natevplas

Yeah, you will probably want a separate pose for each "level" of the object, or maybe even more. I have some collapsible silicone kitchen items like this and they tend to collapse in stages. You might also consider modeling a "shell" and using Cloth to add thickness to the object, but not sure if you'll get the right exterior shape...

Seems like RealFlow is a good option then. Found this, maybe you did already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z6OvybHvXQ

@chitzui did this work out for you? That WeTransfer link is about to expire, and it says it hasn't been downloaded yet.

I haven't used it myself, but HOT4D looks pretty awesome, and it's free! I guess it's based on the Houdini Ocean Toolkit (hence, "HOT"). I'm not sure how much interaction you can get with the ship to the sea, but the waves and foam look great. https://www.valkaari.com/?p=640#more-640

Not sure what you mean by "damped." But here's a link to a bunch of formulas. Maybe one of them will be helpful: http://www.dennismiller.neu.edu/formulas.pdf

This looked fun to model, so I couldn't resist! I've attached an updated file as well as some screenshots documenting my process. It may not be 100% clear what I did in each step, but I didn't have time to make notes of all that. Ask questions if you've got them. @Cerbera's comments still definitely apply for you. https://we.tl/hRWoa7CK96 DOY-PACK- v2.c4d

Ok, downloaded it. I'm afraid this is a start-over situation. This mesh is way too dense to do anything with anyway (plus triangles). Fortunately it's a pretty simple model, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I recommend box modeling it with a Symmetry object.

Does this model have thickness? If so, Cerbera's tip probably won't work because you don't actually want to scale all those polys to 0. I'm personally confused by your model- there are a TON of polys there! It seems like you'd be better off starting over with the modeling (and using fewer polys under a Subdivision Surface), but then again, I can't see the whole thing so I don't know what you'd be scrapping. If you attach your project file we could more easily help you.

Hahaha! His apron should say something stupid, like "Beer Me!"

Can't wait to see him animated! I think a version with a bite out of him is inevitable XD

I just filled it out- was pretty painless :) Would be interested to see your results!

No problem! I was actually going to recommend Redshift for the translucency of the leaves, but for some reason assumed you didn't have it (when I could have just looked at your profile info). I pretty much abandoned the built-in render engines in C4D after switching to Octane and then RS.

Nice work so far! I think the biggest problem right now is the lighting. It's very frontal and high in the sky, giving the whole scene a flat, washed-out look. Bring the sun around to act as more of a back light or side light. Second, your leaf shaders need some work. Right now, every leaf on each tree is the exact same color, and many of your trees in the background are the exact same (and overly saturated, I think). They will need some translucency too, especially when you adjust the lighting. Third, the scale is still wrong. Your road looks like a 5 foot wide path because of the scale of the grass and dandelions.

@3D-Pangel First of all, just want to say, Merk Vilson is a genius and releases stuff very frequently on Patreon (not just Topoformer). He has a ton of really useful plugins, tips, and tutorials he releases all the time. I've been using Cinema for about 8 years and he's teaching me a lot. So, if TopoFormer doesn't work out for ya, you should still definitely get your money's worth. Also, I think they only charge you on the first of each month, so if you were really unhappy, I think you could back out if you remove your pledge before April 1. As far as Topoformer, I'm not sure what you're able to see on Patreon without being a Patron. Here are some links showing various functionality: He also has a random polygon selector plugin which you can get without being a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/posts/random-poly-16743615

You may also be interested in TopoFormer from Merk Vilson. Not sure if it will do exactly what you want (and it's still in Alpha) but it's definitely interesting. It's available for his $20/month Patreon supporters. Another option would be to create a material with a displacement channel.

Great work!

Cool! Sounds like a really interesting solution- not sure I totally get it, but glad you figured that out! In the second pic, are you planning to show those edges to the RF mesh? They look a bit blobby.

Yeah, I can imagine having a lot of trouble getting RF to do this. You'd probably be better off painting a matte for an alpha channel on a plane- or using a turbulent gradient to get those wavy edges to it. Would love to see what you came up with!

Wow, that's a tough one! I've always thought that oil on water has a cool look to it with that iridescent shine, but never thought too deeply about why it looks like that. Good ol' Google to the rescue: http://www.hk-phy.org/iq/oil_rainbow/oil_rainbow_e.html Apparently the difference in reflected color is due to the varying thickness of the oil layer and how the top and underside of the oil reflects/bends light. I wonder if you take your RealFlow sim and add a Displacer Effector which only pushes polys in the Y direction. Then create a shader with various noises to displace the sim. I haven't tried it myself (and I don't use RF), but see if this produces interesting results with your thin film shader (or maybe a simple fresnel with the rainbow colors would work in the Reflection channel?). Not knowing how long the shot is or more about what the client needs, it seems like you could get away with not having much animation in C4D. Then take it into AE and apply some instances of the Liquify effect to animate a subtle swirling flow. That's just my two cents. I'd be happy to hear how other people might tackle this!

Hi Gene's mom! It takes a really dedicated, amazing mother to find a website like this to help her son. Cinema 4D is a great program and a ton of fun! Like Cerbera said, there are many, many free Cinema 4D tutorials out there from beginner to advanced. Vimeo and YouTube are great starting places, as well as https://greyscalegorilla.com which has a ton of really great quality stuff. http://www.eyedesyn.com/ is another great one that has a lot of character animation stuff. If he is very self-motivated, he can learn almost everything he needs to know on his own, but 1-on-1 training is great too, of course.

Great work! I think the white part of the cake/pie could use some SSS and be a little off-white to make it feel creamy and less plastic. The raspberry is getting better, but I think the model itself is not quite right. That Blender tutorial looks pretty great. I also agree with @Wouter that the raspberry should be on top. The composition and focal plane are a bit muddled right now. I love that crust, but it feels like the pie is facing away from me too much. Composition stuff is pretty subjective, though, so take it with a grain of salt (or sugar, haha).

No prob @bentraje! Yes, an attractor would be useful too. Thanks!

@bentraje i'm not sure what you mean. If you put a cloth under a null, the cloth will still fall to the ground (or into infinity if there's no ground). I did a test where I animated the null with a cloth underneath and the results were pretty bad. What do you mean "have the child in Follow position?" Is there a setting you're referring to? Because I'm quite sure there is no "Follow Position" option under Cloth- only in Soft Bodies.

Nice work! I'm working on a project now that requires semi-controlled animation of pieces of paper blowing. I'm using soft bodies because you can use the Force tab to get them to Follow Position. It's still tricky to get them to look natural AND go where you want!

Yeah, modeling it seems like overkill. You'd definitely be fine using displacement for this, and it will be way faster and easier!