Introduction to Python

Python is a powerful, easy to learn programming language that is deeply integrated with Cinema 4D. But if you're a designer, chances are that you've been hesitant to dive into the world of code. The following videos don't assume any programming background, so you should be able to follow them even if you've never written a line of code. I use a series of simple projects to introduce you to the basics of Python and show you how it opens up a whole new world of possibilities in Cinema 4D.

These videos are based on the talk I gave at our September Chicago C4D meeting. I've included the sample code used in each video. This is the first in an ongoing series of Python tutorials. So if you have any questions, or a request for a specific tutorial, let me know in the comments below. And to hear about new tutorials as they're released, follow me at @BuiltLight. Have fun!

Part 1 - Python Fundamentals

print("Hello world!")

def main():
    print('Hello World!')

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

Part 2 - Talking to Cinema 4D

import c4d
#Welcome to the world of Python

def main():
    c4d.gui.MessageDialog('Hello World!')

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

import c4d
#Welcome to the world of Python

def main():
    MoText = c4d.BaseObject(1019268)
    MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_TEXT] = "Hello world!"
    doc.InsertObject(MoText)
    c4d.EventAdd()

if __name__=='__main__':
    main()

Part 3 - Talking to Twitter

Note: To use these last two scripts, you'll need to install the Python Twitter module. I'll put up a blog post walking you through the process shortly. Also, the code below is slightly different from the example shown in the video. Instead of using the MyTwitterApi module to create a Twitter client, it uses the twitter module directly. In order to run these scripts, you'll need to sign up at the Twitter Developers site and select "Create an app". Once you've done this, use the authentication credentials generated by Twitter to replace the placeholder arguments for the twitter.Api() function call.

import c4d
import twitter

def main():
    #Create a Python twitter client.
    client = twitter.Api(“consumer_key”, ”consumer_secret”, ”access_token”, ”access_token_secret”)

    #Get one tweet from the friends timeline.
    timeline = client.GetFriendsTimeline()
    tweet = timeline[0]
    
    #Create a string from the user name and text of the tweet.
    uText = "@" + tweet.user.screen_name + ": " + tweet.text
    text = uText.encode('utf-8','ignore')
    print text
    
    #Create a MoText object.
    MoText = c4d.BaseObject(1019268)
    
    #Set its text to show the tweet.
    MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_TEXT] = text
    
    #Add it to the document.
    doc.InsertObject(MoText)
    c4d.EventAdd()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

import c4d
import twitter

def main():
    #Create a Python twitter client.
    client = twitter.Api(“consumer_key”, ”consumer_secret”, ”access_token”, ”access_token_secret”)
    #Get tweets from the friends timeline.
    timeline = client.GetFriendsTimeline()
    #Create a "MoTweet" for each tweet.
    yPosition = 0
    for tweet in timeline:
        CreateMoTweet(tweet,yPosition)
        yPosition += 100
    #Update the object manager and the view.
    c4d.EventAdd()

def CreateMoTweet(tweet,yPos):
    #Create a MoText object.
    MoText = c4d.BaseObject(1019268)
    #Set its name as it will appear in the Object Manager.
    MoText[c4d.ID_BASELIST_NAME] = str(tweet.user.screen_name)
    #Generate the text we'll use for the MoText object.
    uText = "@" + tweet.user.screen_name + ": " + tweet.text
    text = uText.encode('utf-8', 'ignore')
    print text    
    MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_TEXT] = text
    #Use number of followers to determine Z position.
    zPos = tweet.user.followers_count * 0.05
    #Set the object's position.
    MoText[c4d.ID_BASEOBJECT_REL_POSITION] = c4d.Vector(0,yPos,zPos)
    #Use the number of tweets to set the size of the text.
    MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_HEIGHT] = 20 + tweet.user.statuses_count * 0.01
    MakePretty(MoText)
    #Add it to the current document.
    doc.InsertObject(MoText)

def MakePretty(MoText):
    #Set depth, rounding, and add phong tag.
    MoText[c4d.MGTEXTOBJECT_SPLINEMOVE] = MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_HEIGHT] * 0.2
    MoText[c4d.CAP_START] = 3
    MoText[c4d.CAP_STARTSTEPS] = 3
    MoText[c4d.CAP_STARTRADIUS] =  MoText[c4d.PRIM_TEXT_HEIGHT] * 0.025
    MoText.MakeTag(c4d.Tphong)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()