You're very welcome, no.____.il,

He is also (typically) in the Ask The Trainer show twice a month:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaxonTrainingTeam/search
Questions can be asked before the show or while it is live.
https://www.maxon.net/en/ask-your-question

We are both in the Learning/Training Team, but I know everyone has a different approach, and it is better to know more

Enjoy

Have a good one

P.S.: Here is a little bit more, as perhaps the next question is about different materials, if not, I had fun rendering it.

https://youtu.be/IZOrmaywnMI

CV4_2024_drs_24_SIsm_11.c4d

Hi history-growth,

I'm sure you are instantly familiar with this setup when you take a quick look at it.

Here is an example.
CV4_2024_drs_24_XPrr_01.c4d

Cheers

Hi solid-honey,

To my knowledge, the Color Vertex Tag is not very useful here if painted.

If you can convert it:
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2024/en-us/Default.htm#html/55293.html
Then it is easy; have a look here; I have set up the example from a Color Vertex Map. If only Black and white, why not use directly a Vertex Map?
Perhaps you share a little bit more.

In any other combinations, the results (if at all) are not stable.

CV4_2024_drs_24_MGvc_01.c4d

All the best

Splitting a post that was added to a different theme.
Please only one subject per thread. Thank you.

Hi mine-basis,

Please have a look here
CV4_2024_drs_24_SIsm_01.c4d

The idea is art direction, which means having control over the setup.

I used the Camera Deformer here, which works directly towards the desired shapes.

To avoid starting over when a change is needed, I used the PoseMoprh (points) on the Camera Deformer to store the work done and adjust as needed.

This means that even if a Pose is set, it can be mixed with others, or the poses can be used with negative values.
Even blending the shapes over time is just done with a few clicks, and if needed, to have a loopable, just use the same Pose Morph setting from the start and at the end.

Example with some wood a single light

Related link
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2024/en-us/Default.htm#html/OCACAMDEFORMER.html
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2024/en-us/Default.htm#html/TCAPOSEMORPH.html

Will that work for you?

As a side note
Normally, the first idea is perhaps to use the Force Field and, based on some random field noise, hope to get something out of it.
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2024/en-us/Default.htm#html/OFIELDFORCE.html

All the best

Thank you very much, Rob F., for carefully going through this.

Yes, the tech support has more ideas about IT and related things.

Have a great weekend.

P.S.: here is a quick demo

https://youtu.be/Hd3rAcNRg3M

What's new in Cinema 4D 2024
New in 2024.5
Alembic points can be imported as a particle group.

Here is the file with the Matrix between,
I sped it up so you don't waste too much time (60 seconds)
https://stcineversityprod02.blob.core.windows.net/$web/Cineversity_Forum_Support/2024_Clips_DRS/20240725_Rendertest_Particle_MG.mp4
Here is the file, which was saved directly after the recording.

I'm sure you checked with the render farm that the abc file is in the folder with your c4d file, correct?

My idea about the Instance not rendering with an abc cache is based on missing data (best guess and my lead to explore an object between that might help here.). The Matrix can generate that missing "whatever, " so I suggested it.

I checked both 2024.4 and 2024.5, and the results were the same.

Yes, it worked surely in the original setup before caching (Correct?), as the direct Particles' data arrived in the Cloner with the data needed to allow for all three instance render options.

I will file a report, hence my more extended exploration into that, to exclude anything that works. The abc file is the current suspect. But I let the developer decide that.

If you would like, check with tech support to get a second opinion; sometimes they have solved it already and can give you a quick answer.

https://www.maxon.net/en/support-center

All the best

Hi ne.____.il,

How to unwrap some surfaces correctly is a general question that leads to a long series or two, and even then, it will not answer all questions.
https://cineversity.maxon.net/en/results?term=UV

Thanassis (AKA Noseman) will share many tricks in some series.

There are two main areas: organic and box-like. Sorry, there is no short answer to either of both, or there are some, but they are inefficient when expecting large islands and keeping them paintable.

Thanks for the file.

I would not have thought even to use the unwrap option here, with so many little parts in the border. You showed the path selected inside the book, meaning it is wrapped around, which is not solvable in a straight way. Unwrap would try to keep the surface relation of the 3D object in the same way in the 2D representation. That is impossible for obvious reasons; hence, it is a long story.
As mentioned from time to time, people have tried to fix that problem for over 2000 years, according to the book by John P. Snyder, "Flattening the Earth. It is that old example of wrapping an Orange in a piece of paper; it doesn't work without wrinkles. So, no worries, there is no click-and-go for all cases; in some cases, it will never be. I think I have repeated that now enough times to make you feel more comfortable.

The Original wrap is straight-lined for the larger areas of the book. If you would like to get the new dimensions done, select the UV islands (Select one polygon, then U~W) and perhaps use the UV-Edit> UV Transform to adjust the island's dimensions in this case.

The provided UV solution is usable; stretching the islands individually should do the trick. But first, load an image in, even if it is empty. As the UV space is normalized, always take the whole image dimension from 0-1 for both dimensions.

As a side note, the fastest way with a 90º based object, like a box or a flat book, might be the projection "Cubic 2" or Box, but again, it is inefficient in using the image space.

I hope that helps a little bit.

All the best