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Another OpArt Question
Posted: 13 September 2020 01:21 AM   [ Ignore ]  
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Hello
I feel like this should be really simple, but for some reason I’m not finding the solution.  I want to achieve something like this using a cloner
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/720576009121395225/
Apologies for the Pinterest link, I wasn’t able to find a way to download this file to my dropbox.  If needed I can try to do a screen recording.

Thanks for any pointers! (and sorry for the obvious question…)

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Posted: 13 September 2020 01:51 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Thanks for the reference.

The idea is here to have a Blend based ring moving along a tiny Spline. This is then animated with the Loop/Rate of the Top Cloner. The Cloner below is just the Blend set up. The Blend is along the Spline via a Linear falloff.

You will see all parts crucial to set it up to your liking in the Screen Capture.

Keep the two Child Object in the same segment amount to allow for the Blend to happen.

Let me know if there is anything else.

Screen capture/Scene file
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/cd7ckbF62Apsqqa7MOJGj1ImJVx8noZDw7UU9PHg82D

Cheers

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 13 September 2020 04:49 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]  
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P.S.: I have set up a variation, and I think that is close to being hypnotic.
Except for the Formula Effectors, it is nearly the same setup.

One Formula Effector is for the X, and the other is for the Y-axis. If they are set up equally (except for the X and y pos parameter), they describe a circle.


Project file:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/2RS1uxoZeWhEBqtifuZQcIh2Cpq6ZYcQIYlmnBwC1sY

ENJOY

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
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Posted: 13 September 2020 03:57 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]  
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Thanks Sassi, these are perfect!  Thanks so much.  The formula one is indeed quite hypnotic.
Great approach with the Cloner blend.

I was wondering, what would be a good approach to fade in and fade out the circles?  Most important is to fade out, it’s ok if the center one just pops up.  I tried using a Shader effector with a circular gradient and setting it to visibility, but it doesn’t fade the rings, just makes them pop away.

thanks again!

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Posted: 13 September 2020 05:05 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]  
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Thanks for the nice feedback, Alex; you’re very welcome.

There are certainly several ways to do it. The simplest one, from my point of view, would be the Formula Effect set to
Attribute Manager> Parameter> Effector Colors
and
Attribute Manager> Effector> Formula> u

In this setup, the “u” is the space the Clones describe in the Top Cloner. It is a space that is measured from 0 to 1.
X, Y, Z are represented in U, V, W. (Based on the Spline, we need to use the U here, even w might look more plausible.)

This provides a gradient with mathematical precision.

The resulting “colors” can then be translated with the Colorizer. In this way, you have control over start and end.
(I think of this as a simple way, as it needs only one effector, no falloff or more objects in the scene.)
Please check out the Alpha Channel; it has the needed set up.

Project file:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/gxwWnLPXC1kbtHQPmQz95cEFbfNycJvGW7Mc9N2XxLa

Let me know if there is any other question. I really enjoy these questions.

Cheers

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 13 September 2020 07:37 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 5 ]  
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Wow that’s genius. I didn’t know you could just pipe in the XYZ/UVW coordinates like that in the Formula effector.  That opens a ton of possibilities!
Thanks so much, this is truly perfect

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Posted: 13 September 2020 07:42 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 6 ]  
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One small follow up question.  What is the best way to mess with the cloner count?  Subdividing the spline?

Thanks!

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Posted: 13 September 2020 07:44 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 7 ]  
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Nevermind, I missed the “Count” parameter in the top cloner….

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Posted: 13 September 2020 08:10 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 8 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Thanks for answering your own question (post #6/#7)

Think of the u in the Formula as a placeholder. The application is iterating through the clones, one by one, along with their IDs. At the moment, clone ID 45 is in work, the clone’s position in the UVW space is given. If only the u is placed in the formula field, then only this is taken.

Here is an example.
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/1xfFXra1dqwuA04zif0q8TCTeZNHB8MK0oYWvbOsvxM
(press play)

The question that would come up is this UVW from the position they have during that Formula is evaluated or from the original state. If you switch on the Random Effector, you will see the answer. The initial state is my observation here.

The W entry needs a +1 weirdly, but it is in that way for very long. I’m not sure if a fix would do more harm or help.

All the best

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
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Posted: 13 September 2020 08:24 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 9 ]  
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Yes, that makes sense.  I had seen a quicktip from Rick Barrett where he used the Formula effector to select cloners precisely.  I can see how the Formula is giving you access to the whole “matrix” of date of the cloner in its initial state.

I’ve run into a small problem.  I wanted to duplicate your setup (two ripples).  At first I just added a clone in the bottom cloner, but I noticed a weird distortion where the lines overlap.  So then I just duplicated the whole cloner setup, with effectors etc and packed it in a null.  I moved this second group and saw the same problem.  I thought maybe some kind of intersection artifact, so I moved one of them by 2cm in the Y, but now I still see the artifact on one of them, not on the other.
Do you see what I mean in this screenshot?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi4ekw5pomkb7vp/2020-09-13_17h18_27.png?dl=0

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Posted: 13 September 2020 08:45 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 10 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Thanks for the image, yes I can see it.

If you set the Anti Alias to Best, is it gone? (Rendered)

Here is my test file, with two ring setups.
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/M6sXlwIr4kxUoljWhU2yjM4lHHw0FOvzo11Fe0HXb3z

I was able to see the artifacts, but not in the renderings.
If I leave them on the same level or while moving it 2cm apart: same results.

Please let me know if that solves it for you.

All the best

Image below is 0cm apart

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
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Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
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Posted: 13 September 2020 09:06 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 11 ]  
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Ha yes….Fixed!

Thanks again Sassi!

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Posted: 13 September 2020 09:08 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 12 ]  
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Perfect, Alex, thanks for the reply.

Have a great start into your week.

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 17 September 2020 03:00 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 13 ]  
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Hello Sassi
I have a small follow up question for this. I’m going to have to have to make some changes to this animation, namely to clone the animation in the Y axis and then use a formula effector to pulse it in an out, and have it loop back and forth.  Here is where I’m at
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dh3swthg7u7n99p/PulseTower.c4d?dl=0

The problem I’m having is that unfortunately I will have to export this as a .abc or .fbx file to run in a different program (in my case Notch).  I will not have the nice fade out effect you built with the formula effector and the colorizer, so I’m wondering if there is a way to have the actual geometry of the rings “thin out” as they hit the end of their growth?
If that is not possible, another option could be that they scale back towards the center in reverse? 

Thanks for any ideas on how to achieve this!

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Posted: 17 September 2020 04:51 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 14 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Please have a look at the file,
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/XJBevxzDbSb4mjH1zVIALuqEYOabc5S8Z6g7AH7Qhqw

I went with your idea of having the Disc.start as well as the Disc.end very thin. I placed tow Discs in it (2+4) that can go into that setup Start, 2, middle,4, end.
Adjust the size of the 2+4 accordingly.

I checked out Notch’s site to gain some ideas, but I’m not sure how to transfer the clone colors. I need a little bit more time to check the manual, but no promise here.

I hope that helps a little bit.

Cheers

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
Cinema 4D Mentor since 2004
Maxon Master Trainer, VES, DCS

Photography For C4D Artists: 200 Free Tutorials.
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Posted: 17 September 2020 05:48 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 15 ]  
Total Posts:  434
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Hi Sassi

I think this already works quite well!  Now I have to see if the polygon count and the number of frames to export will be supported, but should be ok.
I don’t see any way to carry the color information (animated) to Notch, but I could be wrong!

Can you remind how to find the loop point for the formula effector? I’ve been looking in the manual and google (and my memory!) but no luck…

Thanks!!!

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