models using Cinema 4D 2023. It is an excellent resource for individuals with varying levels of experience, including those transitioning from other software to Cinema 4D. This guide is designed to assist readers in getting started with modeling in Cinema 4D by teaching them essential concepts and techniques related to 3D modeling. By applying these skills, readers can produce hard-surfaced objects for their projects. Furthermore, the book covers the OpenVDB-based Volume Builder and Volume Mesher functions of Cinema 4D, which enable users to develop complex models by utilizing boolean-type operations such as adding and subtracting basic shapes.

The objective of this book is to help readers improve their skills as Cinema 4D artists and increase their workflow efficiency by offering a variety of tips, tricks, notes, and cautions throughout. It serves as a valuable teaching resource for anyone interested in learning modeling with Cinema 4D 2023. The language used in the book is straightforward and easily understandable, without any technical jargon. The book includes tutorials that take readers through each step of executing tasks in Cinema 4D 2023.

 

Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Cinema 4D 2023
Chapter 2 - Tools
Chapter 3 - Spline Modeling
Chapter 4 - Polygon Modeling-I
Chapter 5 - Polygon Modeling-II
Chapter 6 - Edge Flow and Topology
Chapter 7 - Volumes

 

Who this book is for?

Beginners and intermediate users of Cinema 4D

Digital artists

Motion graphics artists

Indie game developers

And anyone who wants to learn Cinema 4D

 

What are the prerequisites?

No prior experience is required, beginners friendly

Cinema 4D software installed on a computer or laptop

Eagerness to learn and grow

Willingness to be awesome

 

Key Features
Learn about the user interface, navigation, tools, functions, and commands in Cinema 4D.
Covers all of the fundamentals as well as advanced subjects through easy-to-follow tutorials.
Polygon, subdivision, and spline modeling techniques are covered.
Volumetric modeling techniques are covered.
Comprehensive covering of tools and functions.
More than 39 tutorials are included, along with before and after files.
There are 36 practice exercises to put your newfound knowledge to the test.
Additional guidance is provided in the form of tips, notes, and cautions.
Important terms are in bold face so that you never miss them.
The material presented under the heading "What just happened?" provides an explanation of how the instructions are functioning.
Under the "What next?" heading, the content outlines the steps that should be taken after completing a particular step or set of steps.
The resources for this textbook include an ePub file that contains color images of the screenshots and illustrations featured in the book. These images are provided to enhance the learning experience and are included as part of the resources.
Access to the starting and ending states of each tutorial, as well as the resources used in the tutorials, is available to you.
For more information visit, Neurons Factory website.

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  • Customer
1 hour ago, HappyPolygon said:

 

More like a notification... I haven't bought the book, but I don't advertise it either. 

 

Oh right, review in the topic name I was expecting to read a review 🤣

 

C4D focused books are very hit and miss from the few I've bought over the years.

 

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Very happy to see that people are still writing books about C4D.  Why?  Well, why not very practical given the reasons stated above, it does warm the nostalgic centers of my brain.

 

There is also this book as well: Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: A Detailed Guide to MoGraph (neuronsfactory.com)

 

I can't imagine a book on Mograph given the nature of the subject --- hard to capture "motion" graphics in print.  

 

Then there is:  Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: A Detailed Guide to Shading, Lighting, and Rendering (neuronsfactory.com)

 

Now, this book is really misplaced as it focuses on the standard and physical render only....no mention of Redshift.

 

But still, I am loving the nostalgic flashback these books are giving me.

 

Personally, if you were dead set on writing a book, I think you could get more mileage out a well written book that touches on fixes to various modeling issues that promote good topology.   This could even be program agnostic and just provide the cookbook steps to various modeling issues we all face. You wouldn't even need to use words....just step by step diagrams that you can use as a resource.

 

Does Pradeep Mamgain's modeling book do that? Well, the books description implies that but there are no sample images from what is inside the book (a bit of a warning flag).  So I have no idea.

 

On the plus side, the books are not that expensive.

 

Dave

Sorry...but I simply do not have enough faith to be an atheist.

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I've always been happy to see good books on CG apps, but every time I've bought one I've made it made a dozen or less pages into it, then returned to watching video tutorials online instead. Pradeep's book does look like a worthwhile volume though.

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  • 1 month later...

I have a love/hate relationship with both books and tutorials.  Books are great because you can proceed at your own speed in a very linear fashion. You don't have to hit pause and rewind to review a point.   This is especially true if shortcuts are used as sometimes in a video tutorial you will get a rapid barrage of short cut commands being blasted at you by the instructor (Ctrl U, then swipe left, then LMB and select ALL, followed by Ctrl C.....on and on).  When reading a manual, that sequence is usually written down for you to see.  The downside is that should your results differ, there was no visual feedback provided as you follow the written sequence to tell you where you went wrong.  The better video tutorials put every command on the screen as they executed including short cuts.  So, nothing is lost but there is a lot of pausing.

 

Video tutorials are great because there is only so much you can describe in words and as a visual learner, I like to see what is being taught as it is being taught.  That overcomes the problem mentioned above of not being able to determine where you went wrong with written instructions.  But sometimes the instructor is proceeding under some misconception that shorter tutorials are more marketable, so they just blast through the subject matter.   "Hey....go fast because the student has a pause button" Honestly, overuse of the pause button as you watch a video 10 seconds at a time can quickly create attention fatigue as the forest is quickly lost through the trees when you have to watch in such small bites.  I could never get into modo because 3DGarage videos were that way plus it was all shortcuts and they were not displayed on the screen.

 

Now, both written and video tutorials are horrible if a detail, step, command option is left out.  Sometimes that happens in both and when that happens you do lose confidence in the instructor and the book or video.  You simply stop following that instructor when you realize you wasted a lot of time only to end up at a dead end.

 

Overall, I favor video tutorials especially those where the instructor is proceeding at a moderate pace and the shortcuts and commands are printed on the screen as they are speaking.   The best video tutorials also show where you can go wrong, why one method is better than another, and a little bit of the logic behind the command and/or how the tool works.  That part I love because once you internalize what the program is doing you can quickly master the function. Bob Walmsley at Insydium is that type of teacher --- one of my favorites.   Too bad he did not teach modeling.  My other favorite is Hrvoje.  Great instructor.  Too bad he no longer has anything to do with the forum. 🙄

 

Now with all that said, not sure about a modeling book using a different application (in this case modo).  It all depends on how the book is structured.  If it focused purely on common problem-solving techniques (e.g., how to resolve an edge loop issue on an interior curve with a triangle in the corner) in a step-by-step visual manner without describing the commands, that may be a good resource.   You just have to hope that your program has the capability to match some of those steps or you will get lost going from A to B in the instructions.

 

But at $48, I am not willing to take that risk.  Better to just buy MILG 11.

 

Dave

Sorry...but I simply do not have enough faith to be an atheist.

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On 4/3/2023 at 5:47 AM, HappyPolygon said:

Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials

 

The MAXON Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials book provides a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to create 3D models using Cinema 4D 2023. It is an excellent resource for individuals with varying levels of experience, including those transitioning from other software to Cinema 4D. This guide is designed to assist readers in getting started with modeling in Cinema 4D by teaching them essential concepts and techniques related to 3D modeling. By applying these skills, readers can produce hard-surfaced objects for their projects. Furthermore, the book covers the OpenVDB-based Volume Builder and Volume Mesher functions of Cinema 4D, which enable users to develop complex models by utilizing boolean-type operations such as adding and subtracting basic shapes.

The objective of this book is to help readers improve their skills as Cinema 4D artists and increase their workflow efficiency by offering a variety of tips, tricks, notes, and cautions throughout. It serves as a valuable teaching resource for anyone interested in learning modeling with Cinema 4D 2023. The language used in the book is straightforward and easily understandable, without any technical jargon. The book includes tutorials that take readers through each step of executing tasks in Cinema 4D 2023.

 

Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Cinema 4D 2023
Chapter 2 - Tools
Chapter 3 - Spline Modeling
Chapter 4 - Polygon Modeling-I
Chapter 5 - Polygon Modeling-II
Chapter 6 - Edge Flow and Topology
Chapter 7 - Volumes

 

Who this book is for?

Beginners and intermediate users of Cinema 4D

Digital artists

Motion graphics artists

Indie game developers

And anyone who wants to learn Cinema 4D

 

What are the prerequisites?

No prior experience is required, beginners friendly

Cinema 4D software installed on a computer or laptop

Eagerness to learn and grow

Willingness to be awesome

 

Key Features
Learn about the user interface, navigation, tools, functions, and commands in Cinema 4D.
Covers all of the fundamentals as well as advanced subjects through easy-to-follow tutorials.
Polygon, subdivision, and spline modeling techniques are covered.
Volumetric modeling techniques are covered.
Comprehensive covering of tools and functions.
More than 39 tutorials are included, along with before and after files.
There are 36 practice exercises to put your newfound knowledge to the test.
Additional guidance is provided in the form of tips, notes, and cautions.
Important terms are in bold face so that you never miss them.
The material presented under the heading "What just happened?" provides an explanation of how the instructions are functioning.
Under the "What next?" heading, the content outlines the steps that should be taken after completing a particular step or set of steps.
The resources for this textbook include an ePub file that contains color images of the screenshots and illustrations featured in the book. These images are provided to enhance the learning experience and are included as part of the resources.
Access to the starting and ending states of each tutorial, as well as the resources used in the tutorials, is available to you.
For more information visit, Neurons Factory website.

There's a free preview of the first 100 pages of the book over at google books:

 

https://books.google.com/books/about/Maxon_Cinema_4D_2023_Modeling_Essentials.html?id=MOuxEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&ovdme=1&ov2=1#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

..., so you can make at least some sort of assessment of its quality/content.

 

 

Edited by SharpEars (see edit history)
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On 4/3/2023 at 12:47 PM, HappyPolygon said:

Maxon Cinema 4D 2023: Modeling Essentials

 

 

 

 

Why is there a retro fractal landscape on the cover of this "modeling essential" book? I fail to understand what is the purpose of the image. It's unrelated to the topic of this guide. It's not even a interesting illustration. It looks like a CG image from the 80ies/90ies... 

 

It reminds me this 1987 IBM advertisement: 

 

us__en_us__ibm100__fractals__landscape_ad__900x590.jpg.5ea2cbe87d96eb2b9c6c99d41a59d7b6.jpg

 

 

 

 

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  • Customer
54 minutes ago, EricNS said:

Why is there a retro fractal landscape on the cover of this "modeling essential" book?

 

Writing a book is really exhausting. He probably had a breakdown designing the cover at the end. 

But on the other hand he could use one of the images from inside the book...

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