Cineversity

I have been trying to figure out a way to colorize different letters in a Motext object.  I have 3 Lines stacked.  I want to change the color of the first letter on each line.

In the past I’ve created separate Motext objects to do this but I am thinking there must be a way to control each one.  I’ve tried a Mograph selection tag and tried to use that in the Material Selection input but it did nothing.

I’ve tried to use the Shader effector with a falloff but I must be doing something wrong.  I’ve got a black material on the letters and I want the first three to be green.  But not really working.

I’m going to try Xpresso but there must be an easier way.

Any ideas?

Thanks

TAK

Hi TAK,

What I wouldn’t use:

The MoText works like a linear cloner. The Letters have ID numbers as if they were lined up straight. Similar to that is the u,v,w space. The “px” value that you can access in the Formula Effector won’t work, except if the first letters are similar in size or the axis is adjusted. If the Object is moved, the “px” value changes everything. A Xpresso option for that is AFAIK no a given either.

.
What seems promising and check the example:

You mentioned the MoGraph Selection. This is not a selection that works in the Texture Tag>Selection field! Two different selection-information.

What you need to do is—take the MoGarph-Selection and use it inside of an Effector.

I have attached a solution for a Shader Effector. I use the Black and white value then as layer-mask in a Material.

Besides a layer-mask, the resulting black and white values could be also used with a colorizer in the Material.

Checke out the Material and inside of the MoTex the Letter>Transform color settings, as well the Shading set up.

All the best

Sassi

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share?s=FQh80g8MR_Eqy2caA71IWs

Thanks Doc.  Although I see what you did… to be honest I don’t quite get why/how the Effector is doing its job.

I assume the Shader Effector is somehow “automatically” connected to the Color Shader in the Texture. The strength in the Effector controls the Color Shaders opacity?

In the SHADING tab of the effector we have chosen COLOR which I assume means it is to use the Color channel of the texture (which contains the Layers/Color Shader)  But it is black… so I am a little confused.  Is it bypassing the black and choosing the Texture tag?

For those of us who aren’t Computer Science majors, it is not easy to learn from the Maxon Help or Manual.  If you have a resource you can point me to that helps explain this shader a little better, I would appreciate it.

And, as always, I appreciate your help.

TAK

Hi TAK,

Sorry no other source available.

The main part is to get all letters white, and the first one black. Or vice versa. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the letters are different. In that way they can provide their color to the “MoGraph” Color shader; Which is set as Layer mask. In that way, the top and bottom layer provide the wanted color back to the MoText.

One major thing that I repeat often is based on the misleading name of the Shader Effector, it doesn’t texture objects, it uses textures to supply information. Switch the red and the green color in the Layer (Material) off and sent the “Layer mask to Normal. Then you can see the black and white result. This is exactly what the Shader Effector does to the Letters, and based on the MoGraph Selection only to the first letters in each line.

The MoGraph Color Shader is set to Color (not to ID) and it picks up the information given to the letters by the Shader Effector. Black and white information.

Anything else is pretty much like in Photoshop, hence the tip with the colorizer (Gradient Map - Layer Adjustment in Ps)

IF the MoGraph Color Shader is used as “LayerMask”, the values (black =0 and white =1) become so to say masked with the result of the MoGraph Color-shader result. Zero means here transparent and white means opaque.

The green layer will not show up where the Layer Mask has black values, so the red shows up there.

The Letters>Transform setting are responsible to get the white information in the first place.

========

To simplify this, the way would be to set the color for the first letters (based on the selection) in the Shader Effector, and then the other color inside of the Letter>Transform.
These two colors can then be picked up by the MoGraph Color-shader at once.

Why do I not suggest that in the first place? Pretty simple, it is a painful set up, you need to go to three places to change things. If one has to open a project file after weeks or even month, it takes a while to get clear where the color was set up, if not in the Material directly. So, no the way I work nor I would suggest it.
There is one more downside. If the target changes, and a texture instead of a color is needed, you start over again. So no real future proof with this simplified version either. However, I have attached it.
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share?s=xdythWqGRpIpXVTUj-AW8Y

All the best

Sassi

P.S.: This is not directed to TAK, but I use his statement to share a viewpoint.

TAK: “...For those of us who aren’t Computer Science majors, it is not easy to learn from the Maxon Help or Manual. …”

The manual is written in a clear manor. It describes the parts of the application, and from time to time it goes above and beyond.

So, this would speak against the judgement that you need to have a “Computer-Science-Major”. Well, as one of my six degrees, I have a Ph.D. in scientific-engineering, with the focus of computer animation. I can’t proof you wrong, as I’m too close to your projected target group.

But in my tenth year of teaching people Cinema 4D and my 18th year of using it, I will try to build a bridge between your judgement about and the manual by itself. It is more like an owners manual of a car, and it describes the parts and functions—more or less out of the view from the designers and engineers, with modifications based on user feedback loops. As short and as long as it is projected to the average target group.

It doesn’t tell you how to get your car, revolving around its own axis on an ice covered street back to normal, nor does it help to make you understand how to park in small spaces. These are all things the manual is not explaining. It would be a large book, perhaps a series filling your trunk.

The point here for Cinema 4D is similar. The manual describes single tools, functions and objects. Sometimes it goes beyond that and explains connections among them. Lets say we have 1,000 functions, tools and objects in this package (we have more, BTW). Now combine each of the 1,000 with another. You get already an idea how many combinations we might create. Now put three or four—perhaps five of these in a combination. The number of possibilities will reach an amount that is not reproduce-able by a single human being—at least to my knowledge no one has done it.

Everyone who combines five of these parts, might feel that s/he did a very simple set up and everyone “in charge” should know it. Especially the manual could have a few lines telling how it works. Sometimes people show me something that they have developed in that way, and expect instantly that I know what went wrong. I can tell only from over 20 years working with digital tools, no one knows everything, and the one who believe s/he knows everything, has obviously just a very limited imagination. The same is true for the manual, it can’t tell you every possible combination, not on this planet.

Then we have many different artists/user/clients. Some learn better by reading, some by watching, some by playing. The next needs to get the “bigger picture” or someone else needs to have a procedural to get going. Others ask directly for a plug in. You see I have take some knowledge here from Psychology, from NLP or if you you like from EFT even, if you like to dig deeper in the way people communicate, learn or adapt successful models seen from others. I went through quite some material to learn not only the complete feature film pipeline coming from analog and now digital, from SD, to HD and now UHD or 4K (or in my case soon 6K capturing.)
Each iteration was a learning curve with limited material—and I understand your request. I understand as well the request of others, to have a “Technical Director” level manual. Which goes into the bits and bytes of the software and allows for a more precise prediction what will work and what not.

Which leads to the point that we have roughly three level of skills here, starter, intermediate, and pro’s. If I may say so. However, to whom should the manual speak. You might be a pro in character animation, but lost if dynamics is needed. I hope that makes sense. WE are all on different levels across the application.

However, the main idea here is, that most stuff works always on the base of simple elements, but in combination of such. Here we go again, combinations. These combinations might not follow a direct logic, but creativity is in question here. Creativity doesn’t live in a vacuum. How to fill the space? Well I tried to answer that in my little add-ons in my Daily Tooltime series, after explaining the details, I encouraged to play. Playing and experimenting is the key of success and the base to feed the MUSE. In other words to feed the creativity to—well—create.  I haven’t found a way to teach how to increase creativity, but I explore since a while new methods, which might go to far beyond classical tutorials and manuals. Some people are upset that tutorials take a long time to watch, some are not happy when they are too short. Same problem as with the Manual/Help. With that being said, I can only add, that at least half of the questions I got in the past ten years alone, could be answered by creatively combining the basics.

I certainly wish that everyone uses C4D like one is using a pencil, just scribble away. Endless options with a pencil, and this one has not even a manual. ;o) Seriously, I really wish that no technical or information problems exist between ideas and the realization of such.

However, there is always the option to suggest to MAXON what to do better. Everything that improves the material is welcome.

I hear you Doc.  I probably understand about half (or less) of what goes on in this program. But sometimes a specific answer from someone like yourself can save hours of noodling.  On one hand. I tend to remember things better when i decipher and solve problems on my own.  But often deadlines loom and a quicker answer is … just what the doctor ordered!

Thanks for the input.

TAK

Hi TAK,

You’re welcome. It is a large application and so far I have yet to meet one who knows everything in detail and especially when combined. I know the idea of feeling overwhelmed, hence my “try” to learn as often as possible a new application (to keep that feeling alive, it is too easy to extrapolate from the things “one” knows and underestimate problems).

Yes, solving your own problems or going step by step through it allows for a more detailed knowledge. As I think of creativity as something that “feeds” from all the experiences that “one” has collected in a lifetime, any exploration or call it playing is adding to this. In this way it is certainly a benefit to do so, or at least explore the solutions given step by step.

Have a great day

Sassi