Getting Started: Streaming to Cinema 4D

In this article, we will be going through how to stream the data from Rokoko Studio into Cinema 4D and onto a character.


Requirements

  • Cinema 4D R23 or higher
  • Rokoko Studio (Plus, Pro, or Enterprise Subscription)

 


Download

Rokoko Studio Live for Cinema 4D


Enable streaming in Rokoko Studio

  • Go to settings and click on Studio Live in the dropdown menu.

 

  • Turn on streaming to Cinema 4D by enabling the plugin and enabling the default IP and port.


Installing the plugin

  • Extract the .zip file to your desired location

  • Open Cinema 4D go to Edit > Preferences > Plugins

  • Click on Add Folder to add your desired plugins folder where you extracted the plugin to.

For more information on installing plugins to Cinema 4D have a look at their documentation
https://c4d.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/118824-how-do-i-install-a-plugin-with-cinema4d-


Connect the data

  • Open the plugin by going to Extensions > Rokoko Studio Live .

  • Go to the Connection tab and make sure that the port is the same as the streaming port in Rokoko Studio. Then click Connect .

Rokoko Studio is now connected and you will see the actor profile connected as well.


Preparing your character rig

Import your character by dragging the file into the viewport.


Make sure the character is in a T-Pose. Also, make sure to place it in the world's origin.


Note: It is advised to have the hip joint parented to another object. While this may be an arbitrary object, either a Null object or another joint object is recommended. This will serve as the root of the character.

 

For Smartgloves

Make sure to pose your characters hands like the image below. This will provide you with the most accurate retargeting of the data.

  • Assign a Rokoko Tag to your characters root joint.

  • Select the new tag, to see its parameters in the Attribute Manager, and take a look at the "Mapping" tab.

Make sure that the bones are mapped correctly and fix any issues, that may have occurred. To assign a new bone simply drag the joint from your skeleton and onto one of the slots.

 

  • After checking that all the bones are correctly assigned and that the posing of the character is correct, click the Set as T-Pose button.

  • Finally choose the motion data to be used for this character (either in the Tag's "Properties" tab in Attribute Manager or using the "Tags" tab in Rokoko Manager). Change the Stream/Clips to "Studio Connection" if you want to stream the data.

 

Done! You are now ready to play motion data with this character, which can then be saved ito clips or baked into keyframes.


Preparing face capture

Note: The Face Capture is set up to work automatically with faces that using the standard Apple AR kit blendshapes.

This is basically the same workflow as preparing a character rig for Rokoko Studio Live (described above).

  • For Faces: Apply a Rokoko Tag to the face mesh (the object that carries the PoseMorph tag) and then follow above workflow.

    • Differences in workflow:
      • Obviously a face needs no T-Pose
      • Step 4: The button is labeled "Auto Detect Poses"
      • Step 5: Unfotunately Poses can not be dragged from a PoseMorph tag into the Mapping table. Instead one has to enter the Pose names manually.
      • Step 6 doesn't apply
  • For Props: Apply a Rokoko Tag to a prop object

    • Differences in workflow:
      • Props have no T-Pose nor any mapping tables
      • Therefore the process boils down to assigning the tag and choosing data in step 7.
  • Done!


GitHub Wiki

For an in-depth look at what the different functions does in the plugin head over to our GitHub Wiki for more:

https://github.com/Rokoko/rokoko-studio-live-cinema4d/wiki/Rokoko-Studio-Live-Plugin-for-Cinema

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