Formula Field & Volumes in Cinema 4D

Formula Fun!

Ok, let’s be honest, I’m pretty hopeless at anything more complex than basic maths. However that doesn’t stop me from tinkering and these kind of effects are super simple to set up and play with.

First of all create some geometry, I used Extruded Text, then add this to a Fog Volume Builder. Then add a Formula Field above the object, set the Creation Space to Objects Below.

The default formula will run a sine wave through the volume,  adjusting the values of the voxels based on the voxel id. If you add ‘something’ to the Formula Field’s Subfields, you can control where and how the sine wave is emitted. In this example I added a Matrix Object to the subfields, but you could use another field, a point object or a particle emitter.

Next I added a Fog Smooth to the Volume Builder, to add some blurring to the voxel values and smooth it all out.

Download the examples from the link at the top.

There are six different example files to download. These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what is possible.

To keep things simple I used the same formula in all examples, however, I did change the matrix object so the source points behaved differently. I also played around with some different radius values and voxel resolutions.

By combining the ‘formula’ result with other volumes created from your model, you can build layered effects. You can also try combining multiple fields in your Formula Field’s Subfields list.