[Dave]

Hi Parag, that’s coming along nicely, well done!

Texturing animated volumes is notoriously difficult, but I think for this example it might be best to use triplanar projection within your material – as that material is from the CG Shortcuts library it already has Triplanar nodes set up for you, just set the mode to REFERENCE so the texture sticks to the animated object and plug them in.

I’ll email over a corrected project file so you can see what I mean;)

[Dave]

Hi Alexandre, good question!

Reflection and refraction will play a big part in getting this look, with a balance of light and dark areas in your scene and lighting.

It might be a good one for a project file and tutorial as its a bit tricky to explain in words.

I’ve added it to the requests list now on this page: https://cgshortcuts.com/requests/

cgshortcuts.com

Requests | CG Shortcuts

Want us to cover a tutorial topic? Recreate an effect you've seen? Need a 3D asset for your project? Let us know...

[Dave]

I added a few extra balloon materials to this post that might help you out Bob
https://cgshortcuts.com/dynamic-balloon-rig-in-cinema-4d/

[Dave]

Hi Joanna,

I think CG Trader is probably the best value, you can also offer your own price on most things too so you can get a good deal directly with the artist.

Turbosquid has a big range but they are often the most expensive.

Here’s a list of popular choices:

1. TurboSquid

• Type: Paid (some free models available)
• Pros:
  • Extensive library with millions of models.
  • High-quality, professional-grade assets.
  • Multiple formats including C4D.
• Cons:
  • Prices can be high for premium models.
  • Licensing terms can be complex for commercial use.

2. Sketchfab

• Type: Free and Paid
• Pros:
  • Huge variety of models, including both free and premium options.
  • Real-time previews of models in 3D space.
  • Great community and ease of direct downloads.
• Cons:
  • Quality can vary significantly.
  • Not all models include C4D-specific formats.

3. CGTrader

• Type: Paid (some free models available)
• Pros:
  • Large selection of high-quality models, suitable for commercial use.
  • Competitive pricing and discounts.
  • Includes options for both low-poly and high-poly models.
• Cons:
  • Some models may need conversion or tweaking for C4D.
  • Licensing needs to be checked carefully for commercial use.

4. Free3D

• Type: Free and Paid
• Pros:
  • Good collection of free models suitable for quick projects.
  • No sign-up required for free downloads.
  • Offers C4D-compatible files.
• Cons:
  • Limited selection compared to bigger marketplaces.
  • Varying model quality, with some outdated assets.

5. Quixel Megascans

• Type: Free (with Unreal Engine) and Paid (Standalone)
• Pros:
  • Ultra-high-resolution scans, excellent for realistic textures and 3D assets.
  • Integrated directly with Cinema 4D via Bridge.
  • Free to use with Unreal Engine projects.
• Cons:
  • Requires an Epic Games account.
  • Paid plans can be expensive for standalone use.

6. Adobe Substance 3D Assets (formerly Adobe Stock 3D)

• Type: Paid (some free models with subscription)
• Pros:
  • High-quality assets curated for professional use.
  • Integrates well with other Adobe software.
  • Access to both models and materials.
• Cons:
  • Requires an Adobe subscription for access.
  • Limited free content compared to subscription plans.

7. Blender Market

• Type: Paid (some free models)
• Pros:
  • Focus on supporting independent creators.
  • Large selection of models, including realistic and stylized assets.
  • Good quality control and detailed reviews.
• Cons:
  • Models may require conversion for use in Cinema 4D.
  • Price can be high for certain models.

8. Freepik 3D Models

• Type: Free
• Pros:
  • Free with no licensing restrictions, suitable for commercial work.
  • Easy to use with simple downloads.
  • Great for smaller or simpler projects where budget is tight.
• Cons:
  • Smaller selection compared to larger platforms.
  • Quality and model complexity can be limited.

9. KitBash3D

• Type: Paid (Free kits available occasionally)
• Pros:
  • High-quality models designed specifically for world-building.
  • Ideal for creating detailed environments and architectural elements.
  • Files are organized and optimized for Cinema 4D.
• Cons:
  • Premium pricing, especially for larger kits.
  • Limited free options unless part of specific promotions.

10. ArtStation Marketplace

• Type: Paid (some free models)
• Pros:
  • Community-driven with many talented creators.
  • High-quality models that are ready for commercial work.
  • Variety of styles and genres.
• Cons:
  • Quality can vary between creators.
  • Some models may need adjustments for Cinema 4D compatibility.

[Dave]

Hi James, it’s totally doable this way, the tutorial is just a quick dirty cheat to save you some time. There’s some new angular connectors in the 2025 version of C4D too that might help with this kind of thing, I might do another tutorial showing how to set that up

[Dave]

Hi Bob, the BACK-LIGHTING/TRANSLUCENCY setting is in the old RS Material which you can still use in the latest versions of Redshift if you want to do it that way – The new Standard Material is usually a better option for most things but I still use the old shader pretty often for this sort of thing.

I might do a tutorial on creating a realistic balloon material complete with varied translucency, fingerprints etc

[Dave]

Also make sure the texture map is high enough resolution for everything to fit on there, 4 or 8k maybe

[Dave]

Hi Stephan, If you select all objects, switch to polygons mode and in the UV Editor layout, under UV Packing, you can fit all UV islands into one texture by clicking APPLY under UV Packing.

This way all objects can share a single texture (you may need to reproject the textures you currently have to the new UV layout which you can do with the Property Transfer Manager, here’s a video about that:

https://youtu.be/S6Oq4Xnc-AU?t=1148

[Dave]

Thanks for the file Parag, I’ve emailed over a revised version of your project with a few tweaks to your setup, you almost had it!

[Dave]

All 3 are very capable renderers, and all 3 work in very similar ways, so you should be able to go from one to the other pretty easiliy if you ever needed to.

Here’s a few reasons I switched to Redshift:

1. It’s just as fast (if not faster in some cases) as Octane.

2. It’s the most popular and widely used Renderer for Cinema 4D at studios around the world.

3. It’s deeply integrated into Cinema 4D (and is developed directly by Maxon).

4. It’s a Biased Renderer, meaning it’s very easy to art direct and get the exact look you’re after which is great in a production environment.

We’re trying to help as many people as we can in C4D so it made sense for us to switch to Redshift (plus we actually find it easier and more intuitive to use)

[Dave]

Hi Joanna, the bullet solver is the older legacy simulation system in Cinema 4D. It was often very slow, unstable and hard to work with (especially for cloth and soft body simulations).

The new system is much better, it utilizes your GPU so it can simulate much much faster. The new unified system also allows interaction between cloth, soft bodies, rigid bodies, particles, pyro etc (which bullet did not do so well).

I think the new system is better in every way so I cant see any need to go back to bullet.

I’d say use the new system (especially if you have a decent GPU) and only use bullet if you’re struggling to get your simulation the way you want it, bullet may work better in certain situations.

I actually switched back to bullet once when creating this effect: https://cgshortcuts.com/expanding-sphere-effect-in-cinema-4d

Because I couldn’t achieve the effect in the new version.

cgshortcuts.com

Expanding Sphere Effect in Cinema 4D – CG Shortcuts

Expanding Sphere Effect in Cinema 4D – CG Shortcuts

[Dave]

Hi Jesse, flat projection projects straight through your object which is why it appears in reverse on the back. The easiest way to fix this is to select only the faces you want the label to appear on and using a selection tag limit the projection to just that area. We actually go through this exact problem in this lesson: https://cgshortcuts.com/courses/the-ultimate-redshift-materials-guide/lessons/stickers-or-decals-in-redshift

You could also just UV unwrap your object rather than projecting.

cgshortcuts.com

Stickers Or Decals In Redshift | CG Shortcuts

Stickers or Decals in Redshift - How to create stickers or decals that actually stick to the surface of objects with Redshift and Cinema 4D.

[Dave]

Hey Nick, welcome aboard and thanks for sending over your project file.

If you take a look at your text with the subdiv surface, its a bit of a mess because the underlying text geometry is not even

It might be better to put the text into a REMESH to make it cleaner.

But in this case Im not sure why you’d need the Subdivision surface at all, if you just disable that it should work fine.

But its important to make sure all your objects have good topology when using the Boole or it will give unwanted results.

You could also try using the volume builder instead.

[Dave]

Good stuff, all the best with your project bud, its looking great!!

[Dave]

No worries, Polyhaven also has a great collection of free models

https://polyhaven.com/models

polyhaven.com

Models • Poly Haven

Hundreds of free 3D models, ready to use for any purpose. No login required.