Cineversity

Hi Doc,

I apologize for posting in this forum.  For some reason, the New Topic button is missing from the Q&A forum page.

I’m wondering if you (or someone else) can direct me to people/places where I can connect with creators of custom rigged 3D characters for Cinema 4D?

I’m working on a printed children’s book where I have a need for a family consisting of two 7-ish-year-old kids (one boy and one girl) and their two parents.  I will need to pose the characters, but not actually animate them.

Thanks so much!

Mark

Hi Mark,

You have no contact options nor Web-site mentioned anywhere. How can people contact you, other than in the forum?

The Q&A forum is accessible for all members, [except, e.g., “Free” members]. You are, as far as I can see, currently in the Free group. Please get into contact with the admins if that is not correct, use the Contact Us link in the lower right corner.

Have you consider to get the rights on a figure and use the Character Object? It is pretty fast and for stills, that shouldn’t take longer than a few minutes to set up. For my tutorials series, e.g., Cinematography, I used “Poser” figure. Anyway, always check how much distribution right you get and how far you can change the content. Fine Print stuff.

A friend works over at 3D DAZ, they have tons of Kids “actors”.

TurboSquid comes to mind. Anyway, make certain you get the characters in a T-Pose.

I leave this thread here for shortly, then I move it to QA, OK?

Fingers crossed you find what you need.

All the best

Hmmm. Doc, I have a Cineversity membership (actually I already signed up for the next release of C4D).  I just tried entering the coupon codes for 2017/2018 and for 2018/2019 that I was given, but my membership status still says “expired.”  Looks like I can use some help re-activating my membership.

I’m not sure I understand what you mean by getting the rights on a figure and using the Character Object.  I know how to make a Figure primitive, but that’s about it.  Can you please elaborate?

Thank you,

Mark

Mark,

Please check with the admins, that should be easily fixable. Sorry about your troubles.

These figures have limited [publishing/distributions] rights sometimes, so getting a figure might not include the right to be used [as is] in a book.

The character Object is a system to rig figures without getting too complex. Should I search some tutorials about it?

All the best

I’d love to see a list of tutorials, Doc!  Thank you!

With pleasure, Mark!

This is perhaps the shortest but nevertheless detailed series that I can think of:

https://www.cineversity.com/vidplaylist/the_character_object/character_object_part_1

With that knowledge, you should be able to rig your own, Cinema 4D has some figures in the Content Browser, perhaps worth a few minutes, to preview the options and see if that could be a way for you.

My best wishes

Thanks so much, Doc.  I look forward to checking this out!

You’re welcome, Mark, please let me know if there are any questions.

BTW. How far do you need them, e.g. facial expression ca be a longer story. Since it is illustration, perhaps working in post on (face-) details is way more effective.

Thanks for asking, Doc.  I’m hoping to find or create characters where I can alter the facial expressions with rigging.  If all else fails, I’ll change the expressions in post.

Mark, I checked last night the “usual suspects” sites, well I googled as well.
The prices are sometime acceptable, yet, steep. Are even expensive ones for print? I really don’t know.

Check out the Characters from the Content Browser, just for testing and how you could improve those.

If I go with some rigs I have seen, facial expression can be a longer theme, there are no standards, as Bret discusses here a feature Film level rig:
https://www.cineversity.com/vidplaylist/character_rigging_techniques_siggraph_2015_rewind/

My best wishes for the project

I appreciate you digging deeper, Doc.  I’ll take a look at Bret’s feature film level rig tutorial so I can see what I’ve gotten myself into this time. 

I’m also looking at the Human Alloy and Render People sites, but I’m not yet certain if I want photo realistic or a cross between realistic and cartoon.  Do you think Bret would be able to give me advice if I reached out to him?  Is he even available for contact?  Or, is there a Cineversity character/rigging expert who I could consult with?

Mark, my suggestion to watch this presentation is based on the idea to get the bandwidth of what facial expression rigging can be. (For me, that is one of the most amazing Character animation pipeline presentations I have ever seen) As mentioned, it (facial rigging) is not a standardized technique, nor is anyone following specific rules. My intention here is to give you enough background to see clearly what some offerings have, or maybe not.

Well, I can’t speak for Bret, you have to try. If you go through the given content here on Cineversity or in the Content Browser, you might find someone who speaks aesthetically the book’s language. (We are all professionals in terms of reading facial expressions, even if we might have a wide variety in our interpretations of those   ) So, this is not a simple task.

I do not suggest people here, as I always would miss one or the other, and I’m in trouble then, also: I don’t want to invest time to turn CV into a job forum.

What I strongly suggest, you need to give people an option to contact you in a non-public way. No one likes to show of as a “in need of work” kinda guy in public.

Cheers

Great advice, Doc.  I’ll keep digging and learning and see what I can come up with.

You’re welcome, Mark.

I guess you know best what is needed for the book, as any story needs specific “actors”, the auditioning is crucial.

ENJOY