Jan 27, 2014 01:29 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 27, 2014 01:29 PM by Nemuri.)
Hey, I'm Jak and this is my first ever tutorial on HackForums.
In this tutorial I will be guiding you step by step to create some nice looking 3D text using Cinema 4D. I'll also show you how to save your text so that it nicely fits in with your Photoshop projects.
For this tutorial I am using Cinema 4D R15.037 Studio.
1. Once you're in Cinema 4D you'll want to create your text, to do this you'll want to click 'MoGraph' on the toolbar and select 'MoText'.
![[Image: DYfonHb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/DYfonHb.png)
2. You'll then want to edit your text so that it says what you want it to say, you can do this by clicking on the created text and entering the desired text in the box in the image below. You will also change the depth which is how long the text is, for this tutorial I used 100cm but feel free to use what you think looks best. Here you can also change your font using the dropdown menu underneath the textbox, in this tutorial I am going to be using Batman Forever which can be found here: http://www.dafont.com/batman-forever.font
![[Image: N6xoqi3.png]](https://i.imgur.com/N6xoqi3.png)
3. You can preview a quickly rendered image of your project at any time by clicking the Render View button (far left button on the image). This will not be the final product so expect it to look bad.
![[Image: eilg5Tm.png]](https://i.imgur.com/eilg5Tm.png)
4. Now would be a good time to teach you about the camera function, as you can see in the image below there are 4 camera options in the top right hand corner of the project. The first option when held down allows you to move the camera up/down/left/right, the second option when held down allows you to scroll inwards/outwards, the third option allows you to rotate your camera and the final option allows you to view multiple angles of your project.
![[Image: 74TjfXT.png]](https://i.imgur.com/74TjfXT.png)
5. Now we are going to be duplicating the text in order to create a nice effect, to do this select the text in the area shown below and copy and paste it in order to duplicate the text (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V). As you can see in the image, a duplicate has been made (MoText.1).
![[Image: drRsPJ4.png]](https://i.imgur.com/drRsPJ4.png)
6. Now we want to change the depth of the new duplicated text, so select MoText.1 from the image above and change the depth to a number slightly lower than the original (I used 60cm). Now, with the help of the camera function I explained earlier rotate the camera above the text as shown below and move the duplicate text using the Z-axis arrow (blue arrow) so that it is in the centre of the original text.
![[Image: SPFAg9F.png]](https://i.imgur.com/SPFAg9F.png)
7. Now we are going to be adding caps to the duplicated text, to do this click on the 'Caps' tab as shown in the image below. Next, use the dropdown menu to add a Fillet Cap to both ends of the text (use your camera to see if you like how it looks). You can change the radius of the cap if you want to change the size but for the purpose of this tutorial I left it as the default. Adding more steps smooths of the cap, so if you want it to look less harsh you can ramp up the steps.
![[Image: mQHtld2.png]](https://i.imgur.com/mQHtld2.png)
8. Next we are going to add colour to the text because as you can tell it looks pretty dull. To do this we are going to be creating some materials. To create a material you should click 'Create' in the bottom area of the screen, if you wish to create your own material from scratch and play around with the effects you can click 'New Material' but for this tutorial we are just going to be using preset materials. The image below is the pathway I took to find my material, you can choose any material you'd like.
![[Image: 9Xc5uze.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9Xc5uze.png)
9. To add the material to the text, simply drag and drop it onto the text (either right onto the project or on the right hand side).
![[Image: ynZv08N.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ynZv08N.png)
10. You should then create another material (I used a black one this time) and drag it onto the duplicate text.
![[Image: 1f6V6Sk.png]](https://i.imgur.com/1f6V6Sk.png)
11. Now I'm going to show you how to rotate each individual letter, this step is optional so if you do not wish to do this step skip to when we are adding a light. So, to make each letter editable select both of the text objects over on the right and click 'C' on your keyboard, this makes them editable.
![[Image: SJqVABL.png]](https://i.imgur.com/SJqVABL.png)
12. You can now shift click each letter (here I clicked the letter 'J' and it's duplicate) and rotate them using the rotate option as shown at the top of the image below.
![[Image: ToIh2rl.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ToIh2rl.png)
13. After you have rotated and moved each letter you should have something that looks like the image below.
![[Image: mR6v5Qm.png]](https://i.imgur.com/mR6v5Qm.png)
14. Now are going to be adding a light so that it adds brightness and shadows to our text, you can do this by clicking the lightbulb and selecting 'Light' as shown in the image below.
![[Image: dKEqCEA.png]](https://i.imgur.com/dKEqCEA.png)
14. You can then move the light as you would any other object by using the X/Y/Z axis arrows, you can move the light until it's in a position you like. In this tutorial I moved the light above the text and slightly in front.
![[Image: KvBQOXg.png]](https://i.imgur.com/KvBQOXg.png)
In this tutorial I will be guiding you step by step to create some nice looking 3D text using Cinema 4D. I'll also show you how to save your text so that it nicely fits in with your Photoshop projects.
For this tutorial I am using Cinema 4D R15.037 Studio.
1. Once you're in Cinema 4D you'll want to create your text, to do this you'll want to click 'MoGraph' on the toolbar and select 'MoText'.
2. You'll then want to edit your text so that it says what you want it to say, you can do this by clicking on the created text and entering the desired text in the box in the image below. You will also change the depth which is how long the text is, for this tutorial I used 100cm but feel free to use what you think looks best. Here you can also change your font using the dropdown menu underneath the textbox, in this tutorial I am going to be using Batman Forever which can be found here: http://www.dafont.com/batman-forever.font
3. You can preview a quickly rendered image of your project at any time by clicking the Render View button (far left button on the image). This will not be the final product so expect it to look bad.
4. Now would be a good time to teach you about the camera function, as you can see in the image below there are 4 camera options in the top right hand corner of the project. The first option when held down allows you to move the camera up/down/left/right, the second option when held down allows you to scroll inwards/outwards, the third option allows you to rotate your camera and the final option allows you to view multiple angles of your project.
5. Now we are going to be duplicating the text in order to create a nice effect, to do this select the text in the area shown below and copy and paste it in order to duplicate the text (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V). As you can see in the image, a duplicate has been made (MoText.1).
6. Now we want to change the depth of the new duplicated text, so select MoText.1 from the image above and change the depth to a number slightly lower than the original (I used 60cm). Now, with the help of the camera function I explained earlier rotate the camera above the text as shown below and move the duplicate text using the Z-axis arrow (blue arrow) so that it is in the centre of the original text.
7. Now we are going to be adding caps to the duplicated text, to do this click on the 'Caps' tab as shown in the image below. Next, use the dropdown menu to add a Fillet Cap to both ends of the text (use your camera to see if you like how it looks). You can change the radius of the cap if you want to change the size but for the purpose of this tutorial I left it as the default. Adding more steps smooths of the cap, so if you want it to look less harsh you can ramp up the steps.
8. Next we are going to add colour to the text because as you can tell it looks pretty dull. To do this we are going to be creating some materials. To create a material you should click 'Create' in the bottom area of the screen, if you wish to create your own material from scratch and play around with the effects you can click 'New Material' but for this tutorial we are just going to be using preset materials. The image below is the pathway I took to find my material, you can choose any material you'd like.
9. To add the material to the text, simply drag and drop it onto the text (either right onto the project or on the right hand side).
10. You should then create another material (I used a black one this time) and drag it onto the duplicate text.
11. Now I'm going to show you how to rotate each individual letter, this step is optional so if you do not wish to do this step skip to when we are adding a light. So, to make each letter editable select both of the text objects over on the right and click 'C' on your keyboard, this makes them editable.
12. You can now shift click each letter (here I clicked the letter 'J' and it's duplicate) and rotate them using the rotate option as shown at the top of the image below.
13. After you have rotated and moved each letter you should have something that looks like the image below.
14. Now are going to be adding a light so that it adds brightness and shadows to our text, you can do this by clicking the lightbulb and selecting 'Light' as shown in the image below.
14. You can then move the light as you would any other object by using the X/Y/Z axis arrows, you can move the light until it's in a position you like. In this tutorial I moved the light above the text and slightly in front.
15. Now we are going to set our render settings so that it looks prettier and is usable in Photoshop. To enter the render settings menu click on Edit Render Settings button (far right button in image).
16. For the output tab edit the image resolution to your liking, I used 1280x720 as it's the standard HD resolution.
![[Image: WOXqHwa.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WOXqHwa.png)
17. For the save tab, click the button with the ellipses (three dots) and find a location you wish to save your text (remember to name your file). Use the dropdown menu to save the image as a PNG (allows transparency). IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU CLICK THE ALPHA CHANNEL BOX, THIS MAKES IT SO THAT ONLY THE TEXT IS RENDERED AND THE BACKGROUND IS TRANSPARENT.
![[Image: KZZ5a5w.png]](https://i.imgur.com/KZZ5a5w.png)
18. Finally we are going to be adding 2 effects which will make your text look a lot sexier. Click the 'Effect...' button and add both 'Ambient Occlusion' and 'Global Illumination', don't worry about changing any of the properties.
![[Image: UpbkCj3.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UpbkCj3.png)
19. Now that your render settings are finished you can render your image to the location you selected by clicking the middle button in the image below.
20. You can then drag the created file directly into photoshop where you will have nice clean 3D text with no background.
![[Image: ErOG8zJ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ErOG8zJ.png)
21. You can now incorporate the text as you would any other element in Photoshop, I just simply added a gradient to a background layer.
![[Image: oaBTbII.png]](https://i.imgur.com/oaBTbII.png)
I am aware this doesn't look good, it's just an example. From here it is up to you to use your creativity to add colour corrections and lighting effects etc.
16. For the output tab edit the image resolution to your liking, I used 1280x720 as it's the standard HD resolution.
17. For the save tab, click the button with the ellipses (three dots) and find a location you wish to save your text (remember to name your file). Use the dropdown menu to save the image as a PNG (allows transparency). IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU CLICK THE ALPHA CHANNEL BOX, THIS MAKES IT SO THAT ONLY THE TEXT IS RENDERED AND THE BACKGROUND IS TRANSPARENT.
18. Finally we are going to be adding 2 effects which will make your text look a lot sexier. Click the 'Effect...' button and add both 'Ambient Occlusion' and 'Global Illumination', don't worry about changing any of the properties.
19. Now that your render settings are finished you can render your image to the location you selected by clicking the middle button in the image below.
20. You can then drag the created file directly into photoshop where you will have nice clean 3D text with no background.
21. You can now incorporate the text as you would any other element in Photoshop, I just simply added a gradient to a background layer.
I am aware this doesn't look good, it's just an example. From here it is up to you to use your creativity to add colour corrections and lighting effects etc.
![[Image: 17ZBbKf.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/17ZBbKf.gif)
![[Image: sqk42Zk.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/sqk42Zk.jpg)
