cmNodes Plugin Preview [C4D Node Material System]

#1

Chris Montesano has uploaded a preview video of his node based shader system for Cinema 4D! Extremely cool! :drool:

http://youtu.be/jnAutrDbynw

Note: This is not a plugin of mine, I just want to spread the word!

#2

FINALLY !!!

I wonder why Maxon still hasn’t done that yet…

#3

Looks promising!

Mylenium

#4

Amazing!

I wonder if this cmNodes like Blend are accesiable in xpresso? (since its parameters look like animatable)

#5

OMG!!!

Finally. Cinema 4D is probably the last big 3d software without nodal based material system, i was hoping that R15 will be it, but we have to rely on third party to do fundamental stuff.

#6

It’s really great to finally see something like this in action. I kept trying to freeze the video to see what nodes you had in there. It looked like you had some 2D transform stuff, and obviously lots of compositing tools. Could you possibly list what you’ve got in there for nodes? Perhaps some of the texturing geniuses on here could suggest some tools to make this even more powerful.

And of course, the two inevitable questions:

-Will it support Macs?

-Will we be able to use it on Vray materials?

Thanks for doing this!

W

#7

Looking great so far. That is going to be a very popular plug.

Congrats!

#8

Finalrender for c4d already had a node compositing system years ago. But I heard it was kind of slow to refresh. So I guess performance is key here.

This being said, there isn’t much you can’t do already in C4D with a good reference shader and the layer system and such. I’ve never hit a wall myself where I couldn’t do something in the current system.

I wonder if this would be compatible with other plugins like smartshaders…

#9

The problem is not necessarily the limitations of the shader system, but the workflow. Instead of linking shaders directly, you have to use a reference shader. You can loose the overview very quickly.

#10

Cool
Hope, thats nobody lost interest to compose mat or get mixed up in it . I remember times which i spent with cebas fR node-based material system.

#11

Yeah, I liked the reference shaders, as they were a good stop gap for this sort of thing, and in some ways they still offer different flexibility than this.

Like the reference shaders generally let you set specific values within a referenced shader, while that wasn’t something currently available in this.

But, this can replace 90% of reference shaders for me, and the layer shader is a thing of the past. (And there is still lots that a plugin like Paul’s Smart Shaders has to offer)

Thank you Chris for continuing to put out plugins like this!

#12

This looks very promising!

-b

#13

Wow ! Can´t believe it. Is that really true ? :slight_smile:
This is a must-buy plugin. Does anybody knows how far the development status is ? Would be cool, if its been released this year. Btw: the “auto-connect-feature” is really nice ! :buttrock:

#14

AFAIK, Chris is planning on releasing ASAP.

#15

regarding VRay question above, yes it will be for it: Chris is a friend of us, we are working together with him to make the node based editor work perfect in V-Ray C4d.

Stefan
vrayforc4d

#16

I bet this made a lot of peeps very happy including me!

#17

Sure, here’s what I have so far:

Input: Solid Color, Texture (to load any image/shader)

Adjust: Clamp, Colorspace, Curves, Filter, Grade, Math

Channels: Blens, Copy, Shuffle

Effects 2D: Blur, DirBlur, Distort, Edge Detect, Emboss, Matrix, Normal Map, Transform

Output/Material (for linking branches to a material).

The “Shaders” node menu simply lists all available shaders in C4D and will create a loaded Texture node when selected.

Yes, this works with OSX.

Yes, but at the moment the setup is manual. You can’t currently drop a Vray material onto the editor like you can with a standard material. But as Stefan said we are working on better integration.

With the exception of improved Vray support and a few outstanding issues, this is just about ready to go.

#18

Looks really well thought out, but the idea of having to buy a third party plugin to do what every other 3d app does out of the box (aside from Modo) is somewhat depressing. Still, I am quite interested in trying it out.

Chris, I am not sure how much more extensible the C4D shading system will be with this. Are you creating this so that the existing C4D materials/shaders can be viewed and edited in a nodal way or are you actually extending the native shading system with new possibilities that can’t be achieved with the existing material system?

If I use the plugin to create a material and then send this scene to a client, will the materials transfer over if they don’t have the plugin? You are obviously adding some custom effects, so would these just be stripped out from the material if the plugin is not on a machine, but leave the rest of the material intact?

Any plans on creating a solution for layered speculars or a better anisotropic solution? Will I be able to use the plugin for hair or Sketch/toon materials?

Yes, many questions, as I am intrigued :cool:

#19

3DS Max has nodal texturing these days?

#20

people keep saying c4d is the only 3d app without node material system.
but none of the other apps have c4d material system which i think is much better in most cases.
im not say a node system isnt needed but i also think the other apps need to adopt some of c4d material system.