Eudes Fileti

Hi @Cerbera Thanks for the reply, but you only deformed one face. I need all three faces to be deformed. Notice that in the base of your figure, the axes still form right angles! It is not clear in the figure of the rhombohedron, but all the angles between the axes are different from 90 degrees. Something like that:

Hi everyone, I'm trying to animate the distortion of a cube in order to represent the axes of a non-orthogonal Cartesian space (where the axes form acute angles rather than right angles). As shown in the attached image, my goal is to transform a simple cube into a rhombohedron. To do this, I created a cube-shaped spline and applied three shear deformers, one on each plane. However, when I try to apply the third shear after the first two, the cube becomes asymmetrically distorted. I’ve tried several ways to fix this and achieve a clean prism shape like the one shown, but I haven’t had any success. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get around this? Bests Eudes cartesiano-espaco.c4d

@Cerbera That's perfect! Thank you very much! Eudes

@Cerbera, I had already tried this solution, but the groove disappears when I render it. See the image. Eudes

@Cerbera, thanks for the solution you suggested, it will actually be useful for another project! But for this one (and I apologize if my original message wasn’t clear enough), the groove I was referring to is that crater-like indentation right in the middle of the sphere. What I need is for the line to travel around the entire equator of the sphere and pass through the indentation. Do you have any suggestions on how to achieve this? Eudes

@Cerbera Thank you for your attention and response! I really appreciate it. You're right, it seems like a basic approach, but I must admit I’m not sure how to model the groove directly into the sphere. Sorry for my ignorance on something so elementary! Could you give me some pointers on how to do it? Eudes

Hey everyone, I'm trying to model a sphere with a groove, as shown in the image below. This represents a variable curvature geometry, commonly found in general relativity. My idea is to animate a line traveling along the equator of the object. Although it's not perfect (I'd like a deeper groove), I managed to model it using the Collision Deformer. However, when rendering, I can't get the groove to appear without also rendering the object causing it. I only want the groove, not the capsule. Additionally, I need the longitudinal and latitudinal lines, so the solution with Volume Mesher and Volume Builder didn't work, as it didn't allow me to keep the lines. Do you have any suggestions? Bests Eudes groove-on-sphere.c4d

Hey everyone, thanks for the support! This is the final result I got. I think it's decent, but I feel the rendering is lacking. I need to keep the background bright, but as it is, the contrast doesn’t seem right. If you have any rendering tips to improve the overall look of the image, I’d really appreciate it. Just a note: I only have access to the native Cinema 4D render engines. Cheers, Eudes.

Hi @bezo, thank you so much for the incredibly detailed guide! I finally got it to work by following your step-by-step instructions. Your explanation was essential for understanding the process. When you say "create just a static object," does that mean it's not possible to animate the deformation? Is there no way to achieve this using an animatable parameter of the FFD? If not, would there be another way to animate this deformation, perhaps using a Spherical Field? Thanks again for your help! Eudes

Hi @HappyPolygon, @bezo and @Cerbera Could some of you guide me on how to create these segments (showed at Happypolygon print)? I've tried several ways. I created a segment and replicated it in the desired grid. However, I couldn't make the FFD work on the grid. In another attempt, I created a cube, subdividing it into 10x10x10, then made it editable, but I couldn't apply "Edge to Spline" to turn it into splines. Moreover, the result I got didn't show the internal lines of the grid. Then I tried creating a single line and applying the Cloner; even so, the result with FFD didn't show the cube's deformation. I think I'm making a fundamental mistake somewhere, but I can't find it. Thanks for the help so far!

@HappyPolygon, thanks for the script. I installed it, but I couldn't even get it to open. I asked ChatGPT, but it didn't help much either. Anyway, I get the impression that this method isn't fundamentally different from the one I used to generate my grid. The grid generation doesn't seem to be the issue, it’s more about how to smooth out the distortion of each line so they don’t end up looking polygonal. Bests, Eudes.

@HappyPolygon, thank you! I assume these plugins and render engines are not free. Are there ways to achieve similar results using only the native tools in Cinema 4D? Bests, Eudes

Hello everyone, I'm trying to model spacetime distortion and replicate one of the images below. I'm not focusing on the rendering itself, which is quite beautiful, but rather on the modeling aspect. When I compare my model to these, I notice that theirs look more elegant, precise, and have smoother lines. Mine, on the other hand, feel more like rigid, polygonal rods. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the appearance of this project? I prepared the grid by replicating a square spline throughout space and connecting all the copies. Thank in advance, Eudes spacetime-sol-terra.c4d

@bezo Thank you bezo! It worked! Bests, Eudes.

@Cerbera, thanks for the tip! I managed to create the surface, and it turned out perfect. However, I’m having trouble tracing the particle’s path (the geodesic). I even tried applying multiple bend modifiers to a long, thin cylinder, but It's so hard and the result wasn’t great. Do you have any suggestions to improve this project? The idea is for the particle’s trajectory to harmonize with the base of the peak, in other words, the section of the path near the peak should be approximately circular, gradually transitioning back to a linear form as it approaches or moves away from the peak. Eudes geodesic.c4d

@Cerbera I'm trying the Fields and Plain Effectors. Eudes

Hi @Cerbera, thanks for this tip! It turned out perfect. I just have one additional question: how do I expand the planar portion of the surface? I need this enlarged area to model the movement of the particle before it reaches the curvature of spacetime. Eudes.

Hello everyone, I want to animate the illustration below. It represents a non-Euclidean spacetime with depressions or protrusions in the vicinity of a massive object. The animation involves a body moving near one of these protrusions. Instead of trying to climb directly to the top, it prefers to go around it, as this follows the geodesic path it naturally takes. I tried achieving this using a plane with a displacer. However, what I ended up with was a surface full of valleys and peaks. For better clarity, the ideal model would feature a single Gaussian peak centered on a flat square base, which should be larger than the one shown in the image. How can I model this peak? Thank you very much, Eudes

Hi guys! Very nice solutions! Thank you so much. Eudes.

Hi @Cerbera, thank you for this solution. I'm going to try it too. Eudes. P.S. We post almost at the same time!

Hello @Hrvoje, thanks for the tip! The saddle turned out perfect! However, when I tried adding the grid, the result wasn’t as expected. I used a texture (a grid of white lines on a black background) but while it looked perfect on a flat square, with thin and precise lines, the grid was not so good on curved geometries. Specifically, when applied to a hyperboloid (instead of the saddle, to make the issue clearer), the lines appeared thicker, and the grid looked enlarged, quite different from the original effect I’m trying to reproduce. I was wondering if it would be possible to subdivide the sphere and the hyperboloid and use those subdivisions as the actual lines that appear in the rendered image, similar to what is shown in the lower part of the attached figure. As for the animated lines, I believe the ideal approach would be for them to follow the actual topological structure of the mesh—something resembling the appearance of the colored figure on the right side of the attached image. Thanks again! Eudes

Hello everyone, I need to model these three geometries in Cinema 4D. However, I'm not sure how to model the saddle shape. This geometry isn't available in Cinema 4D's standard assets. Another challenge: how could I animate the red lines on the surfaces, making them appear, travel along the surface, and complete the red triangle? Any suggestions on how to achieve this? Thank you very much, Eudes

Hey @Hrvoje, thanks for this last tip as well! It took some time, but I managed to do it just like you suggested. I added the cube, made it editable, and converted its edges into splines. Then, I replicated it 10x in one direction and grouped everything into a single object. After that, I replicated it 10x in another direction, perpendicular to the first, and grouped it again. Finally, I replicated it 10x in the third, perpendicular direction and grouped everything one last time. The process resulted in a 10x10x10 cube with all internal edges connected, just like you suggested and exactly how I needed it. From there, I just applied the effects you had already recommended. Here’s the preliminary result below. Huge thanks! Eudes.

Hi @Hrvoje! First off, a huge thanks for taking the time to share that breakdown—it’s super helpful, and I’m definitely going to learn a lot from it! I’m eager to follow along, but I hit a small roadblock right at the beginning. How do I actually create the grid? I’d like to refine it to match the dimensions in the image below, but I couldn’t figure out how to subdivide the grid you provided. Would you mind giving me a hand with this part? I really appreciate your help!" Best, Eudes

Hey, I get where you’re coming from, and I appreciate the reply. @Mash I know making an object move in a circle isn’t rocket science for a lot of people here, but I’m not exactly a pro at this—I’m a university professor trying to create cool, educational content for my students and for YouTube. My goal is to illustrate complex ideas in a way that makes sense to a broader audience. I also pay for this forum because I genuinely value the expertise of the community. So if you have any tips on how to properly keep the motion constrained to a circular path while maintaining the right spacetime deformation, I’d be super grateful. At the end of the day, the more people understand these concepts, the better. Thanks in advance for any insights you can share! Eudes.