10 Best Cinema 4D Courses and Certifications Online

Cinema 4D is a powerful 3D modeling and animation software that has become increasingly popular over the years. As its user base continues to grow, there is a high demand for quality online courses that can help individuals enhance their skills and become proficient with the software. With a plethora of options available, it can be challenging to identify the best Cinema 4D courses online. This article aims to provide an overview of the essential factors to consider when selecting an online course for learning Cinema 4D and highlight some of the top-rated courses available.

Here’s a look at the Best Cinema 4D Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

10 Best Cinema 4D Courses and Certifications Online

1. Cinema 4D Masterclass: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners by Ozgur Gorgun (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

The Cinema 4D Masterclass: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners is a training course designed to take individuals with little to no knowledge of Cinema 4D and teach them all the fundamental skills necessary to start working on their own. The course is instructed by Ozgur Gorgun, a Maxon Certified Cinema 4D Instructor, who will guide participants through the entire process of a 3D workflow, including modelling, lighting, texturing, animating, and rendering. Along the way, students will learn countless tips, tricks, and industry standard techniques. The course is ideal for graphic designers looking to add an extra dimension to their work or 2D motion designers looking to take their animation skills to the next level.

The course is packed with 8 hours of intuitive and easy-to-follow tutorials, and each tutorial is accompanied by an exercise file that students can download and follow along with. The training is designed to teach individuals just what they need to know in order to advertise themselves as a 3D designer and earn more within the field.

The course content is broken down into 17 sections, which cover everything from getting to know Cinema 4D, to lighting, materials, animation, dynamics, particles, MoGraph, cameras, render settings, and more. The final section includes a conclusion and wrap-up of everything covered in the course.

Overall, the Cinema 4D Masterclass is an excellent course that provides beginners with a strong foundation in 3D design using Cinema 4D. The course is taught by an experienced and knowledgeable instructor and offers high-quality tutorials and exercise files to help students easily follow along. The course is highly recommended for anyone looking to add 3D design to their skillset and advance their career opportunities within the industry.

2. Learning Maxon Cinema 4D – A Beginners Training Course by Infinite Skills (Udemy)

This is a beginner’s training course titled “Learning Maxon Cinema 4D” taught by Infinite Skills. The course teaches the fundamental tools for creating models and animation using the software. The instructor, Chris, has real-world experience creating graphics solutions for television, film, and businesses.

The course begins with a tour of the interface and teaches students what 3D objects are. It then quickly moves on to teach how to create 3D objects using Splines, extrusion, sweeping, and lathing. Students will also learn about Nurbs and how to use tools like The Knife, Bevel, and Bridge to create basic 3D components. The course covers lighting, adding textures to models, and animating them. Additionally, it includes a chapter on using Mograph and concludes with a project to build a model of a robot.

Upon completion of the course, students will have an understanding of the tools and techniques available for creating, animating, and rendering 3D models using Maxon Cinema 4D. The course includes working files so students can follow along with the instructor’s lessons.

The course is divided into 13 sections, beginning with an introduction and ending with a conclusion. The sections cover topics like understanding 3D objects, polygonal modeling techniques, defining materials and textures, and building the robot. The course is comprehensive and designed to quickly get students started with using Maxon Cinema 4D.

3. Learn Cinema 4D – Create Abstract 3D Design Elements by Jesper Sandell (Udemy)

This course titled “Learn Cinema 4D – Create Abstract 3D Design Elements” is instructed by Jesper Sandell. It offers a hands-on, project-based approach to learning the fundamentals of creating abstract 3D design elements using Cinema 4D. The course includes four projects that will be done entirely within Cinema 4D, without using pre-made elements. The course offers a procedural workflow that allows for easy editing and experimentation, making the process flexible, fun, and powerful. The course content is well-suited for both a 3D and 2D workflow.

The course covers fundamental concepts in the first project and builds on them in subsequent projects. The course covers a range of topics, including working with parametric objects, exploring how geometry and complexity affect object appearance, working with deformers, understanding displacement, working with the noise shader, making complex shaders with the layer shader, lighting a scene, working with cameras, creating materials, rendering with Physical and Standard Renderer, making seamless loop animations, and color grading and post-effects in Adobe After Effects.

Udemy offers a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee. The course is designed to be efficient and fun for those looking to get started with Cinema 4D. The course is broken down into sections, including an introduction, getting to know Cinema 4D, four projects, conclusion, and what’s next. Enrolling in the course offers a chance to learn Cinema 4D from an experienced instructor, Jesper Sandell.

4. Cinema 4D – High quality furniture modeling by Zelimir Prgic (Udemy)

Course Title: Cinema 4D – High Quality Furniture Modeling

The Cinema 4D – High Quality Furniture Modeling course is designed to teach you how to create high-quality furniture models using Cinema 4D software. The course is instructed by Zelimir Prgic, who has ample experience in the field of furniture modeling.

The course focuses on sofa and chair modeling techniques, with emphasis on details and proportions. It covers a combination of simple and advanced techniques to enable you to create high-quality furniture models that meet industry standards.

The furniture industry is rapidly growing, and many companies are increasingly using 3D visualization of their products. Therefore, the skills you learn in this course will be useful in bringing you closer to industry standards.

Apart from furniture modeling, the techniques presented in the course can also be used in high poly modeling of other products and objects. You can transfer all the learned techniques to other 3D software for use in other projects.

The course is structured in three sections, starting with an introduction, followed by chair modeling and sofa modeling sections. By the end of the course, you will have gained the necessary skills to model high-quality furniture in Cinema 4D.

5. Cinema 4D Complete : Vol. 2. All about Modeling! by Lionel VICIDOMINI (Udemy)

The course title “Cinema 4D Complete: Vol. 2. All about Modeling!” is taught by instructor Lionel VICIDOMINI. The course teaches students everything they need to know about polygon modeling, a core aspect of every 3D application. The course aims to provide a comprehensive video manual of Cinema 4D while keeping the lessons entertaining. The course can be followed on previous versions of the software, starting from R17.

The course covers various aspects of modeling, including selecting, moving, scaling, and rotating polygons, working with splines, using generators like the mirror and subdivision surface, and utilizing polygon commands such as extrude and bevel tools. Students will also learn about deformers, which allow for object reshaping and even whole model creation from simple primitives. OpenVDB modeling is also covered in the course.

The course includes several workshops that demonstrate real-life examples and how to model various objects, like a screw, spoon, coffee cup, holder, and a soccer ball. The course is structured into sections covering core polygon concepts, splines, generators, polygon commands, deformers, openVDB modeling, and modeling workshops. The course is not dependent on the first volume of the series, but it can significantly help, especially for newcomers to 3D.

6. Cinema 4D Complete : Vol. 1 The Essentials by Lionel VICIDOMINI (Udemy)

The Cinema 4D Complete: Vol. 1 The Essentials course, instructed by Lionel VICIDOMINI, is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the basics of Cinema 4D. As a Maxon Certified Instructor and Motion Designer based in France, VICIDOMINI emphasizes the importance of mastering a software through in-depth learning. The course aims to serve both beginners and experienced graphic designers looking to deepen their knowledge of the software’s features.

The course covers a range of topics, including a complete tour of the interface, navigation in the 3D viewport, display options, interface customization, and hidden options of the object manager. Additionally, tips and tricks on manipulating multiple objects, the coordinate system, layer manager, software preferences, project setup, library, and parametric objects are explained in detail. The course also includes a practical workshop on modeling a toy Flying Saucer using parametric objects.

The course is designed to be flexible, allowing learners to jump from video to video based on their individual learning needs. Each lecture is short and packed with information. The course can be followed using Cinema 4D Lite, which is bundled with After Effects CC. The next volume of the course will cover everything there is to know about modeling.

7. Learning Cinema 4D Lite For After Effects by Infinite Skills (Udemy)

The Learning Cinema 4D Lite For After Effects course offered by Infinite Skills is designed to teach users how to create 3D models using Cinema 4D Lite in combination with Adobe After Effects. The course begins by introducing the basic tools required to create 3D content within the software.

Users will learn how to set up the software and navigate the user interface. The course then covers the creation and adjustment of basic, parametric, and 3D objects such as cubes and spheres. Splines and NURBS are also covered in detail to help users create 3D objects.

The course covers the creation and application of materials to objects, including reflective surfaces using the Reflection and Environment channels. Tips are also provided on organizing a CINEMA 4D project to make it easier to edit in After Effects.

Upon completion of the course, users will understand how to use the available tools for creating and animating 3D models in Cinema 4D Lite. The course is structured into multiple sections and includes working files to help users follow along with the instructor.

8. Learning Cinema 4D – Mastering Cinema 4D Made Easy by Infinite Skills (Udemy)

The “Learning Cinema 4D – Mastering Cinema 4D Made Easy” course offered by Infinite Skills provides a comprehensive introduction to Maxon Cinema 4D R15, a 3D modeling software. The course is suitable for beginners, with no prior knowledge of 3D modeling or Maxon Cinema 4D necessary.

The course starts with an overview of the interface and project settings, followed by lessons on 3D object creation using various techniques such as splines, extrusion, sweeping, and lathing. Additionally, the course covers modeling objects and deformers, lighting, texturing, rendering, and animation, as well as MoGraph and its various features.

By the end of the course, learners will have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills to create their own 3D models and animations using Cinema 4D. The course comes with working files to facilitate learning and practicing. The course is divided into 12 sections, covering all aspects of 3D modeling and animation using Cinema 4D.

9. Professional Lighting Techniques in Cinema 4D by Ozgur Gorgun (Udemy)

The Professional Lighting Techniques in Cinema 4D course, led by Ozgur Gorgun, aims to teach students how to create professional-looking renders in Cinema 4D. The course is designed to provide hands-on lessons in lighting concepts, from basic setups to advanced techniques and tools. Ozgur, a Maxon Certified Cinema 4D Instructor, has spent over a decade mastering these techniques and created this course to provide a comprehensive guide to using lights in Cinema 4D.

The course begins by exploring basic light setups and progresses to more advanced techniques like physically accurate lights, studio setups, shadow quality improvements, global illumination and ambient occlusion, glowing objects, volumetric lights, reflections, and caustics. Each lesson is accompanied by source files that students can download to practice what they’ve learned. Quizzes are provided at the end of each chapter to test students’ knowledge.

The course is suitable for both experienced and new Cinema 4D users, as it provides countless lighting tips and tricks used in the industry. By properly using lights, the course aims to help students create better-looking renders in less time. The course is split into several sections, including Introduction, Basic Concepts, Working With Lights, Improving Your Renders, Creating Realistic Renders, and Conclusion.

Overall, the Professional Lighting Techniques in Cinema 4D course is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their rendering skills. With hands-on lessons and comprehensive coverage of lighting techniques, students can learn how to create professional-looking renders in Cinema 4D.

10. Cinema 4D – Looping 3D Animation for Instagram and GIF by Dave Bergin (Udemy)

This course titled “Cinema 4D – Looping 3D Animation for Instagram and GIF” is designed to enhance the skills of users in creating their own looping 3D animations. The instructor, Dave Bergin, has over a decade of experience as a 3D and Motion Graphics Artist.
The course begins with an introduction to the instructor and the objective of the course. Dave will guide the learners in creating a looping photo-real 3D animation in Cinema 4D, also known as the Jellybean Factory. This animation is in high demand on social media platforms like Instagram. At the end of the course, learners will have the opportunity to create their own looping 3D animation.

The course requires Maxon Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects, but learners can download a free demo to start learning. The course includes step-by-step instructions on modeling, scene setup, animation with effectors, dynamics, lighting, texturing, rendering, compositing, uploading to Instagram, creating animated GIFs, and a bonus Octane setup.

Learners will also have access to the instructor’s project files for better understanding of the animation creation process. The course has a bonus lesson on rendering with Octane Render for advanced learners.

Overall, the course provides a comprehensive guide for learners looking to develop skills in creating looping 3D animations using Cinema 4D.