Cineversity

Hi there,
I have recently purchased Visualise and Cineversity has been my first port of call.
I must admit I get the strong impression that Cineversity is designed for experienced 3D professionals only.
Other than ‘speed modeling a city’ I have not found any tutorials covering topics such as modeling windows, doors, roofs etc.
I feel somewhat bamboozled and frustrated by having to plough through so many pages in the hope of finding something relevant.
Thank you for your help.

Hi House of Manuela,

You bought “CINEMA 4D—Visualize” and of course you have some expectations what it can do for you. Cineversity s designed to support the use of CINEMA 4D, but excludes, more or less, anything that MAXON provides already in terms of basic training or materials. I certainly like to point out the tutorials inside the Help Content and the Quick Start Tutorials.

Following the short definition on MAXON’s website, you get for Visualize: “Whether you need to visualize a mobile phone, a building, a car or anything else, CINEMA 4D Visualize provides everything you need to produce fantastic images and animations quickly, easily and to any level of realism.”

This circles nearly around anything one can think of, and that is practically the problem to cover, it has no short boundaries. You have made a decision that Architectural Visualization is your target with this application. Great!
It is certainly in use and with great success integrated in such work around the world.

My personal take on this is, it is not just something that you do after watching some tutorials, it is an advanced job in its own rights, with great demand on many different skill-levels. Yes, it depends on what you like to produce. I have studied Architecture, and worked in the field as Leading Designer and office manager in an Architecture Office in Europe. I have designed and build for a quarter billion, form small shopping centers to larger business buildings with up to ten stories or 300 foot long. I certainly know what it needed in that area,

So what makes a good “Architectural Visualizer”. Firstly it needs a good eye for light, proportions and materials/colors. This is something I have problems to integrate here as training. Secondly, it needs the ability to read blueprints and the skill to translate the information to the objects that are needed for the job. Most of the time a job needs only 25% to 50% of the building created for the visualization. This is a process and it could be certainly somehow explained, but the main part is based on a individual exploration of the informations and the needs.

Most importantly, and part of an scientific analysis that I did at the Technical University Berlin, how to show an object. The result was (in a nut shell) that most visualizations were not done in the way humans can see it, with out extra support. In short, you need to know what you like to show, which is mostly a question of an deep understanding of photography and perspective. Even light and the resulting mood can make your work win the project for an Architect or disable it for him. Certainly not anything one can learn in a week or so, it is based on experience and individual need.

So far we have established that the application is not limited (not even close) to Architectural visualization, nor makes an owner of it to an specialist. I hope we can as well agree so far that the problem to teach this is not just possible in a “do this and have an eye on that” tutorial, it would be a complete underestimation of the field and the great artist that do wonderful things with it. I use here the term artist, and I mean this literally. To understand the needs of an Architect and safe his/her time, a good understanding of art basics is needed.

Architectural Visualization is the most powerful for a project, if the CG material is integrated into a real image or even into an animation of it. Which sets the bar of skills even a little bit higher. The photograph that you hire needs to understand that there is a need for “reflections shots, based on main window planes, as well as an HDRI for the proper integration work. Then comes the background shot, where you need a knowledge (again) about photography and the mood needed for that project. Shoot with a “free-camera”, a tilt shift lens, or with a simple lens and all the problems that this might cause. How was the image developed, perhaps missing the right optical tools, some Photoshop work was done with it, to mimic a proper lens (which will result in a lot of problems to integrate your work later—if you can’t read the perspective well)

Having said all of that, and demonstrated that the field you ask for is a wide one, what can Cineversity do for you?

Well, simply said the core skills to have for most jobs is simple expressed in the chain: Modeling, texturing, lighting, animating, camera and rendering. These are the six fields you need to know well, perhaps animation is not always needed to be fair. These skills are all discussed here. You asked for a window an how is that modeled. I think I gave an example for that. The simplest way is to take a polygon, sort the edges so it resembles the window and then a series of Extrude Inner, Extrude and you get a very profiled object. IF you follow my tip to use selections on the way, the materials might be easier to attach.

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You might find tutorials here that will not explain Modeling for AV (Architecural Visualization) directly, but the key is here to get enough techniques to combine them in a “creative” way. Creativity can’t work in a vacuum. Modeling is, as I mentioned it many times here, like playing chess, you need to think many steps ahead. E.g., by using Splines as guides or explore even the newer options to guide your work with the workplaces and and such.
Modeling sometimes follows “tools” in reality, which leads me more often to suggest to work on your skills where ever you are—there is always an object close to use, how would one model it with the tools in C4D?.

Materials are discussed here at Cineversity in many ways. What we can’t really deliver is again, the experience you have with the world around you. How materials that you like to use react to its environment. Here again come photography into the game, for reference shots and textures. My personal take, as an architectural visual artist, you need to build your own library. It is certainly not fun to see the same materials on an other project, the same human figures repeated from your competitors, etc. I have created a long series about that, which I hep will be online next year. But Reproduction Photography is the key here. If you buy or just use even free samples, you have no idea how they were treaded and your quality might lower.
Some surfacing work can be done nearly or complete with Shaders. Mostly done in combination of such, to overcome repetition or recognize-ability of these, which is not a sign of great work. You find (even in older tutorials) a lot of information about Shaders here. It is the time you spend to get to know them, tutorials might deliver only the technical information and some examples. The more you “play” with them, the more you can “squeeze” out of those.

Light is the big key skill in Architectural visualization. Again here, take reference shots with your own camera, so you know that nothing was done in post that you are not aware of. I certainly suggest against web-based reference as most likely none shares images linear and without post work on them. So they are distorted in terms of light, and if you aim for high quality, useless (similar to textures if treaded without color profile management and calibration of the pipeline.
Light is a life long exploration, and one of my favorite things, as I work since over three decades with film artists. My own work as cinematographer is certainly based on an deeper understanding of light.
IF you have a good understanding how the light and shadow works, you are able to model differently and your textures can’t be snapshot based anymore.
Explore the light sources in detail, that is one of your main tools, and I guess the most underestimated part in the pipeline. It goes a little bit further than main, fill and kicker light, as well a little bit beyond sharp and blurry shadows. GI lighting is certainly a great feature to have, but it doesn’t replace the artist who can really spot the problems and advantages in the Model-Texture-Light/Camera triangle.

Camera and Animation is longer theme, and for Architecture mostly limited to the camera animation. To animate a complete scene is certainly beyond my little text here to illuminate. Note that camera animation for Architecture is difficult, as the story (such as in feature films) is not a given), but everyone in the audience expect to see now what is on the right, when the camera goes to the left. To move the camera here is a skill-level. Study architectural animations and read a book about editing (cutting) techniques. You might get an idea that this is mostly not understand in the examples given in the past two decades.
Camera work might be just limited on the perspective given (POV/POI) from the background photo that you got to implement the CG work into it. For that C4D has the Camera-Callibrator, which might be a great support for your work here as well.

Rendering in congestion with the camera comes with the challenge to match eventually the background image. To know what lens setting causes a certain result might help you to understand the options of the Physical Render and the options of the camera better. A good match is certainly key to quality.

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I can’t capture the whole process of course, but I hoped to give you some pointers that most of the skills needed for this specific direction is contained in the tutorials about modeling, texturing, lighting, camera/animation, and rendering. The variety and wide options of this package can’t be covered at any time to 100%, if for each option a specific course would be required. Furthermore, the skill-level of each aspiring artist is different, and that might result in longer series. So, the idea is mostly tool based, or procedural based. Sometimes all you need is a tutorial about a fork or spoon, to have all the tools needed for an organic shaped building. Sometimes there is nothing that fits your needs—of course. For that we have the forum to ask specific questions.

Leaves me to point out to one of my favorite series here from me for you need, the integration series. I did this for VFX integration, or simply said, to merge CG and Practical images together. I hope this might provide you with some in depth information about the process of joining two “worlds” together. If you explore your field you might get an eye for the problem which sometimes might be ignored, based on missing time or budget perhaps.

All of that was “said” with the idea of aiming towards photorealistic/hyperrealistic results, the story is different for Non-Photo-Realistic (NPR) renderings such as in Sketch ‘n’ Toons.

Again, there are some great artists out there in the field of Architectural Visualization, and I wrote this longer text to “illuminate” the needs for it. It saddens me always when people think of a push button as the only thing that makes that great work happen. It is not doable in a short time, but with enough motivation and curiosity it is. Many tutorials might seems not appropriate for you, but you might be surprised what you use later on from that knowledge, when you have to face a complex idea of a great architect. I hope you take the time to grow into that wonderful field and enjoy the ride.

My best wishes

Sassi

P.S.: The request a tutorial forum is 24/7 open for you!