Rendering using Cinema 4D Part 1

Although I really enjoy modeling in Maya, I wanted to try a nice piece of software to render my completed models. I have seen many renders of models in a programme called Cinema 4D and have fallen in love with how beautiful the outcome is. However, it being a nice piece of software, I had to learn correctly how to make a set up with good enough lighting that would show off my models in the way I want them to look. I had some help off a tutor at University who is familiar with the production of lighting and set ups when rendering in Cinema. The tutor made me a mock set up to use, but I want to be able to make my own in order to learn the software.

Here are some images showing how I made my light set up:

  

I  began with a basic plane to put my models on. I then added a 'Sky' lighting affect. This illuminates the surrounding plane with a broad spectrum of light.

 This is the studio plane set up.

In this corner we can see the different materials used to produce the effects. From the lighting to the texture on the plane.

 When you double click on a material it opens up an render editor in which you can play around with the settings of your materials. Making them have specific attitudes that can be applied to the render of the scene.

 For the sky lighting, a HDRI image is placed over a material checking only the luminance box so that the lighting from the image can be reflected onto the model when rendering.

Here is where the texture or material HDRI file is applied.

You can also select different materials by clicking on the tab in the bottom left corner. From there a wide selection of materials can be implemented for the best effects.

Although It cannot be seen, in this image. When you click on a material, you can drag it to a design surface. For the HDRI material, I applied it to the sky lighting for the rendering process.