Appendix

Figure A-1

f you are new to CINEMA 4D, this reference section covers what you need
to know to get started with the application. See the built-in Help system on
the top menu for in-depth explanations of tools, settings, and processes. Use
the search box to bring up keywords, or click on the roll-down triangles in the
left panel to choose manual topics.

Tip: You can access Help directly

from the interface by parking the
mouse on an icon or word and
pressing Cmd + F1 (Mac) or Ctrl
+ F1 (PC).

Basics of the C4D Interface

Fire up your engines! Start CINEMA 4D by clicking the C4D icon in the dock
or the original application icon. You can also drag a C4D file onto either icon.
Although double-clicking a C4D file will usually open the application, there are
times when thats not the best way. Quit with File>Quit or Cmd + Q, saving at
that point if you need to. However, the best saving habit is to save immediately
upon starting a project and update with a quick Cmd + S every time you stop to
think. An important twist on saving is when you have any texture that you have
imported (apart from the shaders inside CINEMA 4D; for example, a photographic
image map you imported). It is necessary to use Save Project if you want the textures to stay with the project so that it will render properly. (Save Project creates
a nice folder for you and tucks everything inside a subfolder named Tex.)
In the default layout, there is a main menu across the top, a palette of tool
icons across the top and one down the left side of the main window, and another


 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Tip: Want quick access to menus

right at your fingertips? Press the
Vkey and click the mouse anywhere on the screen. Then drag
over to the desired command.

smaller menu at the top of each view panel (Figure A-5), sometimes called the
Editor window (the one where you see the objects).
A new view panel can be added any time by choosing Window>New View
Panel from the top menu. Each view window has a unique menu, so it can have
separate settings for angle of view and display style. Go to View>Panels on at
the top of each view for a variety of predesigned panel layouts. If you want to
view your scene from a different angle, or from perspective, top, side, and front
simultaneously, use these key shortcuts to switch from view to view. (Or choose
them from the View menu in each view.)
F1 View 1 Perspective
F2 View 2 Top
F3 View 3 Right Side
F4 View 4 Front
F5 All Views

Figure A-2 All Views.

To change the way objects are drawn in a view, choose Display from that
views menu. Gouraud shading roughly previews the general effect textures
and lighting, but Lines displays are much faster and may be all you need when
modeling. When working with complex motion in animation, Box display may
be necessary. Wireframe and Isoparm displays let you see into or through the
object, making it easier to select buried points. When modeling, it can be help-

Appendix 

ful to make a new view window and set one window to Gouraud display (so
you can clearly see the surface), but change the display of the other window to
Wireframe or Isoparm (so you can easily see and select points on the mesh or
working splines). You can also assign a specific display style to just one object
in a scene by assigning a Display tag (right click on the object, choose CINEMA
4D Tags>Display Tag, click Use Shading Mode, and configure the Shading Mode
and Style from the pull-down menus).

Figure A-3 Left to Right: Top: Gouraud,

Lines>Wireframe, Bottom: Lines>Isoparms,
Hidden Line>Wireframe.

Figure A-4 Display Tag.

The Manager windows are specialized work areas that house the controls
for the major processes in CINEMA 4D. Most Manager windows have a menu
specific to the work of that window. Be aware that for a shortcut (such as Cmd
+ A) to work in a Manager window, it must be the active one. Its a good habit
to click on an empty area of a window to activate it before working.
Figure A-5 View Menu, View Window, and
Manager Windows.

The World Grid and 3D World Geography

In C4D, Y is up and is the vertical axis or height of the 3D world. X is the horizontal axis or width, and Z goes away from you into space, representing the depth
of the space. It will also help to memorize the colors of the axes in CINEMA 4D.

 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Figure A-6 The World Grid and World Axes.

Figure A-7 XY, ZY, and XZ Planes.

Tip: You can use the numbers on

either the regular keyboard or the
numeric keyboard.

You may get turned around at times and not be able to see the labels, and the
colors may be your only signpost.
Successfully navigating the 3D world requires familiarity with the geography
of the 3D space. The world grid is a default construction plane, a subdivided grid
that helps you get your bearings and imparts a sense of where you are placing
objects. The green, red, and blue arrows in the world grid represent the world
axes. The position of any object axis or even any single point in the world can
be defined by its coordinates, or numeric values on each world axis.
The origin of the world is where the X, Y, and Z axes coincide, the location
with coordinates of 0, 0, 0. The diagram in Figure A-6 shows the direction of
positive and negative values for each axis. Some say it feels strange that negative Z (Z) comes to the front and positive Z (+Z) goes to the back, but thats
how it is!
In the modeling process, it may help to imagine the invisible planes defined
by any two axes. For instance, the worlds default construction plane lies on the
XZ plane. (See Figure A-7.)
There are several ways that you can manipulate the camera through which you
are viewing the 3D space. One way is to use these hotkeys to navigate the view.
1 + mouse drag: Moves the camera from side to side or top to bottom
2 + mouse drag: Moves the camera in and out
2 + Command key + mouse drag: Zooms the camera (changes focal length)
3 + mouse drag: Rotates the camera, or tumbles the view

Figure A-8 Viewport Navigation Icons.

To get back to where you started choose Edit>Frame Default from the menu
over the view.
When using the 3 key to rotate the camera, its important to note that the
camera rotates around the 0, 0, 0 point in space. However, if an object is selected,
the camera will rotate around that object. If a group of objects is selected, the
camera will rotate around the axis of the group. The Command and 3 key maneuvers the view in a Dutch tilt.
The icons at the top right corner of the view correspond to the 1, 2, 3, and
F5 keys. Click and drag on the first three symbols to see how they work.

Appendix 
Figure A-9 Distorted Perspective.

Its easy to end up in a distorted perspective without knowing how you got
there and how to get out! When Cmd + 2 is used to zoom the camera, it doesnt
move the camera up and back, but rather changes the focal length of the camera
lens. Just as a telephoto or wide-angle fisheye lens on a real camera exaggerates and
bizarrely twists the scene, a virtual lens change will distort cameras perspective.
To maintain normal perspective, move the camera in and out by using the
2 key and dragging the mouse. For artistic purposes, you may want the distorted
effects of a wide angle or telephoto lens like in Figure A-6. Use Cmd + 2 and drag
the mouse (or, on a two-button mouse, right click with the 2 key and drag the
mouse) to zoom the lens for flattened or stretched perspective. If you end up
with unwanted perspective distortion, just press Cmd + 2 and drag the mouse
to return to normal perspective.

The Lost and Found Department

When first learning CINEMA 4D, you will occasionally lose things. Some typical
situations are listed below, with tips on how to get out of them.
If Manager windows or views disappear, or your layout is suddenly in
general havoc, choose Window>Layout>Reset Layout to restore the
default layout.
It can be easy to get the 3D world twisted around into a weird and unwanted perspective. To start over at the default perspective view, choose
Edit>Frame Default from the menu of that view.
Occasionally objects are completely lost in space. If you see the objects
names in the Object Manager, they are probably still in there somewhere.
Rather than hunt around in space manually, choose Edit>Frame Scene
from the menu over the view. Alternately, if you are looking at the origin
of the world, the object could be sent there by zeroing out the object
(enter 0 in the P.X, P.Y, and P.Z input boxes in the Coordinates Manager
or the Attributes Manager>Coordinate tab).

 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

The number of undo levels can be set in Edit>Preferences>Document>Undo

Depth. In C4D, Cmd + Z steps back as many levels as you have set, and the Redo
Command, Cmd + Y, steps forward.

Working with Objects

Figure A-10 (Left) Object Coordinates;
(Right) World Coordinates System Icon.

Figure A-11 Selection Tools.

Each object created in C4D is born in the center of the 3D world where the X,
Y, and Z axes coincide at coordinates 0, 0, and 0. Each object has its own set of
axes, so if the object is tilted, those axes are no longer oriented in space as when
they were born and no longer match the world axes in orientation. The objects
axis is independent of the world axes, and you can decide which set of axes to
use. Click the Object Axis icon to switch to the World axes.
To select an object for editing or transforming, you can click on the object
itself in the Editor window. A better habit is to click on the name of the object in
the Object Manager. All the Transform tools (Move, Scale, and Rotate) can be used
to select objects or their inner elements in the Editor window. For more complex
selections, the selection tools in the top menu can be used.

Figure A-12 Hierarchy in the Object

anager.
M

The Object Manager

Welcome to Inventory Central! CINEMA 4Ds Object Manager is the bin where
all objects in your 3D world are listed by name. More importantly, objects are
listed in a meaningful diagram called a hierarchy that visually communicates
the relationship of one object to another. It will be clear to you when objects
are in Groups or Parent/Child relationships.
In the Object Manager, object names are critically important for recognition,
selection, and organization. Taking the time to rename generic elements like
splines and primitives is a necessary habit that will pay big dividends later when
you attempt to manage large projects. Pool Ball 8, Mars, and Eyeball will
provide more information than Sphere, Sphere, and Sphere.

Appendix 

Take a look at the dots and checks in the column to the right of the object
names. When clicked twice to a red state, the top dot turns off the visibility of
an object in the Editor window. The bottom dot does the same thing for visi
bility in final rendering. The visibility will be that of the objects parent if the
dots are gray. A green dot means that the object will be visible even if its parent
is invisible. The check marks activate and deactivate deformers and generators.
(Deformers and generators are tools you will use later to modify the shape and
state of objects or primitives.) You can click on one visibility tag or activation
check mark and drag to pass on the state to others of its kind in the hierarchy.
Tags (including the tags for textures) have their own icons in the third column to the right of the object name. You can also drag and drop these from one
object to another in the Object Manager. To access a contextual menu of tags in
the Object Manager, Command-click (or right click) on the object and choose the
tag you want from the CINEMA 4D Tags sidecar menu.

The Attributes Manager

The Attributes Manager is where you will find all the editable characteristics
about an object currently selected in the Object Manager. You will go here to
enter or modify all information about an object. You can even set animation
key frames in the Attributes Manager by Control (or Shift) clicking on the small
circles to the left of value names. Sometimes the information in the AM can
change when you dont want it to (if you accidentally click on the name of
another object). Click the lock symbol at the top of the Attributes Manager to
lock the current information.
Figure A-13 The Attributes Manager.

The Model and Object Tool

First, lets talk about the Model tool in relation to the Points, Edges, Polygons,
Axis, and Texture tools. Use the Model tool when you want the action of the
Move, Scale, or Rotate tools to apply to the Object as a whole. However, if you
want to get under the hood to edit elements that make up the object, switch
to the Points, Edges, Polygons, Axis, or Texture tool to use the Move, Scale, or

 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Figure A-14 Tools on Left Palette (Default).

Rotate tools on those respective elements. Youll

have to make the object editable (just press the
C key!) before being able to access them.
Now for some discussion on using the Model
tool versus the Object tool. Both of these will
allow the moving, scaling, and rotation of whole
objects. When you are making models, use the
Model tool. When animating, though, the Object tool should be used to avoid problems. The
Object tool transforms an objects axes, to which
CINEMA 4D refers when animating.

Figure A-15 (Top)

Model Tool; (Bottom) Object Tool.

Figure A-16 (Left

to Right) Move,
Scale, and Rotate.

Transform Tools

Figure A-17 Basic Transforms, Move, Scale,

Rotate.

Figure A-18 X, Y, Z Axis Locks.

You will be reaching for these Transform tools often to perform the most basic
changes on objects in your 3D world. With them you can move, scale, or rotate
objects and limit those actions to happen on specific axes. Hotkeys for basic
transform tools are as follows: Move is the 4 key (no modifiers), Scale is the 5key,
and Rotate is the 6 key. Hold down the hotkey and drag the mouse in the Editor
window. (This is a temporary shortcut that works while the key is held down, so
it does not change the tool in the palette.)
The action of a tool can be limited to one axis. With the Move and Scale
tools, mouse on the color-coded X, Y, and Z axes (X is red, Y is green, and Z is
blue) and the manipulation will be constrained to that axis (Figure A-17). For free
manipulation, just drag your mouse in the gray area of the window. The Rotate
tool has a set of color-coded bands that let you rotate the object intuitively and
display the angle of rotation.
To constrain to Heading rotation only, mouse on the green band, and for
Pitch, mouse on the red band. You can mouse on the Z band, but in a flat-on
view, it becomes a little tricky to hit. Dragging the mouse outside the yellow
circle will constrain to movement around the Z, and free rotation will occur if
you mouse immediately outside the color bands. See Help>Rotate (Tools menu)
for other shortcuts for the Rotation tool.
An alternate method for constraining movement is to use the X, Y, and Z
symbols on the top palette. If one of these is locked (no circle around it), the
object will not be able to move on that axis. If you want to move the object only
along one axis, then the symbol for that axis should be unlocked. (It should have
a circle around it!) Each object has its own system of axes placed by default in
the center of the object when it is created.
These axes are used as an orientation point by the Move, Scale, and Rotate
tools, and the coordinates of an objects axis define the single point on the object referred to in matters of positioning and movement. You will often need to
move the objects axis either within or completely outside the object using the
Object Axis tool. For example, a planet rotating around the sun would have its
axis, the point of rotation, at the center of the sun.

Appendix 
Figure A-19 Constraining Transform
Tools.

The Coordinates Manager is where numeric values for Position, Size, Scale,
and Rotation may be input. In addition to entering typed values, you can quickly
change the values by dragging on the small triangles by each input box (drag upward for larger increments and downward for smaller ones), or by single-clicking
the triangles with the mouse to nudge tiny changes. If you have a wheel mouse
you can spin the values. Press Return after inputting the value. Dont confuse
this separate manager with the Coordinates panel in the Attributes Manager,
where you can Command-click or right click on the names of values and set key
frames from the Contextual menu.
Figure A-21
Make Editable,
Model, and Object Axis Tools.

Figure A-20 Object Axis.

Figure A-22 The Coordinates

Manager.

Rotation in the Coordinates Manager is entered in plus or minus values for

H (or Heading), P (or Pitch), and B (or Bank). Heading rotates around the Y axis,
Pitch around the X axis, and Bank around the Z axis. Visualizing those terms in
Figure A-23 The HPB System.

10 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Tip: Choose Selection>Convert

Selection to switch a selection of
one type of element to another.
For example, convert a selection
of points to a selection of edges,
or a selection of polygons into a
selection of points.

relation to an airplane may help you get your bearings. When objects are tilted,
HPB Rotation can yield some unexpected results. See Help>Rotate (Tools menu)
for an explanation of tumbling behavior.
These are the basic working elements in CINEMA 4D:
Points are also called control points or vertices, defined by their position
in the X, Y, Z space.
Splines are lines in space, points connected by lines that can be straight
or curved. Splines are invisible in rendering.
Spline primitives are splines of various shapes available in the palette.
Edges are single sides of a polygon, each connected by two points.
Polygons are closed planes formed by points connected by lines, usually
connected in a mesh.
Parametric primitives are mathematically defined basic 3D forms.

Figure A-24 Basic Elements: (Left to Right)

Points, Spline Primitive,
Polygon (and Edges),
Spherical Polygon Mesh,
Parametric Primitive.

Rendering
For a quick test render of the Editor window, just press Cmd + R.
To continually render a preview (that will be on the fuzzy side), press
Opt (Alt) + R.
If you want to render and save a still picture, press Shift + R. After the
rendering is complete, in the Pictures window choose File>Save Picture
As>(format of your choice). Use the finder to title the file and navigate to
where you want to save it. Click Save.
If you want the picture to be bigger, choose Render>Render Settings and
click on the Output tab. Drag down on the box next to Resolution and set
the size to 640 x 480 NTSC or other desired size. Close the Render Settings
window and press Shift + R again to render.
If the edges have the jaggies, choose Render>Render Settings and click on
the General tab. Drag down the box next to Antialiasing and choose Best.

Appendix 11

Rendering an Animation
Choose Render>Render Settings, click on the General tab, and choose
Filter>Animation. Select the Output tab. Drag down on the box next to
Frame and choose all frames.
Still in Render Settings, click on Save in the left-hand column. Click the
Path button and use the finder to title the movie and navigate to where
you want to save it. In the navigation window that pops up, click Save.
Under Format, choose QuickTime movie. (You do not have to click the
Save button at the bottom of the window. That refers to saving a compositing project file.) Close the Render Settings window.
Press Shift + R on the keyboard to render the animation in the Picture
Viewer. The animation will automatically be saved to the location you
specified.

Previewing an Animation
From the top menu, select Render>Make Preview. In the input box, click your
choices for the kind of preview you want. The progress box at the bottom left of
the main window will show you the rendering progress, and then a QuickTime
window will open. Click the Play button. Choose File>Save if you want to save
the QuickTime preview movie.

Render Safe and Title Safe

Choose Edit>Configure from each Viewport menu to turn on Render Safe (the
borders of your final rendering determined by the format choice in your render
settings), Action Safe, or Title Safe (for TV output) guidelines.

Choosing a Scheme
You may prefer a sophisticated, dark gray work environment or something lighter.
You may even opt to go back to the classic scheme if the R10 icons feel too foreign. In Edit>Preferences>Common you can choose a scheme that feels right to
you. And even that chosen scheme can be completely customized (see below).
Any scheme customization can be created and saved, and there are giveaway
schemes out on the web. Just place them in your C4D/Resources>Schemes folder
and they will appear in your list of schemes in Preferences.

Customization
Saving Custom Layouts
You can place any elements of the C4D interface anywhere you wish, and then
save your redesigned workspace as a custom layout (Window>Layout>Save Layout

Tip: Important! This is a definite

gotcha! If you forget to set the
Save/Format settings to QuickTime
or set up navigation to a folder
created for individual frames,
many annoying TIFF files will be
piled on your desktop by default.
This can be a real ordeal to clean
up, so make a mental note to check
those Save>Format settings every
time you render an animation.
Better yet, create a Template.c4d
file with Render Settings set to output a QuickTime movie. Place the
template in the same folder with
the current version of C4D and
it will open every time you work
with those settings.

Figure A-25 Title Safe and Render Safe.

12 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

As), and place the file inside the Library>Layout folder that
resides in the current CINEMA 4D folder. It will then be accessible in the Layout icon at the top of the left palette.

Managing the Manager Windows

Figure A-26 Schemes: (top left) Dark,

(top right) Light, (bottom) Classic.

Figure A-27 Layout Icon.

If you want to float a window and be able to move it freely

around the workspace, click the textured square in the upper
left corner of any window and drag over to choose Undock.
If you click the red close button on the window, it will
disappear from the interface. To bring it back, choose the
name of the window from the Window menu. To realign an
undocked window with other tabs, mouse on the textured
square and drag to the textured square of the window you
want to reconnect with.
To make a Manager window share a space with another
window and reside as a tab in the same tab bar, drag the windows textured square
and drop it on the textured square of the target window. Dragging a windows
textured square against the edge of another window will result in a new docking
position. To change the height or width of a window, mouse on its border and
drag with the double-sided cursor.

Restoring the Default Layout

To restore the layout to the original layout, choose Window>Layout>Reset Layout.
Click on the top icon of the left-hand tools palette to choose a layout appropriate for the task at hand. CINEMA 4D has several already built in that are set up
for specific tasks, like using MOCCA or BodyPaint 3D.

Appendix 13

Customizing Command Palettes

Right click on a palette to access a contextual menu for custom editing. Choose
Edit Palettes and you will be able to drag and drop icons from one palette to
another or delete palettes.

Creating your Own Hotkeys

Choose Window>Layout>Command Manager and youll see a complete list of all
CINEMA 4Ds commands. Select the command for which you want to assign a
key combination. Click in the Shortcut box and type the shortcut. Click Assign.
(Youll get a message if the key combination you requested is already in use.)
As an example of how shortcuts can make your life easier, longtime Photoshop
users might capitalize on their lifetime Cmd + D habit by assigning it to Deselect
All. The new assigned shortcut will appear in the box to the left. The Command
Manager can also be used to edit palettes. (See Help.)

Restoring Factory Settings

To restore CINEMA 4D to its original factory settings, throw away the CINEMA
4D.prf file in the current C4D Prefs folder. Dont be afraid! The next time you use
CINEMA 4D, a clean prefs file will be created automatically. You can explore the
deeper meaning of the many preferences settings in the built-in Help. Preference
Figure A-28 The Command Manager.

14 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

settings will stay in place from file to file, until you change them or restore the
original settings. One note: If you plan to use a Graphics Tablet (which is a musthave if you plan to use BodyPaint 3D), better head right into Preferences and check
the Graphics Tablet check box, or youll see some strange cursor behavior.

Restoring Factory Schemes

Its easy to get carried away with your ability to change colors in the Viewport and
Interface, and with so many elements that can be changed, it can be hard to find
your way back. Quit C4D and navigate to the Prefs folder, deleting the COL file for
the scheme you edited. For example, if you played havoc with the dark scheme,
delete Dark.col. Reopen C4D and the default scheme will have been restored.

Editing Project Settings

Project settings (Top Menu>Edit>Project Settings) apply only to the current scene.
Here you can set a frame rate appropriate for your output; enter the first frame of
the animation in the Minimum box and the last frame in the Maximum box.

Restoring Factory Schemes

Figure A-29 Selection Filter.

If you are working on a Mac, buy a two-button wheel mouse if at all possible.
The mighty mouse works great! Right clicking will bring up contextual menus
and streamline your workflow greatly! If you stick with the regular Mac mouse,
holding down the Command (Apple) key does the same thing as right button
mousing. If your mouse has a wheel, use it to scroll sliders, enter values in numerical input boxes, and move in and out of the editor window.

Cross Platform and C4D

CINEMA 4D plays cross-platform very nicely. With just the usual differences
listed below, there is little difference between the Mac and PC versions of CINEMA 4D.
MAC

PC

Command

Control

Opt

Alt

Command-click

Right click

Selection and Display Filters

The Selection filter allows you to determine which objects in the scene can
(or cannot) be selected. This applies to the Editor window (and not the Object
Manager, where all objects can always be selected). When scenes get very dense
with objects, you can use this list to isolate the type of objects youre working
on. Just Control-click on one object in the Selection filter list and all others will

Appendix 15

be disabled, or uncheck the objects you dont want to be selectable. You can
also Shift-select objects and choose Create Selection Object from the Selection
filter list, creating a Selection object in the Object Manager. Later, if you click
Restore in the Attributes Manager, all these objects will select at once for easy
multiple editing. If you choose the Select tool from the Selection filter list, you
can check the kinds of objects you would like to select as a group. For example,
if you check on Light, all lights in the scene would be selected in the Viewport
and highlighted in the Object Manager.
Of course, you can Shift-select multiple objects (in either the Editor window or
the Object Manager) and mass edit parameters, but there will be times when having a complex group of objects already saved will make things much easier.
The Display filter works the same way, but it determines which sets of objects
will be visible in the Editor window. Youll still see the axes of objects that have been
made invisible. To return the objects to the view, just check the check box again.

Figure A-30
Display Filter.

Using the HUD

Heads Up Display, borrowed from the world of aviation, offers information and
animation at close proximity in the Editor window. The HUD can be used with
object parameters. It allows you to work with values on a layer that hovers over
your models. Command-click (right click) on animatable parameters (Size.Y or
P.Y, for example) and drag to Add to HUD. Control-click to move the panels
anywhere you wish. Drag the mouse up and down over any value to change it
real time, and Control-click the white circle to set key frames at different points
in time. Of course, you can Shift-click as many values as you wish and add them
all to the HUD in one move. To remove the HUD, Command-click or right click
on the panel and drag down to Remove.

Figure A-31 HUD.

16 CINEMA 4D: The Artists Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Figure A-32 (A) Original Photo; (B) Photoshop Crop with Perspective Checked.

You can also use the HUD to display information helpful to the work process in
the Viewport. To custom configure the HUD, choose Edit>Configure>HUD. Heres
an example. In the HUD tab, check on Total Polygons to get a live poly count, or
check on Camera Distance to watch the objects distance from the camera as you
move either. Check out the other bits of information that can be placed at eye
level in your Viewport. Notice that under Controls, you can reduce the opacity
and change the color of the HUD panels.

Working with Image Templates

Its easy to create working guides that will help the 3D construction process. By importing photographs taken from the
critical angles (or sketches) into a material and placing the
material on planes placed at the corresponding positions
and angles in space, you construct a great guide for drawing
splines or shaping polygonal meshes. The photo in Figure
A-32A was taken from an angle that would be of little use
in a template (a most unorthographic view). In Photoshop,
the corner points of the Crop tool (with Perspective checked
on) are aligned over the grille area. When the crop tool is
activated, voila! Now the image in Figure A-32B is quite
useful as a tracing guide.

Managing Your Scenes

Scene management has recently become an area of great
improvement in C4D. With new tools for filtering, searching, bookmarking, and placing related elements into layers,
you can now focus on the task at hand without being overwhelmed, even in the most complicated scenes.

Searching for Objects in the Object Manager

Figure A-33 The Object Manager Search Box.

To search for an object by name in the Object Manager, click the Magnifier icon
on the top right and type as many letters as necessary to bring the object out of
hiding. Remember to check the cross button when you are through so that all
of the objects will not continue to be filtered. You may want to select the object once
its found, so that when you return to the crowd of objects it will stand out.

Using Layers in the Object Manager

Place ten primitives in the Editor window and position them so you can see them
all. Select a single object, Shift-select neighboring objects, or Control-click scattered
objects in the Object Manager. Command-click (right click) on any one of the selec-

Appendix 17

Figure A-34
Layers: Object
Manager, Timeline, and Layer
Browser.

tions and drag to Add to Layer in the contextual menu. Notice that all the selected
objects (or the single object) have been assigned a rounded squareto the right in a
single color. Now choose a different primitive, and choose Add to New Layer. A different color has been assigned. Every time you add an object to a new layer, a new
color will be assigned. If you choose Add to Layer now, you will be give a choice
of colors representing the different layers. Now press Shift + F4 to bring up the Layer
Manager. (You could also choose it from the contextual menu.) The icons to the
right of each layer allow you to toggle on and off certain states for the layer like
isolation (S [for solo]), visibility (V), and inclusion in the render (R). See Help for
the meanings of the remaining icons. Now open the Animation Layout. The layers
are honored there also, and you can still use Shift + F4 to access the Layer Browser
to isolate, lock, or otherwise control the states of those layers. Its up to you how
you populate your layers, but generally objects that need to be accessed at one time
might be on the same layer. For example, if a scene had three characters, each one
with its accessory objects might be on a separate layer. See the DVD for references
and more instruction on using layers.

Tip: You can access a glossary of

terms pertinent to CINEMA 4D at
http://www.maxoncomputer.com.