Follow this tutorial step-by-step to create a retro Nintendo Game Boy that you can use in video games, graphic design and illustration projects whilst learning how to model in Cinema 4D.
Some of the skills you'll learn in this tutorial include creating basic 3D modelling, importing reference images and basic rendering techniques.
In this, the first part of the two-part tutorial, I'll show you how to:
- How to create Materials
- How to Colour the Model
- How to Render the Game Boy
10. How to Create a New Material
Step 1
Located near the bottom of the screen there should be a material selection window. Click on Create > New Material to create a new material to use that you can edit. I'll use the materials to colour in the various objects and parts of our Nintendo Game Boy.
Step 2
Double click on the new material to bring up the Material Editor. This is where you can adjust the various properties of your material such as the colour, transparency and reflectance etc.
For this particular style we will only be interested in flat colour.
Step 3
Untick the boxes for Colour and Reflectance and tick the button for Luminance. This gives us the flat colour look for our final image.
Step 4
To add a material to the object, drag and drop the material to the object using the mouse.
You can also drag and drop the material onto the object listed on the right of the screen.
The same material can be used for multiple parts of the model. For example, you can use this one material for the front, back and middle parts of our Nintendo Game Boy model.
11. How to Adjust the Material Properties
Step 1
In the Material Editor, click on the arrow button next to Texture and select Sketch and Toon > Cel from the menu.
Step 2
Click on the new Cel button that appears next to Texture to bring up a new menu.
Step 3
In this new menu, adjust the settings as follows:
- Change the Diffuse to match the image at below. It should be greyscale with the colour getting light from left to right.
- Untick Camera.
- Tick Lights.
- Tick Shadows
- Select Multiply from the drop down menu.
Step 4
Select a colour by double clicking on the colour option box.
The Material Editor gives you many different options for choosing and picking your colour. These include RGB, HSV etc. Choose whichever option you are most familiar with as a flat colour. Because of the Multiply shading mode, the different colour shades will also appear in the material.
If the material has already been applied to the model, the colour of the model will automatically be adjusted to the new material colour.
12. How to Adjust the Shading
Step 1
To get a better idea of the shading and how our render will eventually turn out, click on the small black arrow on the bottom right of the Render Button and select Interactive Render Region from the menu.
Step 2
Adjust the window so that it fits around the Game Boy model. Look for the very small arrow on the right hand side of the window and use the mouse to drag it to the top (this increases the resolution). Decrease the resolution by moving the arrow down if you need to.
Step 3
To change the way the light source is facing go to Options > Default Light.
Add a light object to the scene if you are more comfortable working that way.
Step 4
In the Default Light window, click where you would like the light source to come from on the sphere and it will sync with the view port. Experiment with different lighting positions to come up with a lighting situation that you like.
This can be adjusted at anytime.
13. Other Lighting Solutions
Step 1
To set up the basic lighting, you’ll want to go to the Floor button located in the top menu bar. Left Click-Hold and then select Physical Sky from the menu.
Step 2
Ensuring that Physical Sky is selected in the menu on the right, a new menu will appear on the bottom right of the screen. Select the Time and Location tab and choose a time using the left and right arrow keys. This will change the lighting of the scene. Choose a suitable time to light up the scene.
Step 3
To add lighting to the scene, select the Add Light button in the top menu bar at the top of the screen.
This will create a Light Object which you can move around the scene. Move the light object using the Move Tool to a suitable position.
Step 4
To customise the lighting further, experiment with the light object options in the bottom right of the screen. Here you can adjust the Intensity, Light Type and even Colour.
14. How to Colour the Screen
Step 1
Duplicate the material by holding CTRL on the keyboard and then using the mouse to click and drag the material to the side.
Step 2
Double click on the new material to open up the Material Editor and select Luminance. From there we can change the colour to the following:
- R: 79
- G: 222
- B: 183
We can also click on Cel to change the shading properties of this material if needed.
Step 3
Duplicate the first material again (hold CTRL and click and drag with the mouse).
Step 4
Double click on the new material to open up the Material Editor and select Luminance. From there you can change the colour to the following:
- R: 111
- G: 126
- B: 135
Step 5
To create a flat colour, select Cel and change the properties of Diffuse to one colour.
Step 6
To apply the new materials to the object, use the mouse to drag and drop the materials to the object that you wish to colour. Drag and drop the material to the object list on the right side of the screen.
Drag and drop the screen material onto the Game Boy screen.
Step 7
Drag and drop the dark grey material onto the screen border of the Game Boy.
15. How to Colour the Buttons
Step 1
Duplicate a new material from the first material again (hold CTRL and click and drag with the mouse). Double click on the new material to open up the Material Editor and select Luminance. Change the colour to the following:
- R: 232
- G: 96
- B: 32
Step 2
Duplicate a new material. Double click on the new material to open up the Material Editor and select Luminance. From there we can change the colour to the following:
- R: 165
- G: 199
- B: 219
Step 3
Drag and drop the light grey material onto the button borders of the Game Boy.
Step 4
Drag and drop the bright red material onto the main buttons of the Game Boy.
16. How to Colour the D-Pad & Small Buttons
Step 1
Duplicate a new material as you did before. Double click on the new material to open up the Material Editor and select Luminance. From there change the colour to the following:
- R: 89
- G: 98
- B: 106
Step 2
Drag and drop the new material onto the D-Pad, Start and Select buttons of the Game Boy.
17. How to Render the Game Boy
Step 1
Click on the Render Settings button located in the top menu bar.
Step 2
In the Save settings you can select the file location that you want to save your image in. Make sure you also choose the format (PNG) and tick Alpha Channel.
You may wish to tick Alpha Channel on, if you want to continue editing the image in another program such as Adobe Photoshop.
Step 3
Under the Output Settings choose the resolution, height and width of the image. This tutorial uses the settings 1920x1200 72dpi.
Step 4
In the Anti-Aliasing settings, select Cubic (Still Image) which can be found under Filter. This will ensure that your render is nice and sharp.
Step 5
Click on the Render button to render your final image. Remember to make sure that you have selected the right view in your viewport (front, right, left or perspective etc.) and that you are happy with the camera angle.
Choose a suitable angle in the viewport by navigating around the scene.
Step 6
You can also create a camera if you would like greater control over the camera and render options.
The End Result
Wait for the final render to finish. Once the render is complete you can repeat the steps above and change the camera or the view port to create a new image from a different angle.
Throughout the course of the project you have successfully learnt how to:
- Import Reference Images
- Prepare for Modelling
- Model the retro Game Boy
- Create Materials
- Colour the Model
- Render the Game Boy
Feel free to share your own creations below. You can also export your image into Adobe Photoshop to enhance it further or to use it as part of a larger image.
