- Assets - Creating Flying Logos with After Effects and Cinema 4D lite
- Importing Illustrator files can be kind of wonky in C4D. This was the most updated video I could find
- An important panel in CINEMA 4D is what's called the Object Manager, which is in the upper right. It's kind of like a combination of the Project Panel and Timeline Panel in After Effects. It shows you what assets you have in your project, and how they are stacked together or interconnected.
- To pull an object in, go to the file menu in the Object Manager and choose Merge objects
- Choose the illustrator file (If you have an older version, you may need to save to Illustrator 8)
- For scale use at least 10 (You don't want to go too small or too large)
- Click OK
- Open the null layer and the then the layer 1 layer to see all objects
- Select the layer 1 layer and go to the Attributes panel (lower right corner) Type in 0 for x and Y Position in the bottom panel to the right and then click apply for it to take:
- To navigate click the following keys:
- 1+drag = Track XY plain
- 2+drag = Track Z plain
- 3+drag = Orbit camera
- To set the hierarchy of paths
- Double click the rest of the layers and rename to the corresponding path
- Double click the rest of the layers and rename to the corresponding path
- Now for extrusion
- Go up and select the Extrude Tool, click and hold to open up its menu, and choose Extrude. An Extrude object is added to the Object Manager. Now drag the M object to the extrude layer
- For different extrusions repeat the process. For this the M logo, the word metro and the registration
- Now drag the corresponding objects to the correct extrusions...it helps to name them by double clicking
- To extrude all Metro letters under one extrusion select all, drag into the extrusion layer and in the attritbutes panel in the object tab click the Heirarchal box
- Now drag all extrusion under the Null layer which now acts as a single object (like parenting in AE). You can delete layer 1 (now empty)
- Adjust each extrusion object in the attributes panel in the object tab. Change Offset to taste
- To extrude all Metro letters under one extrusion select all, drag into the extrusion layer and in the attritbutes panel in the object tab click the Heirarchal box
- Go up and select the Extrude Tool, click and hold to open up its menu, and choose Extrude. An Extrude object is added to the Object Manager. Now drag the M object to the extrude layer
- Click cmd/ctrl R to render the object
- select the extrusion object for the M logo and and change the Z movement in the attributes panel
- Object>Offset>11cm
- Caps>round>size 1.4
- Select start cap/end cap
- Increase segments to around 10 so there will be more rounding of the bevel (you can play with the bevel shape for different edge types)
- Now set the extrusion to the METRO word
- Object>Offset>2cm
- Caps>Select start cap/end cap
- Size>.5
- Segements>10
- De-emphisize the registration
- Object>Offset>2cm
- Caps>Select start cap/end cap
- Size>.5
- Segements>10
- Save the file and now view in After Effects. Note...you may need to reposition the word metro and the registration by sliding forward on the Z plane.
- If you don't see it After Effects choose Current in the After Effects in the Effects control panel under Renderer
