Maxon bumps its 3D modeling application Cinema 4D up a notch to R19, a new upgrade scheduled to ship in September.
Marquee features in this version include advanced performance in the viewport, which now supports screen-space reflections and OpenGL depth-of-field and allows direct output of client previews as MP4 video files. The motion graphics workflow has likewise been improved, with an array of new Voronoi Fracturing options and a new Sound Effector for creating animations that can react to different frequencies in a given sound file. And a spherical camera lets artists render 360 videos and dome projections in a variety of formats including lat-long equirectangular, cubic string, cubic cross, and 3×2 cubic.
Polygon Reduction now works as a generator, allowing artists to easily reduce hierarchies, with quick adjustments to such parameters as % reduction strength or desired vertex count. And C4D now supports ProRender, a GPU-based OpenCL render engine that works on both Nvidia (Windows) and AMD cards (Windows/Mac OS).
Also new this time around are what Maxon calls “modernization efforts.” The software’s media core has been rewritten for increased speed and memory efficiency as well as native support for MP4 video sans QuickTime that allows video to be incorporated as textures, or footage to be motion-tracked. At the same time, the company said OpenEXR and DDS export has been improved. Also, a new modeling core improves support for edges and N-gons when using Align and Reverse Normals. The benefits will become more obvious as more tools and generators start using the improved core in future versions, Maxon said.
The UV editing toolset is also under construction, with R19 including more options for converting point and polygon selections and growing and shrinking UV point selects.
“For more than two decades MAXON has been dedicated to delivering 3D graphics solutions with rock-solid stability, outstanding ease-of-use, a fast workflow, and cross platform capability,“ said Maxon Computer Managing Partner Harald Egel in a prepared statement. “Cinema 4D Release 19 expands on those core values with outstanding new features and a first look at foundations for the future.”
For a more exhaustive rundown of the features coming in C4D R19, visit Maxon’s complete feature list. A set of videos are available through Maxon’s Cineversity.
C4D R19 is expected to ship in September. Customers who buy the software between now and September 1 get a free upgrade to the upcoming release.
