thanks for the explanation...i can see the reasoning behind it now.. All makes sense to me!!

Perfect!! Thanks Dr Sassi.

I wish i had known about the reverse sequencing options on the gradient. Problem i had is when i tried to keep adding colours to my gradient, C4d kept on freezing so i was reluctant to keep on experimenting.

One thing i'm puzzled by - on your second example where the black and white ramp is used as a mask....how does the mask cause the Colour layer to be twice as wide as the two ramps feeding into it? I always find masks tend to hide/reveal one layer over another but don't cause the result to be placed side by side.

I am trying to model a mulitcoloured ribbon cable but i'm finding i cannot get the texture to apply itself how i thought it should.
ribbon cable_v2.c4d

I tried all the different mapping types but cannot get the effect i need. The colours should be visible on both sides of the model as each rib is supposed to be a different wire.

I created the texture using a Ramp node and multiple colours on the gradient, all spaced to be in the correct position when applied to the cross section.

I cannot get the colours to pass through from one side to the other. I could not apply the colour to the cross section spline and have it extrude along the length of the model.

I even tried to half the width of the texture (U) to 50% then tile it in the hope it would wrap around to the reverse side, but all it seems to do is extend the very last colour across the back. I know this would still be inaccurate because the front and rear of the model would be different colours, but at least there would be different colours!!

I also tried this on a simple extrude model and the results were the same.

How can i add a texture that will be applied along the length of and extrusion/sweep?

thanks in advance
Adam

@Dr-Sassi Interesting!!

If i am reading it right, the Mospline is taking the Spline and allowing you to increase the number of points on each spline so they match allowing the Loft to connect them all more easily.

I will have to read up on these Mosplines - they look intriguing.

thanks for the help
Adam

@Dr-Sassi cross sections.c4d

I did manage to create a shape using the Loft object, and a lot of mucking around with Spline Point orders.

However, the project that inspired the question involved a lot more splines for a more complex profile (which i discarded in favour of other methods).

I have been trying to find way to convert the Splines into editable objects. I have not found a way. I tried using the polygon tool - and with the tool active, snapping turned on, i could click on a vertex then click to a vertex on the next spline and it looked right until you moved the perspective view and the new poly was not connecting the points and was way of in the distance!

I really wanted a way to use the Bridge tool to connect the edges or points from one spline to another, but that doesn't work on splines.

It feels like it should be a straight forward notion - connecting up vertices from one spline to another to create a volume, but i cannot find a way.

Having created a whole bunch of individual spline profiles that relate to the cross section of a vessel. I was intending to use the Loft tool to build the shape, but i think because the profiles have differing numbers of vertices, the resulting shape is wrong, and nothing i can do seems to fix things...

therefore i have been trying to find a way to use those splines, and connect the vertices from one spline to another using something like the Bridge tool - only this does not work. I would prefer this method as it should give me flat panels, rather than curved surfaces.

Is there a way to convert a c4d spline into something that the polygon tools will work with?

thanks

I think thats exactly what i did wrong!
It was quicker to go back a few iterations in the model and change the sequence i did things (break the model apart before applying panel extrusions )made everything much easier to deal with!

thanks for the explanations and possible solutions.
adam

@Dr-Sassi Thanks dr Sassi,

I think i might just try re-making the model. The main problem i have is that when i have used the extrude tool to push and pull panels (its a spaceship model) its created extra geometry on the inside of the model. then when i come to split the model into smaller sections its impossible to patch the gaps as there are loads of extra layers around the edge that all need to be covered.

I think this is one of those live and learn experiences!!

forgot to say - I have been using the Connect+Delete but it doesn't seem to get rid of the hidden stuff

Is there an easy way to delete polygons/points /lines from inside a complicated mesh?

I have been building a model which looks great from the outside, yet when i try break it apart so that i can prep it for 3d Printing, i'm finding there are lots of messy layers within the model.

Mainly caused when sections have been extruded to create panels on the exterior...these seem to have multiple layers inside.

I would love to know if there is a tool that you can use to strip out all the hidden,un-used structure inside a mesh.

thanks
Adam

I had a feeling that might be the case. Thanks for looking into it!

I'm am absolutely positive that some of my older versions of C4d had different model and material assets that are not included with the latest versions.

Is there any way to access those older assets and import them into current software?

I have tried to search for the assets but i have no clue what or where i should be looking!

I might be imagining things here but i dont think i am.....

adam

I was pondering this last night and wanted to see what thoughts people have...

if you have a model that has been constructed to show different aspects of the product in different shots, would it render faster if when a shot does not show certain aspects of the build, they were deleted for that shot?

I am thinking that if i model up an electronic toy, and animate the batteries being fitted and the cover plate moving into place in one shot, but then never see the batteries or cover again, and they are not anywhere that would affect lights/reflections etc, would the subsequent shots render faster if i deleted them first?

I don't know if software is intelligent enough to ignore geometry that is not affecting the visible light rays in a scene?

I guess i will be removing these things as its my feeling that the geometyr will still need calculating whether its seen or not.

interesting - i had not realised that. I always assumed that png,s did contain alphas ( they certainly come into Flame with alpha channels present). Might have to revert to those cumbersome old psd's.

figured it out (i think)...

drag in the png to the node editor, attach to Color Input on the RS Standard Material Node, then add a Color Splitter node, feed the input from the Texture node and take the outA and drop into the lower section of the RS Standard Material Node, let go then select the Geometry/Opacity from the drop down.

please can someone clarify how you create a Redshift material incorporating an imported .png?

I want to apply a company logo to a model but i am struggling to get my head around the Material Node Graph, and cannot figure out how to include an alpha channel.

I know i did it once in the older Shader Graph, but even that was not straight forward...and i've forgotten what i did.

Loudspeaker is actually a pretty good description of the shape. The only problem i have with it is i cannot use it as the only reference model is too brittle - its not a production sample, so filming it action is awkward.

I have also come to the conclusion that manual animation is thre way forward - after two days trying everything i could think of and getting nowhere, its time to just get it done!

I understand better than most what you mean about cuts - i've been a pro video editor for nearly 4 decades! 3d is just something i use to expand my abilities when i get the chance.

thanks for all your help, Sassi...i owe you a beer!

adam

excellent! Thanks once again, Sassi...your help is really appreciated

adam

I have used the Moves by Maxon app to capture some motion, and i have copied it into C4d and now i am lost.

How do i connect all the data from the mocap to one of the 3d Human models that come supplied in C4d?

The only tutorials i have found explain how to import the data but absolutely nothing about how to apply it ...and the Help files are no better.

Anyone know where i can find info on applying mocap to a model?

thanks

@Dr-Sassi Hi Dr Sassi,

thanks for those files.
I'm now thinking what i really need is some hybrid between manual and dynamic animation. I need the control to be able to press down on any area of the model and have it pivot accurately, but then to be able to move the weight and have the model roll/rotate accurately.

I'm trying to replicate the game play of a new product - it has an electronic game aspect to it where you move to have certain coloured sectors touch the floor in a specific sequence. A way of making fitness fun!

whatever i try with the dynamics seems to go crazy. I cannot control the model in any way and its proving impossible to achieve anything useful. The best thing i get with the Dynamics is that the model does sit on the floor and it does use the shape of the model to act against the floor.

Is there a way to have that functionality but still be able to control the rock and rolling using manual techniques?

I have made a simple model with the same profile so can use that to do the animations more simply before copying the motion data over to the complex model. I have not included rigid body tags on this version.

On the model - i used a hidden sphere as a child of the model to provide the Radius needed for the rolling. If you move either x or z position on the model, it will roll...BUT if you roll past 74mm in either direction, the radius is no longer correct and the model floats in the air. I cannot manually lower the Y position because thats controlled by the Expresso formula. If i move both x and z positions then the model appears to be flying more than its on the ground.

Balance Board Profile_0020.c4d

i even started looking into the mathematics of rolling elipses but my brain just melted!

regards
Adam