Part of Cinema 4D Essentials
Tension Tag
Cinema 4DAdvancedFree
2 January 2023
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Tension Tag in Cinema 4D is a rigging tag used to create dynamic stretching and squashing effects on joints, helping to simulate realistic muscle and skin deformation in character rigs.
What It Is
- Tag applied to joints to enable automatic stretching and squashing based on joint movement.
- Helps simulate natural muscle tension and deformation in character animation.
- Works by measuring the distance between joints and adjusting scale accordingly.
- Often used with character rig setups for more lifelike motion.
How It Works
- Apply the Tension Tag to a joint or chain of joints in your rig.
- Set the desired parameters to control the amount of stretch and squash.
- Animate the joints; the tag dynamically adjusts the scale based on movement.
- Use additional settings to fine-tune the behavior for more natural results.
Use Cases
- Creating realistic muscle and skin deformation in character rigs.
- Adding natural stretch and squash effects in joint chains.
- Enhancing animation appeal by simulating tension and release.
- Improving the believability of organic motion in animated characters.
Benefits
- Automates dynamic scaling effects on joints for natural deformation.
- Easy to set up and integrates seamlessly with joint-based rigs.
- Enhances realism and appeal in character animations.
- Non-destructive and adjustable for precise control.
More info here in the Maxon documentation.
Video Credit: Athanasios Pozantzis.
Description: This video demonstrates procedural creases using the Tension Tag.
