rasputin

18 hours ago, Mash said:

 

what settings are you missing?

 

You're right:  After I downloaded Nvidia drivers for this videocard,   I was then given that long list of 3D options to configure under Display Properties.

I just bought a new videocard for my computer (which is quite new and fast itself).

I'm experimenting with using a DisplayPort cable between that videocard and my hi-res monitor.   Instead of the HDMI connection I've always used before.   Is the DisplayPort protocol any good for C4D design and render?

The videocard is an off-brand called GIGABYTE,   but it uses Nvidia hardware inside.    I find I no longer have the option,    as I did before,   of adjusting every nuance and feature of 3D view,    as I had before with a Nvidia brand videocard and Nvidia drivers and auxiliary apps.      I find I just have to accept the new videocard's default settings.     This new videocard includes 4G of built-in RAM.

Or it matters not at all?

Thanks in advance,    ras

Absolutely incredible,  Cerbera.   You're a genius.   Thanks for this!

Wow,  incredible,  Cerbera...   Thanks for this!

Hey gang,

How would I model an etched glass tumbler like this one?      Including the "bas relief" etched/embossed designs on the outside?      Would a Displacement Map be the best solution?

Thanks,   ras


 

On 12/1/2022 at 9:29 AM, Jeff H1 said:

I paid and it still acts like I haven't paid (red banner at the top).  

Ditto here.

Thank you, HRVOJE!

Hey guys,

I am currently trying to wrap my head around the concepts of Motion Sources and with CMotion.      I am finding the two to be dazzlingly difficult...   even with the Help files open.   I never found college Calculus to be as difficult to understand as these two concepts are.

Here is what the Helpfiles say about CMotion.     Can you define what they are referring to when they say:
 

• Objects List.     What on earth is the Objects List,  and where is it?
  
   
• Apply an action.      What on earth is an action,  and where is it to be found?
  
  
   

Thanks,  ras

I just rendered out this whole sequence (658f) using Corona.    And the rendered version is NOT what I had initially created in the viewport,   even after baking the MoGraph in using a MoGraph cache tag.       Corona seems to "see" some features of my animation,   and not others.

 

No need to apologize.  I'm glad to learn a new word and concept!

On 4/9/2023 at 8:16 AM, 3D-Pangel said:

After looking at that video, I would not call that grains (IMHO).  True grains must include some level of stiction between particles  <<SNIP>>

"Stiction".    Is that really the word they're using now in particle sims?

Now here's something I had to learn the hard way:

I spent hours creating a sophisticated MoGraph animation,     using lots of clones and three different effectors:   Sound,  Delay and Random,   and my clones set to bounce using Bullet Dynamics.

When it came time to render,    I thought I'd render my 650 frames of animation using Corona Renderer.

To my surprise,    it appears that Corona Renderer "sees" a C4D MoGraph scene differently than C4D's own renderers do.

Corona definitely sees all my clones...  It however doesn't appear to render the effects of Bullet Dynamics,   or of my 3 MoGraph effectors.  

I naively had thought that any given render engine just impartially "sees" what C4D has already set up;     Now it seems clear that C4D's render engines are wired in together intimately with MoGraph and Bullet Dynamics.    A third-party renderer may "see" your MoGraph/Dynamics  scene differently.

My attachments:      Frame 200,  as seen in my C4D Viewport,       and Frame 200 as "seen" by Corona Renderer.  

Oh well... lesson learned.     Any comments?

Thanks,    ras


   

Thanks guys.. much appreciated.

18 minutes ago, MJV said:

Xpresso is hands down the single most important tool in all of Cinema 4D. Take it away and Cinema is nothing. There was talk of the new nodes eventually replacing it and Maxon considering Xpresso to be archaic and unworthy of further development efforts beyond basic maintenance, but that has since proved to be fantasy. Nodes are languishing and stuck in a perpetual technology preview stage with barely anyone enthralled by or enthusiastic about their future. That leaves Xpresso as the still undisputed king of Cinema, but since it isn't being actively developed there isn't much incentive for people to write about or promote it beyond the substantial and already available content on YouTube and elsewhere.

Thanks guys.
 
I did wonder whether Xpresso might be going to be deprecated,   and that's why there's so little buzz about  it anymore.

I will indeed see in ChatGPT can produce some Xpresso.    Worth a try. 

Hey guys,

As I get into learning Xpresso,   I am impressed with just how dense and complex is this subject,   so rich in possibilities,      that I can't help but wonder:  Why is there no "Xpresso Cookbook",  or other extensive tutorial or set of definitive instructional videos on Xpresso?

I recently purchased A DETAILED GUIDE TO XPRESSO (R20) by Pradeep Mamgain.     While it is indeed good and useful,   it barely scratches the surface of what Xpresso can do.       The C4D Helpfiles strike me as very sketchy and half-hearted when it comes to covering,   say,    the description of each Node,  Input and Output type in Xpresso.

I just wish I were a little bit smarter--     especially smarter at mathematics--    or I would myself author a more exhaustive treatment on Xpresso.    I would think that any devotée of MoGraph would definitely want to also study Xpresso in depth.    Xpresso is not rocket science,     but it does contain quite a number of features that are not user-intuitive.      Things you wouldn't know unless somebody told you.

Your thoughts?

Best,     ras

Thanks so much,  SREK !   So appreciated.

Hey guys,

Please help me understand this Xpresso expression.     (See my attached screencap).

I derived this Xpresso expression from a tutorial video on YouTube.     Let me start by saying:  this Xpresso expression is completely successful!  it's doing exactly what I want it to do!   No problem there.

The expression is allowing the strength of a mesh Deformer (in this case,  Bulge) to be driven by the frequencies of a Sound effector;     thus the rhythm of the music causes my mesh object to "dance".    That's exactly correct.     Excellent.

Only now I want to understand just how this Xpresso expression works.    So I can hopefully internalize this information in order to be more competent and confident in the future. 

QUESTION #1:   Why does my Sound Effector node need to have an Out port called OBJECT  ?    What does "object" mean in this particular case?

QUESTION #2:   What exactly is a SAMPLE node ?    It's apparently part of the larger MoGraph suite of nomenclature,    yes,  but I don't understand what SAMPLE means here...  Just what is being "sampled" and why?


Thanks,    ras

On 4/1/2023 at 3:21 PM, MJV said:

 Premiere or another editing software is a better choice.

Thanks so much,  MJV!

Thanks guys.   Words to the wise,   I appreciate.     I just hope Adobe AFTER EFFECTS is completely comfortable with assembling a video from thousands of still images....   I guess that's very much part of its wheelhouse...

Thanks so much,   Keppn!     You mean,  it's best to export thousands of still images...   and let After Effects compile them into a video?   And to add your audio track(s) in AE as well?  

Hey Gang,

I wonder if you can educate me a little bit.   I've got an animation going here,   2024 frames,     in which three  Sound Objects are driving my various objects to "dance" to the rhythm.     Each Sound object is playing a different aspect of the same musical arrangement.    

I've used Xpresso to set up the sound driving.     All objects are "dancing"  (having their Deformers activated) as they should.

QUESTION:  Upon render,    I want to hear only one of the three audio tracks playing;     the other two must drive the animation (with their audio frequencies),      yet not be heard in the final render. 

How do I have a Sound object drive an animation,  yet not be heard in the final render?

QUESTION 2:  Where is the best tutorial for learning Xpresso... for dummies like me?    

Thanks,     ras        

 

Thanks,  guys! 

Hey guys,

Is there a good way to bring in a (real-world) video into a scene to serve as a reference for animating a human figure? 

I have a little rigged human man mesh object,   and I would like to bring in a video of someone actually walking,   so I can mimic the movement in my rigged figure...   set my extremes at keyframes,  etc.

I would need the video,  of course,  to update per each frame of my C4D animation,   and ideally I would like the video to be visible,   but not standing in the way of my work in the scene.   is this do-able?

Thoughts?  Suggestions?

Thanks,   ras

Thanks,  Martijn and Cerbera!  very helpful.   Now I know what I must learn.   Best,     ras.

Hey guys,

Perhaps you can help me.     I've got this bird model rigged,  and its weights painted,  as you see here.  

I want to create a realistic "bird wing flap",     in which,   when the joints nearest the body are rotated up and down,      the child joints also rotate themselves accordingly,      but with a drop-off in joint angle as you move towards the wing tip.    Thus,  if Joint 1 rotates 40°,    the next joint will rotate 30°,      the next joint 20°,    and so forth.

Thus you get a graceful and fairly realistic wing-flap,  both up and down.

At present,  each Joint chain is set up for FK,    not IK.

How do you set up those mathematical relationships between the wing's joints?    I'm new at rigging,   and thus still about dumb when it comes to these things.   It's probably something easy or obvious,  I'm just unfamiliar with it.

My ultimate goal is to create a Motion Clip in which the wings continually flap (over the duration of a longer anim).

 Thanks,   ras  

bird flying.c4d