Free Cinema 4D Tutorial.

In this quick capture we explore a method that allows us to translate the luminance data of a shader into a vertex map. The effect is built around the Tension tag. This tag’s primary function is to dynamically populate a Vertex Map with data based on the level of polygonal displacement. So what happens is the following:

1. The Displacer deformer offsets (displaces) the polygons.
2. This is picked up by the Tension tag and dynamically transfered to a vertex map
3. We use a non-displaced version of our object with an empty vertex map assigned to it.
4. We use xpresso to create a live link between both maps.

Update: Thumbs up for Yader (https://vimeo.com/yader) who pointed out that we don’t really need a second vertex map or xpresso for that matter. You can simply drag the vertex map created by the Tension tag and drop it over the non-displaced geometry. Works like a charm!
Music: The Heavy – Short Change Hero