Hezer Hajrullaaga Shows How You Can Create a System to Live Edit and Preview HDR Maps in C4D Without Any Plugins.

Working with HDR Maps in Cinema 4D is a great and fast way to get scene lighting as well as reflections for that realistic render that you are toiling over. There are some 3rd party tools out there that allow you to create custom HDR Maps, but Cinema 4D has everything you need to do it on your own, as well as viewing and editing the maps live, according to 3D Artist Hezer Hajrullaaga.

“Since R19 came out, I was utilizing spherical option in camera, for live creation and editing HDRI maps. What this setup gives you is unlimited power to see your scenes, and light setups directly within cinema 4d, without using 3rd party plugins.” Hezer writes about the technique laid out in his tutorial. The video demonstrates a simple set up, but you can easily create more complex ones using the system shown. “Hopefully, you will find this tutorial useful, and I would like to see your setups for HDRI. So, I can learn something, too! :)”

3D apps like C4D has so many features that sometimes it’s easy to forget what’s possible with native tools. Another example is Heizer’s details of how to live-preview Vertex Maps in C4D without using any plugins.