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CINEMA 4D R10 brings an entirely new set of capabilities to an already fantastic software suite. As always, MAXON™ has moved forward giving us new tools and capabilities that will streamline our workflow as well as adding new capabilities to create even more detailed models and scenes in an even easier and more functional way. One of the most notable changes is the inclusion of the BodyPaint 3D™ module in the core program. BodyPaint 3D provides us with unparalleled 3D painting and UV editing tools. Its capabilities now include 16 and 32 bit depth painting, LSCM unwrapping and improved UV algorithms.
When you open CINEMA 4D R10 for the first time, you will see an entire new interface. Designed for enhanced efficiency and streamlined workflow, it includes new icons which are grouped by color to speed recognition and aid in the progress of the work being done. It is not so different however that former users won't be able to easily move into the new layout and get right to work.
 Beginning with the object manager, users will find new functions that will make their work much easier. You are now able to have multiple object managers at your fingertips (up to 4) with capabilities that include a search bar for filtering, an optional path bar which allows you to view a "hierarchy", a filter manager which will allow you to use the command "Set as Root" to filter the object manager to a specific hierarchy, a vertical display of tags which will show the tags within a hierarchy, bookmarks to recall object manager filters, a layered view which shows objects grouped by pre-defined layers, the ability to set icon size and alignment and much more. The new layer manager is a terrific addition that will aid in ease of use when creating complex scenes.
 Context sensitive help now makes it extremely easy for you to get information on any function or preset by holding your mouse over the item, right clicking and choosing "show help". You can also search by keyword and print the help instructions that you call up. Another wonderful addition is the interactive render function which opens a render window directly in the viewport so that you can immediately see the encompassed view rendered without having to click on "render view". This is another time saver that really helps by showing you how things will look rendered while you work. Any changes that you make are updated in real time in the render window. It also supports all of the new functions such as Advanced Render, Sketch & Toon and HAIR.
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This latest version of CINEMA 4D now supports enhanced OpenGL options available with new powerful graphics cards. You can now display transparencies, environment maps, real-time shadows and more. Also, now highlights and lighting appear more accurately in your editor view. You are able to see normal maps, bump mapping, volumetric clouds and various shaders including fresnel.
 > There is also a new "info manager" mode in the attributes manager that allows you to show all used textures in a scene, replace a texture in the entire scene, open a texture for editing or reload the texture. It also provides scene & selection object, point, polygon counts & memory usage information. Other really nice additions are the new axis center tool located under the "Structure" menu, the fur object in the HAIR module and the ability to paste all of your serial numbers at once from the clipboard when registering.
New in CINEMA 4D R10 in the BodyPaint UV tools, we now have the capability of "pelt mapping" or LSCM. This function unwraps UV coordinates from complex meshes by using LSCM unwrapping. The new Relax UV algorithms easily create UV maps that are ready to paint on. New tools such as path selection make it very easy to select seams for defining the unwrap function. It has never been easier to unwrap a human head among many other models for painting and texturing. Even new users will find this function easy to set up and use.
 Some of the new features in BodyPaint 3D R3 are the ability to paint in 32 bit color depth, editing of HDR format files, the ability to freeze the view to any size that you wish and the ability to paint your model and immediately see the reflections, bump maps, transparencies and more in real time. The new interface provides over 200 presets as well as providing tools for cloning, smearing, smudge, dodge and burn and many more. BodyPaint 3D also offers many plugins that will facilitate the integration with many other software packages such as Maya®, 3ds Max®, SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® and LightWave 3D®. For painting each brush can not only paint across seams and multiple objects, but it can paint in up to ten channels at once which I found to be a wonderful feature.
 One of the capabilities in CINEMA 4D that has given me the most trouble is animation. Rigging and animating have always been a problem for me. Much to my delight, now in Release 10 it has never been easier to rig and animate your characters. This function alone would have sold me on the latest version of CINEMA 4D. Now I can rig a character, adjust the weighting and add muscles to my characters all in easy steps that even a novice can understand. New in Release 10 also is a visual selector tool that makes it extremely easy to select the portions of your rigged character for ease of manipulation.
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 The new engine in Release 10 is based entirely upon joints. This new method of rigging has many advantages over the old boning method. You can now place the joints and the resulting bone skeleton is automatically created. Auto weighting is also added which saves untold amounts of time and it is very easy to adjust any slight weighting adjustments that are needed. Another great addition is the ability to add muscles. Muscles add much to the realism of a character. All that is needed is to pin the muscle to the area of your character that you want it to affect during animation. The muscles will then move automatically and they will also deform the skin as they move. You can also adjust the relaxation and contraction parameters of the muscle in the attributes manager. The ability to transfer and mirror UV's, weighting, selections and rigging add to the ease of setting up your rigged characters.
In Release 10 there is now a completely new animation system/timeline with a completely new workflow for keys and F-Curves. There is no longer any need for sequences, you can disable animation tracks, there is an F-Curve offset/scale adjustment, you will have track display colors and you are able to have up to 4 timelines. There is a new view with adjustable icon sizes and grid options available also. Many new commands and functions make this version an indispensable tool for animators.
 CONCLUSION:
CINEMA 4D R10 is a ground breaking upgrade, encompassing the inclusion of BodyPaint 3.0 in the core program. Beginning with the new interface and icons through the new toolset and context sensitive help forward into each area of the software, I found it to be an amazing upgrade. I particularly love the new MOCCA 3.0 toolset which allows me to rig a character easily and the in depth animation tools couldn't be better. It arrives with over 6GB of material supplied on a DVD which includes tutorials, content and Artists doing personal work will find their abilities expanded easily with this new version and artists in the business will find that the new added functions will put them in a position to compete in ability with any software on the market now. It is an awesome release and I am looking forward to delving even deeper into its functions and capabilities. My hat is off to MAXON for not only staying abreast of the market but surpassing our expectations. You can find out more about CINEMA 4D R10 at the MAXON site.
Minimum System Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 / Windows 2000, XP
512 MB RAM
CPU with 1 GHz
Recommended System Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.4 / Windows 2000, XP
1024 MB RAM
CPU with 2 GHz
QuickTime 7.1
DVD ROM drive, hard disk.
Depending on your license Macintosh or Windows only.
For continued use of the program, registration with MAXON Computer is necessary.
Review by Kathie Berry
Websites: http://www.berry-designs.com & http://www.planit3d.com
Email: kathie@berry-designs.com
Copyright 2007, PlanIt 3D
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