Cinema 4D Tutorials: Splines and NURBS

In this 3rd episode of intro to Cinema 4D Tutorials, you’ll learn how the splines and NURBS objects work. The topics that will be covered are creating splines, adjusting their curves, make editable function, and using splines in conjunction with NURBS. 

Splines

Learn how to create freehand, Bezier, linear, cubic, and B-splines. Learn the differences between each type and how to close a spline. Manipulate their points and control their curves using the point handles with the move tool.

Creating splines with pre-defined shapes will also be demonstrated. Control the pre-defined shape splines characteristics in the attributes manager. Make the shapes editable to manipulate their points to reconfigure the appearance of the shape.

HyperNURBS

Smooths out sharp edges of a piece of geometry. HyperNURBS is a powerful sculpting tool for 3D artists and is well-suited for animation.

Extrude NURBS

Gives splines thickness and makes the generated geometry visible in the renderer. Control the caps and rounding to add bevels to the edges of your form.  

Lathe NURBS

Well-suited for creating any lathed objects like cups, vases, bowls, etc. Control the curvature of your form by adjusting its points with the move tool.

Sweep NURBS

Works by ‘sweeping’ a profile spline along a path spline. Control the profile and rotation of your sweep NURBS object by adjusting the pre-defined curves. Easily animate the sweep NURBS attributes.

Hope you enjoy this episode of intro to Cinema 4D tutorials. If you have any questions about any specific splines or NURBS features, insights that you would like to share, or tutorials you like to see created, please leave a comment below.