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Learning Cinema 4D

This section contains resources for learning how to use Maxon Cinema 4D.

Overview

To install Cinema 4D you have two options:

  • Option 1: You can download and install the Maxon App. This tool is similar to the Adobe Creative Cloud app and makes it easy to manage all Maxon applications installed.
  • Option 2: Download the stand alone installer for Cinema 4D R25 and install. You can still install the Maxon App later if you want.

Licensing

Free Trial

Maxon gives you a 14-day free trial before requiring a license.

Student Licensing

  1. Start here: Cinema4D for Students. Look for the link that says "Get Started at Kuvito >" and follow it.
  2. Create an account on Kuvito (aka OnTheHub) and locate the product "Maxon One (6-Month Subscription - Promo Code)". Add this to your cart and complete order. Looking at the order details page you need to take note of the Promo Code. You need this for the actual Maxon One license order.
  3. After creating the Kuvito order you will see a link that says "Instructions". Click the dropdown to reveal the link you click on to actualy "purchase" the license and use the Promo Code. The license is technically free but there is a $2.99 processing fee to pay.
  4. Once you place your order for a license, you should see it under Available Licenses in your MyMaxon account.
  5. Launch Cinema 4D to activate the license by signing into your Maxon account when prompted.

Updated: 1/18/2022

Getting Started

I recommend going through the following tutorial series to get the hang of working in Cinema. There are several great tutorial series available on LinkedIn Learning (Access through CU OIT), Youtube, Cineversity, and by Maxon. Many of them are pre version R25.

Getting Started with Cinema 4D by EJ Hassenfratz (2021)

  • This is the most up to date short series using R25. Start here.
  • A great example based introduction to working in C4D.
  • Each video in the series is between 10-30 mins and there are 20 videos.

C4D R25 Beginners Workshop (2021) - This 6-Part Series by Maxon trainers covers the most important aspects of C4D. Each video is around 2 hrs.

Greyscale Gorilla: Introduction to Cinema 4D

  • Email address signup to gain access to assets and tutorials.
  • The version shown is R14 which is somewhat outdated since the UI significantly changed in R25.
  • Videos are between 10 mins and 30 mins long. The first video is about 1 hr long and covers the whole process of modeling, lighting, texturing, animating, and rendering a scene.

Shortcuts & Tips

Next Steps

Jump in! Follow your curiousity with any aspect of the tools.

I highly recommend looking over this article and video published by developer/designer Matt Kander. He basically documented his experience learning C4D and created this guide to help anyone new to the tools. Like many tools we encounter, there are alot of directions to go when starting out.

How I Learnt Cinema 4D In 30 Days, The Ultimate Beginners Guide by Matt Kander

This is also a great reference for learning by topic. Each category focuses on some aspect of the tool with the "best" 9 videos the author has encountered. You can see the whole index under The 9 Best of Cinema 4D.

The 9 Best Getting Started Tutorials for Cinema 4D by Malthe Hemmer

This website provides courses in motion graphics. They have many free tutorials and articles to follow as well. School of Motion Cinema 4D Tutorials

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