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As featured in StudentFilmmakers Magazine; 2011, Volume 6, No. 2, Pages 58 and 59. Click here for the article clipping. To order and download a free DIGI-Issue of magazine, click here.

3D Animation

CINEMA 4D in the Classroom

Using C4D and a render farm made from two iMacs, students Lori Hazelton and Shane Leining, not only beat other teams at the state level, they take home gold medals.

by Meleah Maynard

When Doug Clink, graphic communications instructor at Newaygo County Career Tech Center in Fremont, Michigan, decided to teach his students how to do 3D visualization and animation last year, he never imagined how far they would go with what they learned. Having taught himself how to use MAXON's CINEMA 4D, he just thought it might be fun for them to learn it too.

Maybe they could form a team, he thought. Who knows, maybe they would even be good enough to compete in the Michigan SkillsUSA competition? He could have dreamed bigger.

Using C4D and a render farm made from two iMacs, Lori Hazelton and Shane Leining (two of his students), not only beat other teams at the state level, they took home gold medals and went on to compete at the National SkillUSA contest in Kansas City, Missouri, in June. (SkillsUSA is a national organization that helps prepare high school and college students for careers in technical, skilled and service fields.)

Hazelton and Leining, placed sixth in the nation out of about 50 teams. This time, in addition to the render farm, the duo shared a mini-network they set up with Clink's help, so they could talk to each other and exchange models and textures as they worked. "The teams had six hours to storyboard, model, animate, render and edit a 45-minute animation and my kids finished 20 minutes early," Clink recalls. "It's been really fun for students to learn how to use CINEMA, but this isn't just for fun, really, it's something students can use to pursue careers in animation and design."

The contest was sponsored by Autodesk, so there was a written test on Maya, as well as Maya software prizes. Clink couldn't help noticing that Hazelton and Leining were the only students using Macs, and the only ones using CINEMA 4D. "And after using CINEMA for just one school year, we beat every other team that had been doing 3D for years."

Learning Curve

Clink's 3D animation and visualization class starts at 7 a.m. and Hazelton and Leining were just two of the many students who get up early to spend an hour learning C4D before heading off to other classes at the career center or their regular high. For the first month or so, students focused on doing projects outlined in a book provided by MAXON, which Clink adapted for class.

They learned so fast, it wasn't long before Clink started making up inclass assignments to help prepare the students to compete at SkillsUSA. The theme of the contest is a tightly guarded secret, so it was a happy accident when it turned out that some of the work the kids did turned out to be great practice for the eventual contest theme: "We Are Our Stuff."

Having modeled a desk and other things that go on a desk in class, for example, Leining, illustrated "We Are Our Stuff" by creating a scene inside a garage. Off to the side, away from a parked car, a desk sits uncluttered save for a toy car and a photo of a teenage boy smiling with his parents. In a later scene that same boy is visibly sad as he stares at the picture of happier days. The emotion in the scene is real, says Clink, explaining that Leining lost his own parents in a tragic accident not long ago.

From the start, Leining's aptitude for C4D showed. Originally enrolled in the school's culinary program, Leining was a student in Clink's earlymorning 3D class. But he soon became so enamored with Cinema 4D and graphic communications that he asked to join Clink's two-and-a-half-hour Graphic Communications class, instead. "Because he had proven his ability to learn quickly and has such an excellent work ethic, I allowed him to transfer, which gave him time to do what he loved," says Clink. Leining soon caught up with his peers, and in some cases passed them.

Hazelton's project began with assignments from the text: a cup, paperclips, a picture frame. She made simple objects and later used them to populate a desk she modeled. Like Leining, she is "tremendously talented" and can draw, paint and design, Clink says. And she has also been through some difficult times. Her father passed away and her mother has been having some health problems.

"I am impressed and awed by their talent, hard work and perseverance," says Clink, adding that Lori has excellent computer skills and was constantly showing him new things she learned in C4D. Her projects were often many times more sophisticated and detailed than her classmates. "It was pure joy to review and evaluate her work. She plans to pursue 3D game design, graphic design or something else related to CINEMA 4D.

Having had such a successful year, Clink plans to continue using CINEMA 4D in his classroom. One of the things he likes most about the software is that students can start "making cool things practically right out of the box, and once they see the possibilities, they're hooked."

For more information about Cinema 4D, visit www.maxon.net.

Meleah Maynard is a Minneapolisbased freelance writer and editor. Contact her at her website: www.slowdog.com.