COURSES
The Key Concepts.
Stop tutorial hopping and learn the most important concepts and techniques that will make the biggest impact and help you master Cinema 4D faster with step-by-step courses.
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Stop tutorial hopping and learn the most important concepts and techniques that will make the biggest impact and help you master Cinema 4D faster with step-by-step courses.
Learn advanced Cinema 4D effects that will make your portfolio pop, and help you stand out from the crowd. All effects have been requested by members – as a member you can request anything and see what we’re working on here.
Stop waisting time on R&D – we’ve created a huge library of 3D assets, effects, and scene files you’ll actually use in your day-to-day motion graphics work – use them all royalty free.
Membership gives you a direct line to a Cinema 4D professional so you’ll never get stuck again! Post your questions and find answers in the Cinema 4D forum, or ask privately via direct email or live chat.
As a member you get direct help and support from Dave. No matter what the question!
Used by: ManvsMachine, Imaginary Forces, The Mill, Territory Studio, Tendril, Buck, Prologue, NBCUniversal (broadcast design), Capacity Studios, Brand New School.
Used by: Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), DreamWorks Animation, Weta Digital, Blue Sky Studios, Animal Logic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Double Negative (DNEG), Framestore.
Used by: Ubisoft, Rockstar Games, Crytek, Blur Studio, Framestore, The Mill, HKS Architects, Foster + Partners, Naughty Dog, BioWare.
Used by: Embark Studios, Tangent Animation, Ubisoft, Barnstorm VFX, Theory Studios, Guru Studio, Blue Zoo Animation, Ian Hubert Studios, Crossfire Studios, CG Cookie.
Used by: Pixar, Weta Digital, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Framestore, Double Negative (DNEG), Method Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Blur Studio, Rising Sun Pictures, DreamWorks Animation.
Used by: Epic Games, The Mill, Weta Digital, Digital Domain, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Bad Robot, Ford Motor Company (real-time visualization), ZOAN (VR and AR development), Quixel, Ninja Theory.
Cinema 4D is a versatile and user-friendly 3D software known for its intuitive interface, making it ideal for artists across various industries. It’s widely used for motion graphics, animation, product visualization, and architectural rendering. With powerful tools and reliable performance, it’s a top choice for creative professionals looking to produce high-quality 3D content fast.
Beginner: $45,000 – $55,000
Intermediate: $60,000 – $75,000
Advanced: $85,000 – $100,000+
Intermediate: $78,000 – $156,000 (daily rate: $300 – $600)
Advanced: $182,000 – $312,000+ (daily rate: $700 – $1,200)​
Beginner: £30,000 – £35,000
Intermediate: £40,000 – £50,000
Advanced: £55,000 – £70,000
Intermediate: £52,000 – £91,000 (daily rate: £200 – £350)
Advanced: £104,000 – £156,000+ (daily rate: £400 – £600)​
Beginner: €30,000 – €40,000
Intermediate: €45,000 – €60,000
Advanced: €65,000 – €85,000
Intermediate: €65,000 – €104,000 (daily rate: €250 – €400)
Advanced: €130,000 – €208,000+ (daily rate: €500 – €800)​
Beginner: A$50,000 – A$65,000
Intermediate: A$70,000 – A$85,000
Advanced: A$90,000 – A$110,000+
Intermediate: A$91,000 – A$156,000 (daily rate: A$350 – A$600)
Advanced: A$182,000 – A$260,000+ (daily rate: A$700 – A$1,000)​
Beginner: â‚©35K – â‚©45K
Intermediate: â‚©50K – â‚©65K
Advanced: â‚©70K – â‚©85K+
Intermediate: â‚©60K – â‚©96K (daily rate: â‚©250K – â‚©400K)
Advanced: â‚©120K – â‚©168K+ (daily rate: â‚©500K – â‚©700K)​
Guide Only. Based on 2023 data. Sources: Freelance Informer, Creators’ Rights Alliance, Motion Design Industry Servey. Freelance yearly income estimate based on daily rates.
Price: Free with Epic Games account
Cinema 4D plugin that connects to the Megascans library of high quality 3D scanned assets.
Price: $426 on top of C4D subscription
While not really a plugin, Maxon One is a licence upgrade for Cinema 4D that gives you access to loads of handy prebuilt assets and effects and software.
Price: $49/month
High quality proceedural (mostly) materials. The plugin itself is actually built into Cinema 4D – materials are yours forever at about $1 each.
Price: From € 0,0050 Octanebench 2020 point per hour
Our go-to Render Farm for Cinema 4D projects when we’re in a hurry – great price and great integration with C4D.
Price: Free or $295 for Studio Version
We recently switched from After Effects to DaVinci Resolve for color grading and compositing – it’s free and the color correction tools are the best in the industry – highly recommended if you’re using ACES workflow.
Price: Free with Paid Assets
Free character and environment designer software that works well with Cinema 4D. (See our course for full workflow).
Price: Free
Great tool for quickly rigging and animating characters to use in Cinema 4D.
Price: $280/year
The cloth simulation tools in Cinema 4D are great, but Marvelous gives you much more control and detailed sims, plus you can create outfits and cloth designs quickly and easily.
Price: $620 (with both packs)
Great tool for creating trees and plants in Cinema 4D.
Price: $300 – $400 per course
Some great beginner and advanced courses with a more direct teaching method.
Price: $700 – $1000 per course
Pricey but comprehensive beginners courses.
Price: Varies
Learning directly from your favorite artists on Patreon can be very cost-effective – usually a monthly fee.
Price: Free with C4D subscription
A huge range of tutorials and courses by the Maxon team and guest artists. Some stuff is quite old and it can be a bit hard to find what you need.
Price: From $22/month
If you want straight-to-the-point, easy-to-follow training covering all the most important aspects of Cinema 4D, you could always try CG Shortcuts membership – you’re already here after all and it’s more cost effective than the other options;)
Shameless self promotion, you might have seen our tutorials if you found your way here;)
Tutorials and Training by proliffic C4D artist and YouTuber Derek Kirk – emphasis on Redshift Renderer.
I’m sure you already know about Greyscalegorilla, they’ve been making Cinema 4D tutorials longer than anyone else, full of high quality content and resources.
Some very detailed tutorials concentrating on Cinema 4D color workflows, Redshift and Davinci Resolve.
A huge range of tutorials and content by the team at Maxon, great way to keep up with all the latest tools and techniques – we love the quick tips!
Great looking Cinema 4D tutorials with emphasis on Octane Renderer.
Advanced training and live streams with Chris Schmidt – the best place to go for a detailed breakdown of each new version of Cinema 4D.
A great collection of Cinema 4D tutorials specializing in lighting and rendering with Redshift, specifically for branding.
$264 Billed Yearly
Billed Monthly
No Contracts • Cancel Anytime
Blender is a powerful, free 3D program that excels at versatility but lacks a specific focus. Cinema 4D, though paid, is tailored for motion graphics artists, with regular updates designed for their needs. While Cinema 4D is expensive and lacks a free learning edition, its specialized tools make it ideal for motion graphics. Blender is a great starting point for beginners on a budget, with the option to switch to Cinema 4D for more specialized work later.
Lifetime membership is a one-off fee that gives you access to everything on our site – all courses, all tutorials, all downloads and support – FOR LIFE.
Lifetime members also have the ability to request content and vote for what topics we cover next.
Unlike the Monthly or Yearly membership, Lifetime is yours forever so you also get unlimited access to anything we add in the future (we upload new stuff every week).
Lifetime membership is only available a few times per year, we send out an email to members and newsletter subscribers when it can be purchased.
Yearly & Lifetime membership includes access to all courses. Monthly membership gives you access to blog tutorials and downloadable assets only – no courses.
Membership here on our website is a more complete package because Patreon has several limitations. Here’s the key advantages on each platform:
Membership here
Membership Patreon
Aside from that, both memberships include new content every week, the ability to request content, and support.
If you’re having any trouble accessing your account or purchases, start a live chat with us below (see office hours above).
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