Cinema 4D comes offers many add on, 'plug-in' modules and a very rich developer community. One of the most popular and a definite 'must try' is 'MoGraph' an animation wonder.

MoGraph comes with an array of functions and features, 'cloners', 'effectors', and these enable the kind of effects we are used to seeing such as windblown objects, random physics, and explosion.

It objects arrays with grid or radial configuration so the development time and control of these structures is much easier. Starting with a primitive object, a cube or sphere, choose 'cloner object' from the MoGraph pull down menu. 'Cloner' is what the name implies, providing duplication of your object in the matrix, size, and number you define with predefined orientations: linear, radial, and grid. Create your cloner object then place your primitive object inside free 3d models.

Take a look at the cloner options. You see a count and size. If you chose linear, increasing the count replicates your object by default in the vertical 'Y' direction. Checking 'render instances' will quicken your render times. You can adjust the size in any of the three dimensions but when you do, you will be adjusting all your objects at once! Technically what you will be adjusting are the dimensions of your cloner object.

For example, if you converted your sphere to a grid, choose the cloner object and increase its size. To maintain its symmetry, you would increase all three dimensions (x,y,z) the same but what you will see as you adjust all your objects at once is that you are increasing the size of the grid. Its width, height, and depth will go from say, 200 to 300 while the size of your sphere remains the same free 3d models. You can adjust the size of your sphere, the primitive object you 'cloned'. If you choose the individual object and increase its size, your grid will become denser. Its outer dimensions remain the same, but the size of its components increase.

It's easy to play with; once you get a good feel for the conventions and design your object first, you can make adjustments to the entire set with a single change. MoGraph also had built in animation tools referred to as 'effectors'. While you can keyframe any of the dimensions of your grid, you can keyframe the count of your objects, the MoGraph effectors take care of the keyframing and timing, allowing you to focus on the special effect you want.

With your cloner object selected, choose the 'effectors' tab, then from the MoGraph pull down menu, choose 'Random Effector'. Right away you will see a random scattering of the grid component spheres. The default setting is position but it is just as easy to randomize changes of scale or rotation.

For more control over this effector, select the Random Effector object, choose its 'Falloff' tab. Its default setting for shape is 'infinite' but you can choose the shape of this effector's effect! If that sounds redundant consider a bubble moving through liquid with its effect confined to its bounding shape. Your shape can be one of several boxes, spheres, and several other primitive shapes.

Now that you have a confining shape, it is easy to animate the timing of your effect. Animating the position of your 'Fallof' shape allows you to direct it so you may have a sphere pass through your grid, set to a fixed time. Pull your effector shape away from your grid, set a keyframe on the timeline using the red key thumbnail (by the timeline play/rewind control buttons), move your falloff sphere into your grid, setting keyframes as you pass through. When you set your keyframe using this key button, it records all your changes so you may change the size of your falloff shape as well as its position to encompass more as it passes through free 3d models.

MoGraph is a dynamic effect like a thunderstorm passing through with varying intensity. As you experiment with the controls you will easily see how it will help you produce impressive results and mimic natural effects