Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced  Sensor Size (controls the degree of depth of field; the

Features Advanced Render
Physical Renderer
Basic Advanced
Physical Renderer
These settings are made available when the Physical
Renderer has been selected. Most of the otherwise available
render settings are, with few exceptions (these will be
grayed out), also available for use with the Physical
Renderer. The Renderer offers more general information
regarding the Physical Renderer.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Physical
Renderer
smaller the F-Stop (f/#) (the wider the real-world
sensor will be opened) the smaller the depth of field)
 Focus Distance (the lesser the distance to the object
the more blurred it will appear). Details can be found
under Focus Distance
Note that scaling the depth of field of a project can alter the
project dramatically! See also Project Scale. The Focus
Distance will adapt accordingly but the previously mentioned
"visual" parameters will remain unchanged.

Physical Renderer

Basic Advanced

Basic Properties

You can find general information regarding the Physical

Renderer in the Renderer section.

Depth Of Field

Enables or disables the depth of field for the Physical

Renderer.
Motion Blur
Strictly speaking, a real camera can only focus clearly on a
single distance at a time. Everything in front of and behind
this plane appears increasingly blurry. The area between the
nearest and farthest objects that appears focused is known
as depth of field.

A large depth of field is when a large region in the distance is

displayed, whereas a small depth of field is when a relatively
small region is displayed in focus.

Extremely slow shutter speeds can create interesting effects.

Enables or disables motion blur for the Physical Renderer.

This motion blur is in fact real, rendered and physically
correct motion blur. Motion blur occurs when an object or the
camera itself moves while the camera’s shutter is open. The
degree of motion blur depends on the camera’s shutter
speed and the speed with which the object(s) or camera
moves.
Decreasing depth of field from left to right.

In Cinema 4D, the depth of field for the angle of view of the
camera is defined using the Focus Distance, which can be
varied interactively in the Viewport:
The varying focal distances shown on the right move the
Slower shutter speeds result in more pronounced motion
depth of field vertically along the camera’s angle of view.
blur.
The depth of field (spatial position, strength) is influenced by
As is the case with depth of field, motion blur also requires a
3 camera settings:
lot of computing power and therefore (render)time. However,
this effect helps create a realistic look for film and video
 Focal Length (the greater the Focal Length, the sequences, even though the most recent trend in action films
smaller the depth of field) is towards faster shutter speeds, which results in staccato-
like image sequences.
A few general tips regarding motion blur:
 Note also the Motion Blur tag, which offers numerous
special functions.
 You should always bake Dynamics to ensure that the
motion blur is calculated correctly.
 Motion blur will not be calculated when rendered in
the Viewport.
 For generated objects whose total number of points
changes during animation, problems can occur
because interpolation cannot be done correctly.
Example: A Path Spline animated via PLA. The
number of spline points can change dynamically,
which also affects the number of generated polygons.
Solution: Intermediate frame motion blur always
helps in such a case. In particular when using Sweep
object Intermediate Points can be set to Uniform. The
number of points along the Spline will remain the
same.
 Motion blur does not render correctly in the IC GI
mode.
 For animated Generators (e.g., Loft object; in this
special case, the Subdivision per Segment option can
help), the UV coordinates can change abruptly. In
such cases, faulty motion blur calculations can result.
Motion Subdivisions [1..6]
The cube moves along the Spline. With a Motion
Subdivision value of 6 the cube moves correctly along the
Circle Spline.
It is especially important to calculate positions between
animation frames when animating fast, circular movements.
This value defines the degree of subdivision between two
sequential frames of animation (1 = 0; 2 = once; 3 = three
times, 4 = 7 times, 5 = 15 times, 6 = 31 times). Higher
values will lead to more memory use (although nominal for
normal scenes - a noticeable difference only occurs when
applied to very many objects). For single images/stills, this
value should be greater than four figures to ensure
maximum motion quality.
Deformation Subdivisions [0..6]
See Motion Subdivisions, only for deformation effects (i.e.
when objects change their shape), for example as may be
caused by Joints.
Hair Subdivisions [0..6]
See also Motion Subdivisions, only for animated hair. Note that samples would be completely superfluous. Here we have a
this option requires a great deal of memory. Therefore you
should use this option sparingly and only use very low
values.
Sampler
The Sampler does just that - it samples the Project’s cache
from the angle of view of the camera in a pixel raster (see
also How does antialiasing work?). The Sampler has to
determine which regions have to be sampled again with
regard to antialiasing or blur effects (depth of field, motion
blur, blurriness effects) in order to achieve the desired
render quality.
The samples gathered (i.e. colors), whose number far
exceeds the number of pixels, will in the end be turned into
pixels colors via an antialiasing filter. This is a somewhat
simplified explanation of very complex procedures that
actually occur.
The following Sample settings serve as a controlling instance
for the samples to be calculated. The following primarily
applies: The more samples taken at critical regions, the
better the final result will be (with correspondingly longer
render times). In short:
 Adaptive: Depending on the settings defined, an
increased sampling will take place at critical or
important regions. This mode is best for use in most
cases because it offers a good compromise between
quality and render speed (comparable with the
default renderer’s Best Antialiasing setting).
 Fixed: A definable and unchangeable per-pixel
sample number (which will, however, already be
increased in blurriness effect regions, depending on
the settings there) will be calculated (comparable
with the default
renderer’s Best and Min/Max Antialiasing settings).
 Progressive: This sampler can render infinitely
(samples will continuously be calculated). The longer
it renders the better the antialiasing and blur effects
such as DOF, motion blur and blurriness effects will
be calculated.
Fixed
The render results using the values shown for Sampling
Subdivisions.
This sampler subdivides each pixel in a defined number of
sub-pixels, according to the value entered for the Sampling
Subdivisions value. For example, to make the blurred region
of a motion blur effect visually appealing you should use a
relatively high value (e.g., 4 or 5). This means that 16 and
25 samples, respectively, will be calculated per pixel
(irregular values such as "2.4", etc. can also be entered).
Even in superfluous regions. Take a look at the image above,
at the top right of the scene where you can see a section of
the wall. This is a region in which such a large number of
pretty homogenous wall surface, which remains
unchanged. Fixed is therefore a "brute force" method of
rendering an image.
Render time is valuable. This is why there is an Adaptive
mode that recognizes at which locations more sampling must
be done.
Increasing the Sampling Subdivisions level by a single value
normally doubles the required render time. Here you can
estimate render times quite precisely, which on the other
hand is quite difficult using the Adaptive sampler.
Adaptive
The Adaptive sampler is a much more intelligent sampler
compared to the previously described Fixed sampler, i.e., it
very often renders faster. On the other hand it’s more
difficult to control because is calculates the following 4 values
and distributes the samples accordingly:
 Sampling Subdivisions
 Shading Subdivisions (Min)
 Shading Subdivisions (Max)
 Shading Error Threshold
For special effects such as blurriness effects, additional
settings are available at the bottom of the dialog window.
Independent of any settings, special attention is paid to
object edges, to which additional samples are applied to
ensure that they are always antialiased optimally.
Note that, as a matter of principle, the Adaptive sampler
renders slightly less sharp than the Fixed mode:
Hence, if you want to create a sharp render of a Project with
very detailed textures, the Fixed mode would be the better
option.
Progressive
The longer the render the better the result (quality).
This render mode is completely new in Cinema 4D and
differentiates itself strongly from the usual render modes
that produce a finished image after a finite render time.
The Progressive render mode can render infinitely, during
which time the result will continuously improve. This is not
so obvious on homogenously colored surfaces but can
primarily be seen in regions in which blur effects such as
DOF, motion blur, area shadows, blurriness effects or
antialiasing are applied. The initially grainy image will
become increasingly less grainy, i.e., more homogenous.
Don’t confuse this mode with "unbiased" rendering, whose
popularity has increased in the last years. In this mode the
GI, among other things, is "unbiased" (unadulterated with
regard to physical correctness and precision), i.e., the GI
effect is continuously improved. The Progressive mode does
not offer this effect!
This mode is primarily suited for fast preview renderings
because you can very quickly determine the quality of the
image as a whole. No other method offers you such a fast
rendition of the entire image (with reduced quality at the
start). To this end it is recommended that the subdivision
values at the bottom of the dialog window be set to 0.
If you would let a scene render infinitely you would always
achieve a perfect, non-grainy image. However, very good
results are achieved FAR before infinity. Nevertheless, under
certain circumstances it can take longer to render as with
other render modes.
Note that you can make numerous settings visible for this
mode by clicking on the small arrow next to Sampler.
Progressive Mode
Progressive Pass Count [1..65536]
Progressive Time Limit (minutes) [0..16384]
Progressive Pass Count Limit [1..65536]
Use these settings to define whether the render should never
end (Infinite) or if it should end after a specified number of
passes (Pass Count), if this setting should be used to abort
the rendering of single images (stills) or render time (Time
Limit). A pass in this context is defined as a completely new
rendered result over the entire surface of the given image (a
summation of which is displayed along with all other passes
in the Picture Viewer). The Pass Count currently being
calculated is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the
Picture Viewer.
Note that when using Time Limit you should allow for enough
time for at least 1 pass, otherwise it can result in faulty
renderings if the pass is stopped halfway through the
images.
Progressive Pass Count Limit: This setting prevents infinite
rendering for an animation frame and works exclusively for
animations and Infinite Progressive Mode, regardless of
whether a single machine, Team Render or the Render
Queue is used.
Sampling Quality
This selection menu makes your work a little easier by
automatically defining parameter combinations, depending
on which setting (of the 4 described below) is
chosen. Preview, Low, Medium, High refer to the quality of the
rendered image – the higher the setting the less grain the
image will have but the longer it will take to render.
If Automatic is selected, only the Shading Error Threshold value
can be defined individually. Custom will automatically be
selected when one of the parameter values is modified
manually.
Shading Transparency Check
Left disabled, right enabled Shading Transparency
Check option for an animated object with alpha channel and
motion blur.
This option can be enabled to prevent the effect shown at left
that occurs when alpha channels are used in conjuction with
motion blur. The adaptive sampler will be used to make
additional calculations in order to differentiate transparent
regions from non-transparent regions. Unfortunately, this
additional effort causes render times for projects with
complex, transparent materials to increase dramatically.
Therefore, this option is disabled by default. This option
should only be enabled if the effect pictured at left in the
image above occurs (when alpha channels are used in
conjunction with motion blur).
Sampling Subdivisions [0..16]
This setting functions somewhat differently, depending on if
you select Fixed or Adaptive.
This setting basically breaks each pixel up into a specified
number of sub-pixels (to the value of two: 0=1; 1=2; 2=4;
3=8; 4=16, etc. Uneven values can also be entered) for each
of which at least the same number of samples will be
calculated.
If the at times extremely bright lights of HDR textures or
extremely bright light sources when calculating antialiasing
and/or blur effects are bothersome, this setting can be used
to reduce the brightness of these effects during calculation.
But be careful: The image will then lose some of its dynamic,
which is not always a desired result. It is therefore suggested
that values of between 2 and 8 are used. Lesser values will
reduce brightness, greater values allow more brightness
(which then might have to be rendered in conjunction with
greater Sampling values to achieve a softer look).

 For a fixed number: The absolute number of samples

that are calculated per pixel (depending on the
subdivision values at the bottom of the dialog
window, additional samples will be calculated
accordingly). See also Fixed.
 For an adaptive number: A number of samples that
are taken from the scene in order to gather
information which will be calculated in a subsequent
step (by the three shading parameters), i.e., if the
values entered here are too low, greater values for
the other parameters will not lead to good results:

At top a larger, at bottom a smaller HDR Threshold value.

Tip:
Note that this option is only accessible if Color Depth is set
to 32-bit in the Save menu (a value of 0 will be used
internally for 8-bit and 16-bit)

Sampling Subdivisions values that are too low cannot be
compensated for by higher-quality shading parameters
(Scene by Tim Clapham).
Shading Subdivisions (Min) [0..16]
Shading Subdivisions (Max) [0..16]
Shading Error Threshold [0.1..100%]
You should be familiar with this trio of settings from other
Cinema 4D functions: The default renderer has it in its
antialiasing settings’ Best mode, and the quality of the Area
shadows is also adjusted using these settings. These settings
function basically the same way in the Sampler. Simply put,
the information gathered by the Shading Subdivisions setting is
applied and the number of shading samples required per
pixel will be determined based on the shading parameters.
"Shading" is defined as the calculation of a color value based Blurriness Subdivision (Max) [0..16]
on shadows, textures, refractions, reflections, etc. This can
be very complex and time-consuming process, depending on
the scene (the Physical Renderer can re-use shading samples
- depending on the scene - which helps save time).
Subdivisions
The following three subdivision settings are not set at
material level (Reflectance or Transparency channel, Ambient
Occlusion Shader, AO render presets) or object level (Soft
Shadows, light sources) but globally, i.e., scene-wide. These
are the quality settings for the respective effects (blurriness
effect, Area shadows, Ambient Occlusion). The strength is
still defined on material or object level, or in the Render
Presets menu.
Each value is to the power of two: 0=1, 1=2, 2=4, 3=8,
4=16, etc. (uneven values can also be entered).
These values will be taken into consideration
when Progressive mode is used. Higher values will result in a
slower, more gradual rendering. For preview renders in this
mode it is suggested that each of these values be set to 0.

The Shading Subdivisions (Min) value defines the minimum

number of shading samples that will always be calculated
(also to the power of two, i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

The Shading Subdivisions (Max) value defines the maximum

number of shading samples, in correlation with the Shading
Error Threshold value, that should be calculated. The Shading
Error Threshold value controls the number of samples that
will in fact be calculated. The lower the value, the more the
number of samples will lean towards Shading Subdivisions
(Max) (however, only in critical regions!).
HDR Threshold [1..16384]
More samples (right) result in better quality in blurry
reflections and transparencies.
If blurriness effects are defined for materials (Transparency
and/or Reflectance channel), use this value to adjust the
quality (=graininess) of the effect. Larger values will result in
better quality but will also increase render times accordingly.
Render times for a given effect will double each time this
value is increased by a factor of 1.
Shadow Subdivision (Max) [0..16]
More samples (right) improve the quality of soft shadows.
This parameter refers to Shadow Maps (the Physical
Renderer simulates Shadow Maps because it cannot calculate
them). Larger values result in better quality but also increase
render times accordingly.
Ambient Occlusion Subdivision (Max) [0..16]
More samples (right) result in improved Ambient Occlusion
quality.
Use this value to adjust the quality of Ambient Occlusion
effects. Larger values result in better quality but also
increase render times accordingly.
Subsurface Scattering Subdivision (Max) [0..16]
If Mode is set to Direct, the quality of SSS can be defined
here. Larger values will produce higher-quality results with
correspondingly longer render times and vice versa.
This setting can be defined for materials or objects via
the Sampling Subdivision option.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Physical
Renderer
Physical Renderer
Basic Advanced
Advanced
Raytracing Engine
Example: This exploding stack is calculated 54% faster using
Embree with no noticable difference in the result.
This setting can almost be described as a turbo booster. The
Embree option renders much faster with no quality loss.
What is Embree? Embree is a technology that was developed
by Intel that supports render software. Embree works with
processors of the newest generation (i.e., those that can
handle SSE3).
Projects that can really benefit from this new technology are
those that contain a high number of polygons/objects, glass
with a lot of refraction, area shadows, Ambient Occlusion
(without cache). Complex textures or blurriness effects enjoy
little or no benefit.
Note that the render results for the most part stay the same
but render inaccuracies can cause very slight differences
between different render engines.
The following options are available:
 Physical: The render engine available in Cinema 4D
prior to R15. Requires the least amount of memory.
 Embree (Faster): The fastest Embree engine. Requires
the most amount of memory.
 Embree (Smaller): Only slightly slower than Embree
(Faster) but requires less memory.
Quick Preview
A fast preview provides a rough impression of the final
render.
If Quick Preview is enabled, a very rough preview of the
entire image will be created as quickly as possible, which will
immediately be replaced bucket-by-bucket as the image is
rendered.
This quickly gives you a preview of the image with correct
lighting, which lets you then decide whether or not you
should continue with rendering. Quick Previews can also be
viewed in conjunction with Interactive Render Region.
In general the preview will work best/fastest if no pre-passes
(e.g., for GI) are required during rendering.

2. You can refine the caustics effect for each material

using the caustics settings on the Illumination page
of the Material Editor or Attribute Manager.

Complex textures will also slow the Quick Preview function

down accordingly.

The following options are available:

 Never: Quick Preview is disabled

 Progressive Mode: Quick Preview is enabled for
the Progressive Sampler mode.
 All Modes: Quick Preview is always enabled.
 Preview Only: Only a quick preview will be rendered
and NOT in final render quality.

Debug Information Level

Here you will find information pertaining to internal render

details. The information displayed in this console is of no
relevance for you but can be very helpful for support staff.
Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced
Features Advanced Render
Caustics
Basic Enable this option if you want the material to
generate Photon caustics. Enter the strength of the
Caustics effect into the input box.
With Advanced Render’s powerful caustics engine, you can The material must be transparent and/or reflective in
create realistic patterns of focused light such as the bright order to create a caustics effect.
patches that a whiskey tumbler casts onto a wooden floor.
For a general introduction to caustics, including commonly-
used terms, look up What are caustics? in the index. 3. You can switch on caustics for any light source and
refine the effect using the light’s Caustics page in
You use three dialogs to set up caustics. On the Caustics the Attribute Manager.
page of the render settings, set the basic properties of the
caustics effect such as its strength. On the Caustics page of
each light source (Attribute Manager), refine the effect for
light sources. On the Illumination page of the Material Editor,
fine-tune the caustics effect for any material. Note that you
can also access the caustics settings for materials via
the Attribute Manager, provided that you have selected the
desired material.

Parameters

1. Use the options on the Photon Caustics page to

define basic properties of the effect.
Tip:  Volume caustics are visible as they pass through 3D
There are 2 types of caustics in Cinema 4D: space — they do not need a surface to illuminate.

 The photon caustics (these are described in this See Figure 3.

section): Faster than GI Caustics but must be
generated using individual light sources. They can be
rendered volumetrically.
 GI-Caustics: Not very precise caustics in conjunction
with IR modes (a quick but effective trick: assign a
Compositing tag with activated Enable Forced QMC
Sampling) but they do react to all illuminated
surfaces within the scene.

Both caustics types are completely indpendent of one

another and are rendered using completely different
methods. However, they can be used either
separately or combined.

What are caustics?

Caustics are patterns of focused light created by curved

surfaces that are reflective or refractive.

Advanced Render enables you to create both surface caustics

Figure 3: The bright tail extending from the sphere is a
and volume caustics.
volume caustics effect.

The surface caustics algorithm

For surface caustics, you need:

 A light source that emits photons — enable surface

caustics (in the Attribute Manager, on the light’s
Caustics page);
 An object with a material that generates surface
caustics — the material must be transparent or
reflective or both. The object must be curved in a
way that focuses light;
 An object to receive the surface caustics.

Caustics are calculated in a very different way to global

Copyright by Janine Pauke . Figure 1: The transparent
sphere focuses light onto the tile to create a caustics effect
(in this case, a bright spot).
illumination and raytracing. Global illumination and
raytracing send rays from the camera into the scene. With
caustics, however, photons are sent from the light source
into the scene. Each photon is given a starting energy. A
photon’s energy is reduced as it passes through the scene
and is reflected or refracted by object surfaces (Figure 4).

 A surface caustics effect shows up on object surfaces

only — examples are the transparent sphere and the
ring (in both cases, the effect shows up on a surface:
the floor).

Figure 4: A photon refracted by a sphere.

When a photon hits a reflective or transparent surface, the

photon is reflected or refracted. The photon loses some
energy in the process and the material’s properties are taken
Figure 2: The metal ring shows a caustics effect generated into account.
by a reflective surface.
For example, if the surface reflects or refracts blue light only,
the photon’s color changes to blue. If the photon still has
some energy left at this point, it continues to fly through the
scene. When the photon hits a surface that is neither
reflective nor transparent, the photon ends its journey there
and its values are stored in a data structure called the
photon tree — later, the values in the photon tree will be
interpolated to calculate the caustics effect.
You can prevent a material from receiving the surface
caustics effect. Photons that hit such surfaces will end their
journey there and their values will not be saved in the
photon tree — this prevents the material from receiving a
caustics effect.
Once all photons have ended their journey in one way or
another, the values in the photon tree are interpolated to
calculate the surface caustics effect for the image.
Double-caustics are possible. This happens when an object
focuses caustics onto another object that generates caustics.
See Figure 5.
Figure 5: An example of double-caustics.
The volume caustics algorithm
Volume Photon caustics are calculated in a similar way to
surface caustics. First you need the following:
 A volumetric light source to send out photons —
enable volume caustics (Attribute Manager, Caustics
page of the light source);
 An object with a material that generates volume
caustics — the material must be transparent or
reflective or both. The object must be curved in a
way that focuses light.
As with surface caustics, when a photon hits a reflective or
transparent surface, the photon is reflected or refracted. The
photon loses some energy in the process and the material’s
properties are taken into account. For example, if the surface
reflects or refracts green light only, the photon’s color
changes to green. Provided the photon still has energy, it
then continues to fly through the scene.
In contrast to surface caustics, the photons of volume
caustics are saved in the photon tree at regular intervals.
When the photon hits a surface that is neither reflective nor
transparent, the photon ends its journey there. Once all
photons have completed their journey, the values in the
photon tree are interpolated to calculate the volume caustics
effect for the image.
Troubleshooting Surface Caustics
The best Photon caustics settings depend on factors specific
to the scene such as the distance between the light source
and the object that is generating caustics. However, the
following steps should help you to achieve a good result.
 On the light’s Caustics page (Attribute Manager), set
Energy to a high value (e.g., 100,000%) and
Photons to a low value (e.g., 100). This will enable
you to see the individual photons as points of light so
that you can check if enough photons (if any at all)
are reaching the important area. If you can’t see any
photons, check the following:
 Is the light pointing in the right direction?
 Are the caustics options enabled in the following
places?: render settings (Caustics page), light
settings (Attribute Manager / Caustics page) and
Material Editor (Illumination page).
 Does the object that should generate caustics have a
reflective and/or transparent material?
 Once you can see the photons, increase the Photons
value (and perhaps the Energy) until you achieve a
good caustics effect. To fine-tune the sharpness,
adjust Radius and Samples on the Illumination tab
(Material Editor).
Troubleshooting Volume Caustics
If you notice artifacts of the type illustrated below when
rendering volume caustics, on the light’s Visibility tab, try
reducing the Sample Distance value. This will, however, add
to the render time.
Reduce the Sample Distance to remove the artifacts
indicated above. For this example, Sample Distance was set
to 25 (left) and 5 (right).
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Photon
Caustics
Caustics
Basic Properties
Tip:
The following descriptions pertain to the Photon
Caustics settings.
Surface Caustics
Enable this option to switch on surface caustics.
Volume Caustics
Enable this option to switch on volume caustics.
Ensure that your caustics light source is volumetric.
Strength [0..100000%]
This sets the general brightness of the caustics effect.

Surface caustics low strength, normal strength and high
strength.
Step Size [0.001..+∞m]
Big step size, small step size
With volume caustics, photons are saved in the photon tree
at regular intervals as defined by this value. For example, if
the volume caustic effect is 100m long, you might set Step
Size to 5m so that 20 different values are saved for each
photon.
Lowering Step Size increases the accuracy of the effect but
increases the render time also.
A lower Step Size produces a brighter effect. This is because
more values are saved in the photon tree over the same
distance.
Sample Radius [0.001..+∞m]
This specifies how close photons must be to one another in
order to be interpolated. Higher values tend to produce
better results but take longer to render.
If you notice individual spots or dots in the render, increase
the Sample Radius.
Samples [1..10000]
The Samples value represents the maximum number of
photons within the sample distance that will be used to
calculate the volume caustics.
As a general rule, higher values produce a more accurate
effect but add to the render time. If Samples is set too low,
individual photons can be seen as small dots.
Recompute
First Time
With Recompute, the caustics data from a previous render
can be reused to speed up rendering. This saves the time it
takes to calculate the caustics effect, but keep in mind that a
new calculation will be required if you make major changes
to the scene such as if you move a caustics-generating light
to a new position. See also Save Solution. Use the Recompute
drop-down list to choose when caustics should be
recalculated.
The scene’s caustics will be calculated for the first render
only; future renders will reuse the data. Each time you
render, Advanced Render checks if the scene has
an Illum folder. If no such folder is found, the folder is
created, caustics are calculated and the caustics data is
saved in the folder.
Always
Caustics data is always recalculated when you render. This is
the default setting since it ensures a correct effect each time
you render.
Never
Caustics are not recalculated when you render. Instead
Advanced Render speeds up rendering by reusing the data in
the scene’s Illum folder. If this folder is not found, an alert
appears. To remedy, set Recompute to First Time or Always.
Save Solution
If you enable this option, the caustics data is saved in the
scene’s Illum folder when you render — the folder will be
created if it does not exist yet. Depending on the Recompute
setting, the saved data can be reused to speed up future
renders.
For animations: Caustics information will be saved for each
frame of animation individually. Hence, a greater amount of
memory will be required for longer animations.
If you change the scene significantly, caustics will need to be
recalculated to ensure an accurate effect (set Recompute to
Always).
Single Animation Solution
If the only object that moves in your animation is the
camera, there is no need to recalculate caustics for each
frame. Instead, enable this option to calculate caustics just
once. The caustics data will be reused for all frames, giving
you the same effect in a fraction of the usual render time. In
addition to saving render time, this option helps you to
create flicker-free caustics animation.
Basic Properties
All parameters with a circle next to their name can be
animated. For details on how to animate parameters,
click here.
Blur Strength [0..100%]
This parameter defines the general strength of blurring.
Other parameters modify this strength such as Distance Blur
and Radial Blur. Note that if you set Blur Strength to 0% there
will be no blurring at all, even when the other blur
parameters are set to high values.
Use
Distance Blur [0..100%]
The Distance Blur value refines the strength of blurring. For
example, if you set Blur Strength to 80% and Distance Blur
to 50%, the strength of full blurring will be 40% (50% of 80%).
This setting will only work if the Use Gradient setting has
been activated.
To use Distance Blur, ensure that the scene has a camera
(Create | Cameras | Camera). Ensure also that the camera
has been linked to the viewport that you want to render
(viewport: Cameras | Scene Cameras). In the Object
Manager, select the camera. In the Attribute Manager, click the
Details tab to access the following settings.

If the option is disabled, caustics will be recalculated for each

frame.
Enable Single Animation Solution for camera animations only
– poor results are likely if other objects are moving in the
scene.

Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced

Features Advanced Render

Depth of Field
Basic Lens Tint

Depth of Field
Of particular importance are:
Tip:
You can achieve higher quality Depth Of Field when used in
conjunction with the Physical Renderer.  Focus Distance (Object tab): the distance from the
camera to the focal plane, i.e., the distance from the
With Advanced Render’s Depth of Field filter you have camera at which the picture is perfectly sharp.
complete control over the sharpness of your pictures. For  Focus Object: instead of setting a Target Distance,
example, you can blur in front of the focus only, behind the you can choose an object to be the focal point, i.e.,
focus only, or both. Using gradients, you can easily modify the object you select will be perfectly sharp.
the progression from sharpness to full blur. In addition you
can add a tint to your renders that gets stronger towards the
horizon, for effects such as atmospheric perspective where
the strength of a blue tint suggests depth.
Advanced Render’s Depth of Field is a post effect. This means
that is fast to calculate but comes with the usual restrictions
of post effects; for example, problems may occur in places
when blurred objects are seen in reflections or behind
transparent surfaces.

Depth of Field is a post effect that you select in the render

To blur behind the focus only, set the Focus Distance (or
settings on the Effects page. For details on how to use the
Focus Object) and enable Rear Blur. The Use Gradients option
Effects page, please refer to your Cinema 4D reference
must be activated in the Depth of Field menu’s Basic tab.
manual.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Depth of
Alternatively, define a Focus object (assign a Target
Field
Expression to the camera).
Depth of Field

Basic Lens Tint

 Background Blur. See Figure 4.

Figure 1: Rear blur only.

Use
Radial Blur [0..100%]

Radial blur is blur that gets stronger from the picture’s center
outwards. Use the input box to define the strength of the
effect.

Use
Autofocus [0..100%]

This option can be enabled to simulate the Autofocus feature

of a real camera. The object in the center of the view will
become the focal point, i.e., the object in the center will be
perfectly sharp.

So that the object does not have to be exactly in the center,

you can enter a tolerance value. The maximum value
of 100% allows the object to be anywhere in the view. With
lower values, the object must be closer to the view’s center
to trigger the autofocus.

Use Gradients
Front Blur
Rear Blur
This option must be enabled in order to avoid visible edges
at the transition of the blur ranges.

There are two states:

1. Use Gradients option disabled. Blur is created using an

algorithm that takes the camera’s focus (i.e. Target
Distance) into account. Front Blur and Rear Blur are
ignored.
2. Use Gradients option enabled. Front Blur and/or Rear
Blur also enabled. Use the gradients to define the
transition from sharpness to full blur.

In the gradients, black represents full sharpness, white

represents full blur (i.e. the Distance Blur value) and grey is
for intermediate blur strength (the brighter the grey, the
Figure 2: Weak front and rear blur. / Figure 3: Strong front stronger the blur).
and rear blur. Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Depth of
Field
Use
Background Blur [0..100%] Depth of Field
Figure 4: Background blur.
Basic Lens Tint
Use this parameter to control the strength of blurring for
Cinema 4D’s Background object (Objects | Scene | Lens Details
Background). All other types of objects are unaffected by
Using the settings on the Lens Details page, you can
simulate the popular movie effect where objects that are
brightly lit in places slip out of focus. Artifacts will appear in
the bright areas. Use the Lens Details to adjust these
artifacts.
Lens Shape set to Triangle
Lens Sharpness [0..100%]
The sharpness of the lens artifacts.
Lens Intensity [0..+∞%]
The brightness of the lens artifacts.
Lens Shape
Choose the shape of the lens: Circle, triangle, rhombus,
pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon or nonagon.
Lens Rotate [-∞..+∞°]
Controls the orientation of the lens artifacts.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Depth of
Field
Depth of Field
Basic Lens Tint
Tint
Using these parameters, you can add tints that take the
scene’s depth into account. For example, you can add a blue
tint to your renders that gets stronger towards the horizon
(aerial perspective); simulate the orange tint of the horizon
on the sunset; or recreate the deep, dark cold blue of a
moonlit scene. You can also simulate the orange tint of
daylight film used to photograph interiors and the blue tint of
interior film when it is used to photograph exteriors.
Simulating errors such as the above usually adds to the
realism although, like lens flares, this is usually avoided at all Glow
costs by the professional photographer.
Use Tint
Front Color
Rear Color
Use Ranges
Use Camera Ranges
There are three possible states. The camera’s focus is always
taken into account.
Use Ranges disabled.
Creates a tint that is close to reality.
Use Ranges enabled, Use Camera Ranges
enabled.
Here the camera parameters are End, Start, etc.
This works in the same way as described for Distance Blur.
Use a camera to help define the tint ranges.
Use Ranges enabled, Use Camera Ranges
disabled.
Do not confuse these parameters with the like-named
parameters of the Camera object.
Front Start [0..+∞m]
Rear Start [0..+∞m]
Front End [0..+∞m]
Rear End [0..+∞m]
The tint range is defined by the values Front Start, Front
End, Back Start and Back End (not the camera parameters)
based on the camera’s focus. This enables you to define the
tint independently of the Depth of Field settings.
Depth of field limitations
 Problems may occur in places where blurred objects
are seen in reflections or behind transparencies.
 If glow is calculated after depth of field, inaccuracies
may arise.
 If glow is calculated before depth of field, the depth
of field will overwrite the glow.
 Depth of field cannot be used with PyroCluster.
 The Specular post effect does not work in conjunction
with depth of field.
 DO NOT activate depth of field if Alpha Channel is
activated in the image output settings. Otherwise the
alpha channel will not be rendered correctly.
Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced
Features Advanced Render
Glow Color Distance Surface Noise
Glow
Advanced Render gives you a powerful filter for creating glow
effects. With it you can simulate the glow of incandescent
lights, lightning bolts, LEDs, neon lights, monitor screens,
the reflection of the sun by high-gloss car paint and much
more. The Glow filter also enables you to:
 Control glow transparency.
 Make the bright areas of the rendered picture glow.
  Use additive or non-additive glow; prevent unwanted
overexposures.
 Restrict the glow to edges or specific colors.
 Change the type and color of the glow according to
the direction of surface Normals.
 Apply fractal noise to the glow.

Top: High Size value. Bottom: Low Size value.

The Size value also affects the glow’s brightness. This is

because the intensity of the glow (defined by Intensity) is
spread over the entire glow.

Intensity [0..+∞%]

Fractal noise. The Intensity is a measurement for the transparency of the

glow. A value of 0 represents full transparency (i.e. no glow).
The Glow Filter is a post effect that you select in the render Increase the value for more opacity and thus a brighter glow.
settings on the Effects page. For general details on using the
Effects page, please refer to your Cinema 4D help.

Once you have selected Glow on the Effects page, five tabs
of settings will appear: Glow, Color, Distance, Surface and
Noise. These settings are described in these pages.
Tip:
Note that Glow can only be calculated to a maximum pixel
width or height of 4096.

Do not confuse the Glow filter with the Glow channel for
materials. Glowing materials always create glow, whereas
the Glow filter adds glow according to the brightness of
rendered pixels. Suppose you have a scene with no lighting—
a glowing material would still generate glow, the Glow filter
would not.

Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Glow

Glow
Top: High Intensity value; Bottom: Low Intensity value.
Glow Color Distance Surface Noise
Back Intensity [0..+∞%]
Glow This parameter controls the glow effect for dark surfaces.
Using Back Intensity you can fine-tune the transition from
Use Object ID [0..1000] glowing areas to non-glowing areas. To reduce the amount of
glow for dark areas, set Back Intensity to a high value.
The Object ID corresponds to the object buffers defined in
the Compositing tag.

Suppose there are dozens of objects in the scene and you

want only one of them to glow. In the render settings, on the
Effects page, add the Glow post effect and set Object ID to 1.
Assign a Compositing tag to the object that should glow and,
in the tag, enable Buffer 1. The glow is now restricted to this
object.

Size [0..100%]

The size of the glow is defined as a percentage of the

viewport’s size. If you want the glow to appear to grow when
Left: High Back Intensity value; Right: Low Back Intensity
you zoom objects, enable the Zoom Scale and Distance Scale
value.
options.
You can also use Back Intensity to achieve negative glow for The Back Luminosity parameter is especially useful for
effects such as dust clouds and smoke clouds. For negative correcting glows that are too bright and washed out.
glow, set Back Intensity to a low value.
Use
Color

If the Use option for Color is disabled, the glow will be the
same color as the material. To define a different color for the
glow, enable the Use option, click the color box and choose
the desired color (to access color sliders, click the triangle
that’s next to the color box).

Uniform color glow

The color is also important when you want objects to glow

with a uniform color regardless of their rendered brightness.
Click the color box, choose the desired color and set Balance
to a high value. Define an object ID and assign a
Compositing tag to the glowing object with the corresponding
object buffer enabled.

Use a low Back Intensity value for negative glow.

Luminosity [0..100%]

The glow effect is usually additive and brightens pixels.

Using Luminosity you can reduce the glow’s additive nature,
causing the glow to darken. A value of 0% results in a diffuse,
dusty cloud.

Glow Edges
Left: Luminosity set to a low value; Right: Luminosity set to
a high value. You can restrict the glow effect to object edges by enabling
this option. To make the object’s edges glow with a uniform
Use Back Luminosity [0..100%] color — regardless of the rendered brightness — choose a
glow color and set Balance to 100%.
This parameter gives you a more refined way to control
luminosity by checking the brightness of the rendered pixels.
The glow and the rendered pixels are combined in an
additive process. Use the Back Luminosity value to adjust
this process.

For uniform edge glow, enable Glow Edges and set Balance
to 100%.

Zoom Scale
Back Luminosity set to a high value (bottom left) and a low There are two ways to zoom objects in the viewport:
value (top right).
 1. By increasing the camera’s Focal Length value.
2. By moving the camera closer to the objects or vice
versa (see Distance Scale).
Enable Zoom Scale if you are zooming via the Focal Length
value and you want to zoom the glow as well as the objects.
Zoom Scale disabled. The glow still has the same thickness
when you zoom the object.
Zoom Scale enabled. When you zoom the object, the glow is
also zoomed.
Distance Scale
Enable Distance Scale if you are zooming by moving the
camera (or objects) and you want to zoom the glow as well
as the objects. Otherwise the glow will remain the same
thickness. See "Zoom Scale" for more details.
Note: This function does not work in conjunction with the
Physical Renderer.
Balance [0..100%]
The Balance parameter controls how bright the rendered
pixels must be in order to trigger glow in those areas. With
the default value of 0%, only the brightest areas will glow.
With a value of 100%, all areas will glow with the same
intensity. However, note that a dark glow will be used for the
dark areas. Use the Object ID parameter to restrict the glow
to the desired objects.
Balance set to a high value.
To make the object glow with uniform color, enable the Use
option for Color, click the color box that’s next to the option
and choose the desired color.
Glow of uniform color (Color option enabled).
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Glow
Glow
Glow Color Distance Surface Noise
Nonclamped Color Attenuation
Use
Using the parameters on this page, you can restrict the glow
to rendered pixels that are within a defined brightness range.
Set this range by entering values into the boxes for Min
Intensity and Max Intensity, where 100% represents bright
white (RGB 255/255/255). Enter values above 100% if you want
restrict the glow to non-clamped colors (i.e. colors above
RGB 255/255/255). Even though non-clamped colors are no
brighter on screen than pure white, this helps you to create a
sense of intense light in these special picture areas.
Min. Intensity [0..+∞%]
Max. Intensity [0..+∞%]
These values define a brightness range. Each rendered pixel Use
that falls within this range will generate glow. You can Start Range [0..+∞m]
restrict the glow to non-clamped colors (see paragraph End Range [0..+∞m]
above) by setting Min Intensity and Max Intensity to values
greater than 100%.

Use Key Color Key Color

Color Variation [0..100%]

The Start Range and End Range define a range over which
the glow changes with distance.

Distance Position
Glow restricted to a key color.
There are two settings.
You can restrict the glow to a particular color. Use the color
box to choose this key color. Since most rendered surfaces Z-Buffer
are gradations of color rather than a single tone, you can
Start Range and End Range refer to the Z-buffer, i.e., the
also specify a tolerance value for the key color, which you
distance from the camera to the object’s surface.
enter into the Color Variation box. If you set Color Variation
to a value that is too low, such as 0%, you may find that only 3D Pos.
a few pixels will glow.
Start Range and End Range refer to the position of the
Use Size object’s axis in 3D space. The glow spreads out radially from
Use Density the axis.
Use Luminosity
Use Color Use Size
Use Density
You can use gradients to refine the following properties from Use Luminosity
the Glow page: Size, Density, Luminosity and Color Use Color
(see Glow entry).
You can use gradients to refine the following glow properties
from the Glow page: Size, Intensity, Luminosity and Color
(see Glow entry).

Think of these gradients as running from the Start Range

Think of these gradients as running from the Min value to
the Max value (or within the color variation). In the gradient,
black represents a value of 0, white represents the value
defined on the Glow page.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Glow
Glow
Glow Color Distance Surface Noise
Distance Attenuation
value to the End Range value. In the gradient, black
represents a value of 0, white represents the value defined
on the Glow page.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Glow
Glow
Glow Color Distance Surface Noise
Surface Normal Attenuation

Using these parameters, the glow effect takes the Z-buffer

into account (i.e. the distance from the camera to each
surface) or the glow is adjusted radially around an object.
Glow color that changes depending on the direction of each Noise applied to colors that depend on the direction of
surface normal. surface Normals.

The direction of surface Normals can be taken into account
by the glow, causing the glow’s color or intensity to change
depending on a surface’s direction.
Use Shininess [0..100%]
The page for noise contains many settings that may seem
daunting at first. However, try out the various parameters
for a few minutes and you will discover there are countless
variations that enable you to create a wealth of effects with
ease.

This parameter controls the glow’s highlights, similar to Use Noise Type
the Reflection material channel’s Specular settings.
You have a choice of three noise types: Gaseous, Fire and
Use Size Electric. Gaseous is ideal for puffy clouds, smoke and other
Use Density cloud-like effects. Fire is for anything to do with fire while
Use Luminosity Electric produces streaks like the charges of a lightning bolt
Use Color or plasma ball.

You can use gradients to refine the following glow properties

from the Glow page: Size, Intensity, Luminosity and Color
(see Glow entry).

Gaseous noise.
Think of these gradients as being in the area between the
Normals that point at the camera and the Normals that are
perpendicular to the camera.

In the gradient, black represents a value of 0, white

represents the value defined on the Glow page.
Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Glow

Glow

Glow Color Distance Surface Noise

Noise

Exhaust fumes, flickering flames, lightning bolts and puffy

clouds are just a few of the effects you can achieve with the
help of noise. A small amount of noise can also add to the
realism of most soft glow effects.
Fire noise.

Electric noise.
Top: Low Density value; Bottom: High Density value.
Use the previous examples as a rough guide only. Entirely
different results are possible depending on the settings used Luminosity [0..100%]
for the other Noise parameters. Once you have chosen the
Noise Type, fine-tune the effect using the other parameters Luminosity affects the settings for Color and Ground Glow. It
on the Noise page. controls the strength of additive mixing for these parameters
when they are mixed with the other image elements.
Intensity [0..+∞%]

Use this parameter to control the intensity of the noise

effect. Increase the value to increase the brightness. A value
of 0 results in no glow.

Luminosity set to a low value (bottom left) and a high value

(top right).

Top: High Use

Intensity value; Bottom: Low Intensity value. Color

The intensity of a noisy glow also depends on the basic glow
properties on the Glow page such as Intensity and
Luminosity (see Glow).
Density [0..+∞%]
Density is a measurement of the glow’s transparency. A
value of 0 represents full transparency, i.e., no glow effect.
Here you can choose the color of the noise. Enable the Use
option for Color, click the color box and choose the desired
color. If you don’t choose a color, the color defined on the
Glow page will be used.
Scale [0..+∞]
The fractal turbulences are scaled using this parameter.

Brightness [-∞..+∞%]

This controls the brightness of the noise effect. Reduce the

value if the glow is too bright and washed-out.
From top to bottom: Scale set to a low value, a medium
value and a high value.
Peak Blend [-∞..+∞]
To blend out dark areas, set Peak Blend to a high value. Only Ground Glow
the brightest areas of the glow will remain. For a
photographic negative effect, enter a negative value.
From top to bottom: Peak Blend set to a negative value, a
low value and a high value.
Details [1..+∞]
The Details parameter controls the amount of fractal
branching. The minimum value of 1 generates the least
amount of branching and is the quickest to calculate. Values
greater than 10 should generally be avoided since they tend
to produce very thin, almost invisible branches and take a
comparatively long time to calculate.
From top
to bottom: Details set to a low value, a medium value and a
high value.
Phase [-∞..+∞%]
Animate this parameter if you want to animate the fractal
cloud. In general, use a small Phase change over time for
slow gaseous motion and use a high Phase change for rapid
effects such as fire. Try various rates until you arrive at the
desired result.
Angle [-∞..+∞°]
Drift [-∞..+∞]
As with Phase, these values are intended for use with
animation. The Angle value defines the direction in which the
fractal glow cloud should move; use the animated Drift value
to define the speed with which the cloud moves.
This is perfect for creating drifting clouds.
Static Pos.
To lock the fractal’s position so that it does not move when
the object moves, enable this option.
Noise usually affects the Ground Glow, causing the noise to
glow. If Ground Glow is enabled, the noise is placed over the
(unchanged) Ground Glow.
From
top to bottom: Ground Glow disabled, Ground Glow enabled
and Ground Glow without noise.
Stretch [0..+∞%]
Use this parameter to stretch the fractals in a particular
direction (the value entered for Angle). Increase the value
for more stretching.
From top to bottom: Stretch set to a low value, a medium
value and a high value.
Glow filter limitations
 Problems may occur in areas where glows are seen
in reflections or behind transparencies.
 If glow is calculated before depth of field, the depth
of field will overwrite the glow. If glow is calculated
after depth of field, inaccuracies may arise.
 Glow cannot be used with PyroCluster.
Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced
Features Advanced Render
Vector Motion Blur
Vector Motion Blur
Vector Motion Blur no longer defined here but in the camera settings
Tip: (Physical menu)
The highest-quality motion blur can be achieved in
Phase [-100..100%]
conjunction with the Physical Renderer. This renderer
produces physically correct motion blur (with the
correspondingly increased render times) whereas the vector
motion blur uses tricks and can sometimes fail in achieving
the desired goal.

From left to right: Phase values of 100%, 0% and -100%.

The Phase value defines the position of the blur. The

following Phase values should serve as a reference:

 -100%: behind the object.

 0%: the same length on both sides of the object.
Next to Sub-Frame Motion Blur and vector motion blur (VMB)  100%: in front of the object (the blur moves ahead).
gives you an additional means of blurring moving objects.
Density [0..10000%]
VMB takes a very different approach: based on the physics of
a traditional analog film camera, VMB is based both on the
object’s speed as well as the shutter angle of the camera
itself. Traditional film cameras have a rotating shutter, where
the shutter’s angle determines how much blur can be
captured onto film. An angle of 360°, for example, means
the shutter rotates a full turn over the course of a single
frame, exposing the film for a portion of that time and
therefore creating full motion blur between two sequential
frames.

Cinema 4D takes it a step beyond realism by allowing you to

use much larger angles than a normal camera.

Naturally, the blur will therefore be even greater. When

rendering VMB, the path of an object between its start and
end point is taken into account. Several samples are
calculated and distributed along the path. This makes it
possible to blur rotating motion as well.

The major advantage over Sub-Frame Motion Blur is the fact Density set to a low value (left) and high value (right).
that no intermediate frames need to be rendered, greatly
reducing render times. Furthermore, you can use it with any The Density value defines the coverage of the blur in the
type of deformer object. image.
Assign a Motion Blur tag to the object you want to blur — the
Strength setting in the tag refers to the relative Shutter Samples [2..1000]
Angle described later in this section.

To render VMB as a separate pass, on the Render Settings /

Effects tab, click the Channels button and choose Post Effects
from the menu that appears.

Reference Cinema 4D Advanced Features Advanced Render Vector

Motion Blur

Vector Motion Blur

Vector Motion Blur

Tip:
With the introduction of Cinema 4D R13, the Shutter Angle is
Samples set
to a low value (left) and high value (right).
Samples allow you to set the resolution or smoothness of the
blur. Low values result in a grainy look, while more samples
increase both the quality and the render time.
Sample Radius [0..10]
Sample Radius set to a low value (left) and high value
(right).
The higher the Sample Radius, the less crisp the blur will
look.
Weighted Trails
Weighted Trails disabled (top) and enabled (bottom).
The Weighted Trails option uses a different algorithm that
allows the trails to fade out towards the end, resulting in a
realistic trail.
Geometry Deformation
Enable this option to also blur deformer objects such as
FFDs.
Tip:
You can achieve very good motion blur results if you
combine VMB and Sub-Frame Motion Blur (SFMB). Select
small factors for SFMB (5 Times) and set the Shutter
Angle to 360° or more. VMB will always affect the SFMB.
Cinema 4D Program Documentation Reference Cinema 4D Advanced
Features Advanced Render
Color Mapping
Basic
Color Mapping
Tip:
Note also the Tone Mapping Post Effect, which offers similar
(and better-looking via Fotolinear) functions.
Top left, the over-exposed rendering without Color Mapping.
Why Color Mapping?
Surely you are aware of the fact that an image rendered with
GI (and low ray depth) is very bright in some areas and very
dark in others. A balanced allocation of color and brightness
would be nice in order to be able to achieve a consistent
lighting.
Many may think that this can simply be done in Photoshop.
Not quite. Most image editing applications can only work with
the limited 24-bit or 48-bit RGB interpolation of the much
more precise image.
There are two ways to work around this limitation:
 Externally: You render / save in 32-bit and edit the
image in an appropriate image editing application.
 Internally: You edit the internal rendering’s
interpretation; this is done via Color Mapping, which
steps in even prior to sub pixel anti-aliasing and
offers better results than subsequent HDR-editing.
Basic Properties
For these settings, the following applies: Although they look
quite inconspicuous, you should take the time to try them all
out. Basically, though, Exponential and HSV Model should be
left active. Use the Multipliers to fine-tune your image.
Exponential
Left, Exponential not active; right, Exponential active.
The color dispersion will be controlled exponentially, not
linearly (option not active).
In the image above, a very bright material was applied to the
small plane (Luminance material channel: Brightness:
1,200%). On the left you can see how the red plane is lit
much too strongly in the vicinity of the illuminating material
(this is called burnout). On the right, exponential control
results in an even, harmonious color progression on the red
plane.

HSV Model

If this option is active, the HSV model’s colors will be

converted and only the V (brightness) component will be
affected. The colors will remain identical, e.g., a dark blue
will not be turned into a purple.

Affect Background

Here you can define whether or not Color Mapping should

affect the background (if one is present), such as Sky or
Background objects.

Dark Multiplier [0..1000]

Bright Multiplier [0..1000]

These settings basically let you strengthen or weaken dark

and light colors.

The following image contains numerous samples using

various values for both settings. Of course, the same values
can lead to different results in your own scene. These images
merely serve to give you an impression of what different
values may look like.

For each image on the left, the image is shown to the right
with different values.