Importing into Cinema 4D From Vectorworks

Importing into Cinema 4D From Vectorworks

There is a known and established workflow for transferring work from Vectorworks to Cinema 4D that is native to Vectorworks. 

3D objects can be exported to the .c4d format, for use in Cinema 4D. A “scene” is created within the Cinema 4D project; you can choose whether to organize the exported scene the same way the Vectorworks file is organized or to sort it by texture, class, fill color, or line color to facilitate your Cinema 4D workflow.

 To EXPORT to C4D

  1. Use the command 'Export Cinema 4D', set the parameters, name and destination and then you will ned to import into C4D

To send a file DIRECTLY to C4D
  1. Use the command 'Send to Cinema 4D'. For the first time you use this command per session, you will need to specify the version of C4D to use.
  2. This will then export the file as a .c4d format and then open C4D application itself.
  3. During export there will be a 'Update Merge Options' dialog box allowing you to import this into an existing file or import into a new, blank file.  

Unfortunately, this is typically a very one-way process. There are plenty of reasons why you may need to come back to Vectorworks from C4D but it is a restricted process. Thus far, it seems the most reliable way to do this is to export from Cinema 4D in 3DS format, which can in turn be imported into Vectorworks through Renderworks. There are some obvious limitations - in particular that you must have the Renderworks plugin installed. The 3DS importer is not available in Vectorworks without Renderworks. The other issue is the 3DS file format. It's a better option than the DXF/DWG route - as it preserves much greater levels of information. However, procedural textures will be lost and some surfaces may need to be checked once back in Vectorworks.

 


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