Cinema 4d car rigging problems

I've been away from the world of blogs for a for couple of weeks and I put this down to car rigging in Cinema 4D. Trying to find a tutorial on how to rig a car is an almost impossible task particularly for Cinema 4D users but I managed to come across a basic tutorial which looked at wheel turns and movement. The tutorial was informative with easy to follow on-screen directions.

Just click below to check it out;

http://vimeo.com/13207222

Now I am trying to add a suspension system to my rig which is a totally different level of difficulty altogether. I tried using spring dynamics but couldn't build a frame around the spring set up. I'm sure it's possible to use dynamics to build a spring based suspension rig as I have seen videos on You Tube which demonstrate this method. Well after searching through various forums I came across a Cinema 4D plug-in called Roll-it. I was impressed with this plug-in as it managed to plant the wheels of my car firmly on an uneven surface and keep them there as they rolled over the terrain. So I would like to say thanks to the developers of Roll-it.

You can download the plug-in by clicking below;

http://www.eggtion.net/index.php?id=1030&l=en

I have had a play around with this Plug-in and have so far been impressed. It's easy to get the ball rolling, pardon the pun, by simply dropping a terrain in to the floor tag and selecting geometry. Thankfully you can download an instruction manual from the same website to get in in depth look at how it all works. As far as my car rig was concerned I achieved a mixed bag of results. After applying the plug-in the wheels connected to an uneven surface but the car didn't move up and down with it. I would have to animate the movement of the car separately. This is not the fault of the plug-in though as it can't solve all of my problems. Anyway, I'll continue to play around with Roll-it and let you know if I discover anything new.

That's all for now folks.

Tag challenge: Day 08: A photo that makes me sad

One part of my life that I regret the most is somehow losing all of my family photos when moving house. I only have one photo left from my childhood which was taken while on a school trip. It makes me sad to think that this is the only photo I can look at as a reminder of the past. I don't know what happened to all the family photos but I remember where they were kept just before the move.

Losing these photos has meant that I have lost all of my family pictures and I'll never get those back.

Tag challenge: Day 07: A photo that makes me happy

The photo that makes me feel happy shows my girlfriend and myself sitting on coach as we began our day trip to London. This photo makes me happy for a few reasons; firstly it's one of the first photos to show us as a couple at a time when we were beginning our journey together. It's definitely something nice to look back on. And of course there is the memory of the day itself. This was my first trip to London and what a good one it was too. I was spoilt for choice as to what to do for the day and in the end we spent much of the day in the Science Museum. As I enjoy all things science based it was entertaining enough to keep me quiet for the day.

Tag challenge: Day 06: retro gaming tickles my fancy

I've been a bit slack with this tag challenge so I thought I had better get back on track and talk about something that tickles my fancy. There are plenty of things that tickle my fancy (must keep a straight face) but none more so than retro gaming and with thousands of old titles lurking out there its an interest that will last a long time. I've been into video games since the early 80s with iconic games such as Pacman eating at my holiday money. Its nice to be able to play these games again through my PC and relive my childhood days of gaming fun without the need for a pocket full of 10p coins.

The games I remember the most are side scrolling Beat em ups, a breed of game that is now pretty much defunct. Notable beat em ups include the Double Dragon, a classic game and one that popularised the genre. This game impressed me at the time with its large detailed sprites, realistic sound effects and most importantly the memorable music. Final Fight is also considered by many to be the ultimate scrolling beat em up. This game improved upon Double Dragon with even larger sprites and more action. The genre started to disappear in the 90s but this is when my favourite beat em up hit the arcades. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs renewed my faith in the genre after a few years without a decent release. The title says it all really. I like cars and Dinosaurs so together they are an unbeatable force. Throw in a multitude of weapons including Uzi's and Grenade launchers and you have a beat em up to beat the rest, erm, up.

So you can now see that I kind of like retro games.

Hollywood films that use Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D has proven its versatility in the film industry many time in such films as District 9 and Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs. The latest film to add Cinema 4D to its arsenal of special effects software is Tron Legacy, the sequel to a film that needs no introduction. It's kind of nice to know that the software I use to create 3d models is used in big budget Hollywood blockbusters. So I just wanted to give this and some other films a quick mention. Quite often Cinema 4D is used for Matte painting but this time around the 3D applications spline capabilities are being used for the bike scenes.

District 9 took advantage of Cinema 4Ds Bodypaint 3D capabilities for the aliens. Cinema 4D has powerful tools that can help replicate smoke effects and these were used in the Bruce Willis film Surrogates. GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra used Bodypaint 3D to texture various models in the film. Here's hoping Cinema 4D continues to be used for future film releases.

Tag challenge: Day 05: favourite quote

I didn't have to think too long about this one. 'Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into'. This quote brings back memories of watching Laural and Hardy in my younger years so it is something that has stayed with me. This is one of the most enduring quotes in film history and is still remembered by many people to this day however it is often misquoted as 'Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into'. So there you go, a well remembered quote from a well remembered comedy duo.

Tag challenge: Day 04: favourite book

My favourite books are the Fighting Fantasy series by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. They are probably not considered to be classics in the same way as the Lord of the Rings books but to me and many other fan boys Fighting Fantasy was a great form of escapism. If I had to choose just one book in the series I would have to say Talisman of Death which also happened to be the first Fighting Fantasy book I ever read.

Talisman of Death really did make me feel like I was thrust in to a fantasy world with a range of characters to interact with and monsters to fight. Anyone who has ever read/played one of these books will remember rolling the dice to determine luck and the annoyance of rolling too high a number. Although I am sure many would admit to cheating here and there.

So there you go. There's not much more to say apart from happy reading and if you stumble across a Fighting Fantasy book you might want to give those dice a roll.