Cinema 4D: Digital Product Photography

Learn how to create realistic product renderings for print and video advertising with CINEMA 4D.

Learn how to create realistic product renderings for print and video advertising with CINEMA 4D. In this course, Donovan Keith shows how to take a client's reference images and re-create a product in 3D—reducing the need for expensive photography services and creating assets that can be used more flexibly in print or broadcast ads. These particular tutorials feature a sport beverage bottle, but the lessons can apply to almost any product. Learn how to model complicated forms with spline and polygonal modeling tools, accurately texture your models, and place your product against a black backdrop in a high-contrast lighting environment.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What you should know before watching this course
• Using the exercise files

1. Modeling the Bottle

• Preparing reference images
• Creating the general shape with Bézier splines and the Lathe object
• Converting the lathe into a low-polygon model
• Modeling the base of the bottle
• Making a circle with spline snapping
• Adjusting edge weights
• Unhiding and tweaking the bottom
• Adding thickness and a lip to the bottle
• Modeling the liquid
• Using primitives to create the cap, collar, and label

2. Environment and Layout

• Sizing the bottle for placement
• Creating a basic studio
• Laying out our shot

3. Texturing the Bottle

• Creating the clear plastic texture of the bottle
• Creating the opaque plastic texture of the cap
• Creating the semi-transparent label texture from an image
• Creating a colorful liquid material

4. Lighting

• Adding a key light to place a highlight
• Tweaking settings for high-contrast lighting
• Adding fill lights to enhance reflections

5. Rendering and Compositing

• Adding depth of field with the Physical Renderer
• Setting up a multipass render
• Adjusting your render in Adobe Photoshop

Conclusion

• Next steps