About to buy C4D but don't know what i need

[AdamT]

You should certainly get MoGraph. AR's main feature is global illumination, meaning that the render engine calculates bounced light. Lighting without GI takes considerably more skill, as the light only goes exactly where you tell it to go. So, not strictly necessary, but recommended.

[helluvapixel]

Policarpo would be a good guy to talk to (I posted him on this thread), but definitely MoGraph would be good for you. AR2 is a bit debatable as I'm not sure it's worth the time since animated GI is tricky at best. However AR2 adds more than just GI, with HDR support and Ambient Occlusion.

You may want to instead look at GI hack rendering or use a plugin like Lumen from 3D Attack.

[arctan]

You may want to instead look at GI hack rendering or use a plugin like Lumen from 3D Attack.Lumen (and other light dome hacks) is better than nothing, but it's hardly a complete substitute for real GI. You end up spending a lot of time fiddling with the position of the light dome itself to avoid things like overblown highlights -- it's super-easy to do that when you have several dozen lights illuminating your scene. With most GI situations, the only way to blow out the hightlights is if your main scene light is just plain too bright.

Getting back to the original poster's question, he should consider the XL bundle if he wants at least two of the included plugins. For me, it was AR and TP, with PC a nicety. I have no use for MOCCA, but the bundle price sold me on that. Upgrades are cheaper with the bundles, too.

[PoorGuy]

So what renderer do i need to get realistic rendering effect? I assume it's AR2 right?

Sorry for all the dum questions :D

[flingster]

my advice is always never buy outside of the bundles..core/xl/studio.
AR/mograph...xtras possibly tp/sketch...but then i'm no motion graphics person..
however since you're the poorguy...core/xl and learn what you might need later....bodypaint is always useful..

[brammelo]

Althoug GI with AR2.5 might not be a viable solution for Motion Graphics (or animation in general), the AR2.5 module offers other possibilities, like Ambient Occlusion, Sub Surface Scattering, Sub Polygon Displacement etc. Those are all effects you will make use of at one point in time.

[PoorGuy]

however since you're the poorguy...core/xl and learn what you might need later....bodypaint is always useful..

hehe I know I wish i was raised from a wealthy family though (jk).:D

Althoug GI with AR2.5 might not be a viable solution for Motion Graphics (or animation in general), the AR2.5 module offers other possibilities, like Ambient Occlusion, Sub Surface Scattering, Sub Polygon Displacement etc. Those are all effects you will make use of at one point in time.

So what render do most people use for animation and graphics use? Does C4d have Mental Ray or Vray plugins?

[Nichod]

Poorguy see here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=349805

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