Maxon Cinema 4D is a flexible and powerful modeling, animation, and rendering tool. It’s used to create a wide variety of images, including special effects, broadcast titles, character animations, and more.

Maxon Cinema 4D 7.0 provides a thorough introduction to the software, while the companion CD contains a demo version of Cinema 4D, as well as sample scenes and animations from the book. Readers will learn how to use Cinema 4D to create special effects, character animations, and 3D modeling. Project examples in each chapter illustrate key features of the software. The last chapter in the book dissects and fully deconstructs a full-featured animation.

Maxon Cinema 4D is a flexible and powerful modeling, animation, and rendering tool. It’s used to create a wide variety of images, including special effects, broadcast titles, character animations, and more. In fact, many features available in version 7 can only be found in animation packages costing twice the price or more. In addition, Cinema 4D has comparatively low hardware requirements, compared to similar software packages. It can be used with a Power Macintosh, Windows 98, 2000, and Windows NT. This guide provides a thorough introduction to the software, while the companion CD contains a demo version of Cinema 4D, as well as sample scenes and animations from the book.

Arndt von Koenigsmarck is a Cinema 4D teacher based in Germany. He is the author of the German edition of this book, Maxon Cinema 4D 6.0 Ein Workshop für Profis.

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Maxon Cinema 4D is a flexible and powerful modeling, animation, and rendering tool. It’s used to create a wide variety of images, including special effects, broadcast titles, character animations, and more.

Maxon Cinema 4D 7.0 provides a thorough introduction to the software, while the companion CD contains a demo version of Cinema 4D, as well as sample scenes and animations from the book. Readers will learn how to use Cinema 4D to create special effects, character animations, and 3D modeling. Project examples in each chapter illustrate key features of the software. The last chapter in the book dissects and fully deconstructs a full-featured animation.

Maxon’s Cinema 4-D is arguably the most underrated computer 3-D animation application available. It is hardly known outside its own user base and yet offers a broad and deep feature set and tremendous flexibility. Maxon Cinema 4-D 7 is perfect for the beginning user as well as the intermediate and somewhat advanced user. It introduces many important basic concepts and techniques and goes deeply into the more advanced features as well.

The author wastes no time in getting past the interface introduction and into a working example. The best way to learn is by doing, and sculpting a fairly complex model is exactly what gets done before the first 50 pages are over. Subsequent chapters cover organic and mechanical modelling, radiosity and caustics, Hypernurbs and an invaluable tips and tricks section.

By far, the chapter on expressions is worth the cost of the book. Expressions and the COFFEE language used in Cinema is one of its most powerful features, and the 50 pages of examples and description in this chapter shed light on this powerful tool. Need to make a hose attached to two different objects (one at each end)? The example is here, as are things like properly deforming a spring (its length changes, but the diameter of the wire itself doesn’t) and automating the movement of the nested sleeves of a piston.

The only complaint is the lack of colour pictures throughout the book. While heavily illustrated, the chapters on radiosity and materials sorely lack the necessary accompanying examples. They are on the CD, along with the project and data files, but that isn’t quite the same as having them on the page next to the words.

For anyone who’s used or is planning to use Cinema 4-D, this book is as important as the manuals that come with the application. --Mike Caputo

Maxon’s Cinema 4D is arguably the most underrated computer 3-D animation application available. It is hardly known outside its own user base and yet offers a broad and deep feature set and tremendous flexibility. Maxon Cinema 4D 7 is perfect for the beginning user as well as the intermediate and somewhat advanced user. It introduces many important basic concepts and techniques, and goes deeply into the more advanced features as well.

The author wastes no time in getting past the interface introduction and into a working example. The best way to learn is by doing, and sculpting a fairly complex model is exactly what gets done before the first 50 pages are over. Subsequent chapters cover organic and mechanical modeling, radiosity and caustics, Hypernurbs, and an invaluable tips and tricks section.

By far, the chapter on expressions is worth the cost of the book. Expressions and the COFFEE language used in Cinema is one of its most powerful features, and the 50 pages of examples and description in this chapter shed light on this powerful tool. Need to make a hose attached to two different objects (one at each end)? The example is here, as are things like properly deforming a spring (its length changes, but the diameter of the wire itself doesn’t) and automating the movement of the nested sleeves of a piston.

The only complaint is the lack of color pictures throughout the book. While heavily illustrated, the chapters on radiosity and materials sorely lack the necessary accompanying examples. They are on the CD, along with the project and data files, but that isn’t quite the same as having them on the page next to the words.

For anyone who’s used or is planning to use Cinema 4D, this book is as important as the manuals that come with the application. --Mike Caputo

Maxon Cinema 4D is a flexible and powerful modeling, animation, and rendering tool. It’s used to create a wide variety of images, including special effects, broadcast titles, character animations, and more.

Maxon Cinema 4D 7.0 provides a thorough introduction to the software, while the companion CD contains a demo version of Cinema 4D, as well as sample scenes and animations from the book. Readers will learn how to use Cinema 4D to create special effects, character animations, and 3D modeling. Project examples in each chapter illustrate key features of the software. The last chapter in the book dissects and fully deconstructs a full-featured animation.

C4D :)

I picked this book up as it was the only c4d book I’ve seen locally at any of my stores and when I first picked it up bout 6-8months ago I was being too literal with reading his instructions,. sometimes his prose when translated to english leaves me wondering he’ll say do something "and then this will also be selected" which could be interpretted as ok so have both selected,.. minor translation issues notwith standanding,.. as a Pretty much Complete beginning Im Managing this just fine Even using a book for 7 on 9.1 and unlike most 3d books I’ve found his ultimate task in this book is something really interesting to model and each piece he shows you how to do it using all the different methods avail when I picked the book back up when I attempted to model something I started reading it again after spending some time importing stuff I’d done elsewhere and rendering it c4d and then I wasnt struggling with translation and a unknown system everything made sence
In short this book Is Quite Good and Quite Possible to be done by a Complete modeling Novice BUT my advice if you do fit those categorys,.. Play around with the program for a while,. I know everyone says familiarize yourself with it,. but In this case its soo true once you get used to the way everything moves in this you’ll wonder why everything isnt structured so well

Good book :)

C4D :)

I picked this book up as it was the only c4d book I’ve seen locally at any of my stores and when I first picked it up bout 6-8months ago I was being too literal with reading his instructions,. sometimes his prose when translated to english leaves me wondering he’ll say do something "and then this will also be selected" which could be interpretted as ok so have both selected,.. minor translation issues notwith standanding,.. as a Pretty much Complete beginning Im Managing this just fine Even using a book for 7 on 9.1 and unlike most 3d books I’ve found his ultimate task in this book is something really interesting to model and each piece he shows you how to do it using all the different methods avail when I picked the book back up when I attempted to model something I started reading it again after spending some time importing stuff I’d done elsewhere and rendering it c4d and then I wasnt struggling with translation and a unknown system everything made sence
In short this book Is Quite Good and Quite Possible to be done by a Complete modeling Novice BUT my advice if you do fit those categorys,.. Play around with the program for a while,. I know everyone says familiarize yourself with it,. but In this case its soo true once you get used to the way everything moves in this you’ll wonder why everything isnt structured so well

Good book :)

You Want to Learn to Model from A Master? Cinema 4D Style?

I have about 17 years of 3d applications experience. I had virtually hit a wall. Nothing really worked the way I think. Enter Cinema 4D. This book opened my eyes and opens up the power within Cinema 4D. I have made it through Chapter two and it is a wonderful read and experience. I like the way the book allows you to think about what you are modeling so that you can get yourself to where Arndt wants you to be. I would recommend this book again and again. I had to so much fun, I did some of the exercises more than once, because Arndt’s method to to teach you to think about what you are modeling. I found the steps to be about intermediate level. I basically put down the Cinema 4D tutorials and have become engrossed in this book. Not every single step is mentioned, and I like that because there are places for one to ’think’ like Arndt in modeling things like Hypernurbs and figuring out what modeling technique is best for what you are setting out to do.

I would buy more books from this author.

You Want to Learn to Model from A Master? Cinema 4D Style?

I have about 17 years of 3d applications experience. I had virtually hit a wall. Nothing really worked the way I think. Enter Cinema 4D. This book opened my eyes and opens up the power within Cinema 4D. I have made it through Chapter two and it is a wonderful read and experience. I like the way the book allows you to think about what you are modeling so that you can get yourself to where Arndt wants you to be. I would recommend this book again and again. I had to so much fun, I did some of the exercises more than once, because Arndt’s method to to teach you to think about what you are modeling. I found the steps to be about intermediate level. I basically put down the Cinema 4D tutorials and have become engrossed in this book. Not every single step is mentioned, and I like that because there are places for one to ’think’ like Arndt in modeling things like Hypernurbs and figuring out what modeling technique is best for what you are setting out to do.

I would buy more books from this author.

A detailed project-based tour of Cinema 4D 7

This was the first book I ever purchased for Cinema 4D and it remains the best 3rd-party Cinema 4D book that I’ve ever purchased. Admittedly, that is partially because there are surprisingly few English language Cinema 4D books to choose from. But Arndt’s book provides a solid basis in modeling, animating, and rendering in Cinema 4D 7. Maxon revised the application interface substantially in Cinema 4D R8.x, but much of the information in this book still carries over fine into R8.x. But you should probably have a good understanding of both Cinema 7 and 8 before trying to undertake one of the projects in this book using R8.x.

This book delves into some focused modeling and animation projects and given its subtitle, "A Workshop for 2D/3D Graphics Pros", that’s what you should expect. The person who wrote this up as a "bad book" because it didn’t tell them how to install Cinema 4D seems really lost. The manuals that come with Cinema do a fine job of guiding you through the installation - if you even require any assistance. This isn’t Cinema For Dummies. Instead, what it is is a trip through some interesting projects that provide some knowledge and thorough usage of many aspects of Cinema 4D 7. It doesn’t particularly matter if you are familiar with those aspects as the text provides ample introduction to nearly everything except the most trivial facets (installation of the software, configuration of your machine). Much of the modeling makes use of 3 custom plug-ins (EdgeExtrude, EdgeBevel, and Cutter) which are provided for no additional cost by the author.

Overall, as of late September 2003, this is still the best English language 3rd-party companion book available for Cinema 4D. Could it be improved? Certainly. As other reviewers have mentioned, the translation gets in the way a little at times and the subject matter could be expanded plenty. Arndt has written other more recent German language books and I’d love to see them show up in English. He’s obviously a very talented Cinema user and author. This book probably deserves more like 4 or 4.5 stars, but the earlier 2-star review was a blatant injustice and needs to be offset. That’s why I went with 5 stars.

A detailed project-based tour of Cinema 4D 7

This was the first book I ever purchased for Cinema 4D and it remains the best 3rd-party Cinema 4D book that I’ve ever purchased. Admittedly, that is partially because there are surprisingly few English language Cinema 4D books to choose from. But Arndt’s book provides a solid basis in modeling, animating, and rendering in Cinema 4D 7. Maxon revised the application interface substantially in Cinema 4D R8.x, but much of the information in this book still carries over fine into R8.x. But you should probably have a good understanding of both Cinema 7 and 8 before trying to undertake one of the projects in this book using R8.x.

This book delves into some focused modeling and animation projects and given its subtitle, "A Workshop for 2D/3D Graphics Pros", that’s what you should expect. The person who wrote this up as a "bad book" because it didn’t tell them how to install Cinema 4D seems really lost. The manuals that come with Cinema do a fine job of guiding you through the installation - if you even require any assistance. This isn’t Cinema For Dummies. Instead, what it is is a trip through some interesting projects that provide some knowledge and thorough usage of many aspects of Cinema 4D 7. It doesn’t particularly matter if you are familiar with those aspects as the text provides ample introduction to nearly everything except the most trivial facets (installation of the software, configuration of your machine). Much of the modeling makes use of 3 custom plug-ins (EdgeExtrude, EdgeBevel, and Cutter) which are provided for no additional cost by the author.

Overall, as of late September 2003, this is still the best English language 3rd-party companion book available for Cinema 4D. Could it be improved? Certainly. As other reviewers have mentioned, the translation gets in the way a little at times and the subject matter could be expanded plenty. Arndt has written other more recent German language books and I’d love to see them show up in English. He’s obviously a very talented Cinema user and author. This book probably deserves more like 4 or 4.5 stars, but the earlier 2-star review was a blatant injustice and needs to be offset. That’s why I went with 5 stars.

Great Book!

I noticed that some reviewers downgraded this book because it doesn’t offer elementary information that is available (in mass quantities) in the Cinema manuals. This is patently unfair, as the book does not aim to replace the manuals or to provide a basic introduction to Cinema 4D. Rather, it is a guide for intermediate to advanced users that provides clear instruction on some the darker corners of Cinema 4D XL7--information that one would be hard-pressed to glean from the manuals, or even from months of experimentation.

It is precisely this that makes the book so valuable! Mr. Koenigsmark explains in exacting detail the nuances of Cinema’s material system--including the lightly-documented but powerful SLA shaders. He provides one of the best explanations of radiosity that you will find anywhere. He explains COFFEE scripting. He provides detailed modeling tutorials that address the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of the program. In short, assuming you have a basic understanding of the program to begin with, this book will take your 3D skills to a new level. Very highly recommended.

Great Book!

I noticed that some reviewers downgraded this book because it doesn’t offer elementary information that is available (in mass quantities) in the Cinema manuals. This is patently unfair, as the book does not aim to replace the manuals or to provide a basic introduction to Cinema 4D. Rather, it is a guide for intermediate to advanced users that provides clear instruction on some the darker corners of Cinema 4D XL7--information that one would be hard-pressed to glean from the manuals, or even from months of experimentation.

It is precisely this that makes the book so valuable! Mr. Koenigsmark explains in exacting detail the nuances of Cinema’s material system--including the lightly-documented but powerful SLA shaders. He provides one of the best explanations of radiosity that you will find anywhere. He explains COFFEE scripting. He provides detailed modeling tutorials that address the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of the program. In short, assuming you have a basic understanding of the program to begin with, this book will take your 3D skills to a new level. Very highly recommended.

almost there!

i’d already dabbled with cinema4D a bit and read through the manual, so i didn’t come to this book as a complete novice.

the book basically talks you through building, animating and applying surface materials to a group of pistons on a crankshaft. if you’re a bit of a closet grease-monkey like myself you’ll find it a refreshing change from all those tutorials on modelling boring chairs or teacups.

i think the main problem with the book lies more in the proof-reading/translation than with the actual writing itself. i pretty much breezed through the modelling and animation sections. having a fair idea of the basics in those areas anyway, i could read ’between the lines’ when the all too frequent typos cropped up- for example, a novice user might have searched in vain for the "object access tool" whereas i correctly divined that the "object axis tool" was required.

however, i really struggled on the sections on COFFEE [cinema4D’s built-in scripting language]. here, because typing lines of code was involved, the typos really hit hard. in one section ["building an simple machine"] the source code presented in the screenshots actually used different variable names than were used in the line by line text description of the code underneath. very sloppy editing!

speaking of screenshots; a lot of the instructions in this book are presented in the form of screenshots showing values entered in dialogue boxes. i’ve only read the book thoruogh oreilly.com’s online safari subscription service and found that a lot of the info in these dialogues was almost unreadable in the online version. i don’t know if this holds true with the print version also, but it might be something to bear in mind.

all in all i’d say that this is a potentially excellent book sadly let down by sloppy proof-reading.

Bad Book

I bought this book because I read from other reviews that it was good, but it’s a disappointment. First of all, this book doesn’t have a picture of the Cinema 4D XL’s user interface, showing the toolbars, icons, and other items when a person opens up the program. This is important for teaching beginners to show them what the interface looks like and what it means. Second, the author doesn’t show the steps how to do things using "Follow these steps: 1) Click this icon 2) click that, 3)... etc. Other books are much better because they offer numeric steps to teach or tell people how to do something. Third, this books does even have character animation. For beginners, it’s hard to figure out how to open the Cinema 4D XL program because the author doesn’t show how to use the provided cd to start the software. It’s a boring and disappointing book to read. Not recommended for buying.

Bad Book

I bought this book because I read from other reviews that it was good, but it’s a disappointment. First of all, this book doesn’t have a picture of the Cinema 4D XL’s user interface, showing the toolbars, icons, and other items when a person opens up the program. This is important for teaching beginners to show them what the interface looks like and what it means. Second, the author doesn’t show the steps how to do things using "Follow these steps: 1) Click this icon 2) click that, 3)... etc. Other books are much better because they offer numeric steps to teach or tell people how to do something. Third, this books does even have character animation. For beginners, it’s hard to figure out how to open the Cinema 4D XL program because the author doesn’t show how to use the provided cd to start the software. It’s a boring and disappointing book to read. Not recommended for buying.

Maxon Cinema 4D 7

An excellent reference manual.
Every clilck of the mouse is expained, I soon learnt a lot of new modelling techniques and ways to overcome problems I had encountered before.
There are a fair few typos and mistranslations, but when you expect them, there should be no real problem to work out the correct meaning.
One of the chapters concentrates on COFFEE, that I do not use, as I am only interested in still images; but there is plenty for everyone.
This book has really increased my abilities greatly in Cinema 4D.

Maxon Cinema 4D 7

An excellent reference manual.
Every clilck of the mouse is expained, I soon learnt a lot of new modelling techniques and ways to overcome problems I had encountered before.
There are a fair few typos and mistranslations, but when you expect them, there should be no real problem to work out the correct meaning.
One of the chapters concentrates on COFFEE, that I do not use, as I am only interested in still images; but there is plenty for everyone.
This book has really increased my abilities greatly in Cinema 4D.

Uphill struggle

After having experienced 2D design to the maximum of it’s ability, I wanted to move onto 3D design in order to perhaps furthur go onto university and learn enough to go into this kind of design. So, to give myself to step in the right direction, I purchased this book along with Inside Lightwave 7.

To cut a long story short, Maxon Cinema 4D 7 is just over 400 pages long, whilst Inside Lightwave 7 is over a 1,000. Now, logic would make you think that Cinema 4D 7 would take 1/3 of the time to read, but this is not the case. I found this book to be awful. There was not enough description as to what you were doing, not enough diagrams to see if you’re doing it right and using words that I had to result to a dictionary in order to understand, and the worst part is, it seems as it pages were missing, as it just goes from one section to another without any notice of what you’re doing.

I’ve been unable to get past the first chapter, and even after reading pages again and again, I still find myself oblivious as to what I’m actually trying to achieve. As much as I’d love to be able to understand the beauty and power of the program, I’m not going to with this book and as soon as Amazon get another one in stock, I’ll purchase that.

Professional in-depth

This book is superb. It immediately awakens you to multiple ways to achieve the same objective. Like the first tutorial, the modeling of an automobile piston it says there are 3 ways to accomplish this task. I followed them all and then blam!! I could tell you what the next chapter is about, I started to write it here, but I realised it was a fantastic surprise to me so I’ll leave it as that. I am now more enthusiastic to learn Cinema 4D than ever. This workshop is very professional although being translated into English from the German author I have noticed a few minor misprints/errors so I’d say to you, you need to already know at least the basic workings of Cinema 4D 7 or else you might get lost. Nevertheless, you’ll definitely learn alot from reading this. Highly recommended!