Animation Apps with Vectorworks

[Damo]

I work for a firm of structural engineers and have won a couple of competitions for 2 large bridges and have been asked to produce a constructoin sequence animation (therefore having objects moving into place, some objects not appearing until half way through the movie) to show how these could be built.

So I am looking for the best application to do this animation in. I do the models in Vectorworks and have seen an application called Cinema 4D. Has anyone any experience in using the 2 together and what sort of animation results should I expect ? Or is there another application out there that would do what I need better.

Your help and opions are apreciated.

Damo

[Bart Rammeloo]

If you order the exchange plugin for VW and C4D, then you should have the best solution on the block. Animation is easy in C4D. You can keyframe (animate) almost every parameter an object has. Making objects appear or move is one of the simplest things around. You should be fine with C4D. I would without any hesitation advise you to get the architectural Bundle from MAXON. You won't be needing Advanced Render for this job (radiosity), but you will probably enjoy Sketch & Toon very much.

I make architectural animations myself, based on VectorWorks 3D models. There's nothing online - the movies are too large and I don't have time to update my site - but if you have any questions, the don't hesitate. You can drop me a line at bart@designexpress.be if needed.

Cheers,

Bart

[mike m oz]

Damo - also check out OzCAD's AnimationWorks. It is a relatively low cost (~ US$190) add on for VW which will allow you to do animations within the program.

For more information go to the OzCAD website and follow the links Products / Add-ons / AnimationWorks. www.ozcad.com.au

You can download demo versions, the manuals and sample QT movies showing how it operates.

Another excellent add on developed by Julian Carr of OzCAD.

[Damo]

Thanks, will this C4D (lattest version 9.5 ?) work with 11.5 ? have read issues saying it dosnt work ?

Damo

[mclaugh]

I heartily second the recommendation of OzCAD's Animation Works.

I bought a license in January, and have used it to create animations that include everything you've mentioned and more. Best thing about it from a user's perspective is it's a VW plugin, so you're not wasting time trying to figure your way around in a new program. Plus, there's no export-from-VW-import-into-whatever rigamarole if you end up needing to tweak something in the source file.

NOTE: I do NOT receive compensation of any kind for any product recommendation I might make.

[Jershaun]

If quality and speed is what you after then C4D is the route. I haven't used Animation Works but I would think it uses the Lightworks rendering engine and if so, it will be slow for animations (especially with lots of lights).

I use C4D 9.1 and VW 11.5 without any problems. Its easy. The export/import is un-noticable and both the programs act as one. I agree with BaRa. You don't have to go for the advanced render module cause C4D alone will be better than Renderworks.

Good luck.

[mclaugh]

quote:

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Originally posted by Shaun:

If quality and speed is what you after then C4D is the route. I haven't used Animation Works but I would think it uses the Lightworks rendering engine and if so, it will be slow for animations (especially with lots of lights).

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Can't say I've found AW to be noticably slower than C4D, but haven't used C4D much recently since I find it more efficient to do everything in VW rather than switching back and forth between programs.

Should note that while both AW and C4D can be used to generate animations, they're two entirely different animals. AW is an VW plug-in designed to simplify the process of creating animations within VW; C4D is a dedicated, stand-alone rendering program: as such, it should be thought of as an alternative to Renderworks rather than to Animation Works. AW's more than capable if you can live with the limitations of Renderworks: if you want or need capabilities such as radiosity, morph targets, of a dedicated rendering program, such as radiosity, morph targets, etc., you'll have to look at a dedicated rendering program.

[mike m oz]

Damo the other option of course is to outsource the work. In the end it may be quicker and cheaper + you can concentrate on what you need to do and not become distracted.

[P Bartoli]

quote:

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Originally posted by Shaun:

I use C4D 9.1 and VW 11.5 without any problems.

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I use Cinema4d but haven't the VW plugin.

I took a look at your website and I'm interested in understanding the data workflow with your renderings: I understand you model everything with VW and export to C4D with the plugin.

I guess you place some people images in Cinema, wonder how you use them.

thanks

[Kaare Baekgaard]

I have used Stratas Studiopro for some years until the export/import functions got too muddled to be practical.

Now I am using Animationworks. But I have to say at a loss of animation quality. It's much faster to do all work within Vectorworks, of course, but AW lacks the ability to control 'ease in' and 'ease out' to my satisfaction. As a result, the animations get an abrupt character.

I wasn't pleased with the first version of the Cinema 4D export filter, and haven't tried the second, but if you want a highly professional look to your animations, that's the only way to go. AW is cool for everyday jobs, though.