FRIEDRICHSDORF, GERMANY — Maxon has unveiled Cinema 4D Release 20 (R20), the latest version of its 3D design and animation software. R20 introduces high-end features for VFX and motion graphics artists, including node-based materials, volume modeling, robust CAD import and a dramatic evolution of the MoGraph toolset. The company will debut Cinema 4D R20 live and online (C4DLive.com) at the upcoming SIGGRAPH 2018 convention in Vancouver, BC.
“We are excited to be delivering high-end tools and features that will streamline workflow, and push the industry in new and exciting directions,” says David McGavran, CEO at Maxon Computer GmbH. “Over the last decade, our MoGraph toolset has revolutionized the broadcast graphics industry. The new Fields system in R20 offers the next evolution in Cinema 4D’s signature workflow.”
Node-based materials provide new possibilities for creating materials, from simple references to complex shaders in a node-based editor. With more than 150 nodes to choose from that perform different functions, artists can combine nodes to easily build complex shading effects for greater creative flexibility. For an easy start, users new to a node-based material workflow still can rely on the user interface of Cinema 4D's standard Material Editor.
New capabilities in the MoGraph Fields procedural animation toolset offer an entirely new way to define the strength of effects by combining falloffs - from simple shapes, to shaders or sounds, to objects and formulas. Artists can layer Fields atop each other with standard mixing modes and remap their effects. Users can group multiple Fields together, and use them to control effectors, deformers and weights.
Popular CAD formats can now be directly and seamlessly imported into Cinema 4D R20 with a simple drag and drop. A scale-based tessellation interface allows for adjustment of detail to build complex visualizations. STEP, Solidworks, JT, Catia V5 and IGES formats are all supported.
Volume modeling allows users to create complex models by adding or subtracting basic shapes in Boolean-type operations using Cinema 4D R20’s OpenVDB–based Volume Builder and Mesher. Users can procedurally build organic or hard-surface volumes using any Cinema 4D object, including new Field objects. Volumes can be exported in sequenced .vdb format for use in any application or render engine that supports OpenVDB.
ProRender in Cinema 4D R20 extends the GPU-rendering toolset with key features, including sub-surface scattering, motion blur and multi-passes. Also included are Metal 2 support, an updated ProRender core, out of core textures and other architectural enhancements.
As part of the transition to a more modern core in Cinema 4D, R20 comes with substantial API enhancements, the new node framework, further development on the new modeling framework, and a new UI framework.
Cinema 4D Release 20 is scheduled for availability in September and will be available for both Mac OS and Windows.