Cinema - Quick Start

Owned by Systems Next Limit (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 10 May, 2021 by Next Limit
8 min read

It is entirely possible to render with Maxwell using only a Scene object. The plugin will automatically convert native C4D materials into Maxwell materials at export time, if there are no explicit Maxwell Materials assigned. This is not recommended, of course, as automatically-created materials are not likely to look as good or perform as well as custom Maxwell Materials.

Similarly, it is not really necessary to create a Camera tag, unless you wish to use Maxwell-specific features like Z-Clip. All of the commonly-adjusted parameters of a camera are inferred either from C4D's Render Settings, or from the Scene's Default Exposure group, found in the Output tab. The Object Properties and Rendering Region tags are also strictly elective, as their basic purposes are to exclude information.

So, to begin with, all you really need to do is create a Scene. To do that, click 'Scene' in the plugin's main menu:

 

In the C4D Attribute Manager, you should now see this:

This is all you need to render using all of the default settings. If you were to have a simple model (an scanned old camera and a couple of cubes in this case) already built when you created the new Scene, clicking on the 'Render Render View' (the first button) would get you an image; something like this:

As you can see, the defaults use Maxwell's Physical Sky and Sun. Possibly, this image is a bit too 'bright' for your taste – that is easy to change – just use the parameters in the 'Default Exposure' section of the Scene:

 

Adjust the EV (Exposure Value) parameter to 15, since the objects in the scene are a bit bright. After doing so, render again:

Too dark now, let's try EV=14:

As you can see, the EV parameter makes it very easy to adjust the exposure – higher numbers are required for brighter environments, and vice-versa. There is a chart at the end of this manual with suggested EVs for different scenarios.

Now, let's apply some Maxwell Materials. One of the easiest way to do this is to use the C4D Content Browser and Material Manager. Browse to your Maxwell program directory (you have already installed Maxwell, or else you would have gotten an error the first time you clicked render), then to one of the material folders inside of the materials database/mxm files directory. Just drag any .mxm file from the Content Browser over into the Material Manager – once it is in the C4D document, you can drag it onto objects just as with any other material. Here, I have changed the scene bit and assigned two Maxwell Materials:

Moving back to the camera side of things, let's create some DOF (depth-of-field) in this image. First, what is needed to do that? The size of the scene is quite determining (bigger scenes will show less DOF effect while smaller ones will show more) so it’s important to make sure the size of the scene is up to scale. So, let’s go to Cinema's Preferences > Units and make sure the Basic Units are correct (in my case, the camera is around 25cm). Also, we will want to open up the Maxwell camera's aperture a bit, so change the fStop (it's located directly under EV in the Default Exposure group) to 2.7. When 'Lock exposure to EV' is checked, it is possible to adjust fStop without also affecting the exposure of the image; the plugin will maintain a consistent EV, regardless of the chosen fStop. Here's what we get after making these changes:

Okay, so we are seeing some DOF here, but I want to have the cube in the background in focus. Let's add a C4D camera so that we can change the camera's focal distance. Add the camera, set the active viewport to use it, and then drag the focal distance to the place we want to be in focus:

Moving the camera's focus to the cube in the foreground, we get this:

Keep in mind; the only Maxwell-specific objects we've created up to this point are a Scene and two Maxwell Materials. Let's use some of the other Maxwell objects; right-click the C4D camera (or the Scene object) and add a Maxwell Camera tag. This tag will override what we've set up in the Scene's Default Exposure group, so set the Exposure to match what we've set up there. Then, enable the Z-Clip planes and adjust them so they cut away part of the geometry:

 

Now, let's add a Rendering Region. Again, right-click the C4D camera (or the Scene object) and add a Maxwell Rendering Region tag. In the Attributes Manager, adjust the Left, Top, Width, and Height to specify the region which should be rendered:    

 

Note, due to the way that C4D draws things in your viewport; it will be easier to use the Rendering Region if the object it is attached to is near the bottom of your object hierarchy in the C4D Object Manager.

Moving on, let's remove the Maxwell Camera and Region Rendering tags and try out an Object Properties tag. I’ll right-click on the camera and add the tag. Enabling the 'Hide from Camera' checkbox results in an image like this (notice that the object is still contributing to the light solution, casting shadows, etc.):

 

 

All of the 'Hide from X' settings in the Object Properties tag are fairly self-explanatory; just consult the regular Maxwell Render manual for more details on what they are used for. Besides those tags, the Object Properties tag also has a switch for disabling Motion Blur. Before we use that, let's just try using Motion Blur. Disable the 'Hide from Camera' checkbox in the Object Properties tag and select the Scene again. In Scene > Output > Options, enable the 'Object Motion Blur' option. Next, define two key frames and positions for the objects. Set the timeline to a frame such that the objects would be located elsewhere in the previous frame; then, render the Scene:

Now, select the Object Properties tag again and check the 'Disable' checkbox in the Motion Blur group; then, render again:

Now, to switch gears a little, let's change from using Physical Sky and Sun, to using an Image Based Environment. Go to the Scene's Environment tab, un-check the 'Sun' checkbox, and choose Image Based from the Type drop-down. The interface will change to show you settings for the Image Based Environment. By default, the Scene will have the 'Use Background for all Channels' enabled – you only need to un-check this if you want to use different HDR images in the Background, Illumination, Reflection, and Refraction Channels. Many times that is not necessary though, and you can just let the plugin copy the settings from the Background Channel into the others at MXS-export time.

So, click on the […] browse button in the Background Channel group to select a HDR image to use. Once you do, the Background Channel group will expand, showing the Scale, Offset, and Intensity parameters. Usually, you may not need to change these values. What you may want to do though is to check the 'Show in viewport' checkbox near the top of the Image Based Parameters section – this will allow you to preview the HDR image in the C4D viewport.

Here is how the Scene renders (after disabling 'Object Motion Blur') using the Image Based Environment:

It was also necessary to adjust the EV down to something more like 9, since there is less light in this scenario.

To wrap things up, let's texture one of these objects using the Maxwell Material that is applied to it.

First, we should select the Material, and then go to the Attribute Manager and un-check the 'Link to' checkbox under MXM Linking. The reason for doing this is because when a Material is created by dragging it from the Content Browser, it will be set to link with the MXM file which was dragged. As such, any changes we make to that Material in C4D will be lost next time we open the document, because the Material will automatically update itself using the MXM file it links to. We are going to add a texture, so we do not want this.

After turning off MXM Linking, double-click the Material in the Material Manager to open the plugin's Material Editor; this Material will be selected and shown in the editor. In the layers tree on the left side of the Material Editor, select one of the BSDF layers in the Material:

 

Now, click the texture-browsing button for the Reflectance 0 channel and use the Texture Editor to choose a texture. Next, set a texture to use in the Bump channel, and then set the Bump value to 5. Click the 'Refresh Preview' button, located to the lower-right of the Material's preview image to refresh the preview. Next, click the small 'checker' button next to the 'Refresh Preview' button; this will show a list which allows you to set one of the Material's textures as 'active':

 

Once you select one of the textures, it will be shown in the viewport. You can switch which texture is shown at any time, or choose the '(none)' item to show the Material's basic color again. Rendering with the newly-textured Material results in this image: