Cinema 4D

 

KeyShot Studio for Cinema 4D Plugin

Version 1.3 (Released January 22nd 2025)

These installation notes are specific to the latest version KeyShot Studio, Cinema 4D (C4D) and the KeyShot Studio for Cinema 4D plugin, unless otherwise mentioned. For questions about other versions, please contact KeyShot Support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specification

The KeyShot Studio for Cinema 4D plugin requirements are as follows:

• KeyShot Studio (Try | Buy)

• Cinema 4D 2023 or 2024

• Windows 10 and later

• MacOS 12 or later

 

Plugins for previous versions of KeyShot Studio are available here.

 

Supported Festures

The KeyShot Studio for Cinema 4D plugin supports these features:

• Parts retain materials and layers

• Maintain hierarchy of objects created in scene tree

• Objects retain materials, can be unlinked

• Layers independent of grouped objects

• LiveLinking™ update of models in KeyShot Studio

• Export to .bip without KeyShot Studio installed

• Support for hair

• Support for model units

• Support of camera and part animations

 

Installation

Windows

1. After downloading, double-click the installer (.exe) file. Follow the prompts and click Finish.

2. Open Cinema 4D.

3. Go to Edit > Preferences and click the Plugins button in the left-hand menu.

4. Click on Add Folder… at the bottom of the plugin menu

5. In the file browser that opens browse to C:\Program Files\KeyShotStudio\Plugins\C4D (or C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\KeyShotStudio\Plugins\C4D). Here you will find a KeyShot Studio folder.

6. Click on the KeyShot Studio folder and then click OK.

7. Close and re-open Cinema 4D.

MacOS

1. After downloading, double-click the installer (.dmg) file. The KeyShot Studio Plugin installer window will appear.

2. Save the KeyShot Studio folder on your device.

3. Open Cinema 4D.

4. Go to Edit > Preferences and click the Plugin button in the left-hand menu.

5. Click on Add Folder… at the bottom of the plugin menu

6. In the file browser that opens browse to the KeyShot Studio folder you saved in step 2.

7. Click on the KeyShot Studio folder and then click Open.

8. Close and re-open Cinema 4D.

 

KeyShot Studio Plugin Menu

Once installed, a KeyShot menu will appear inside the main menu, Extensions. The KeyShot button performs three functions: Render, Update, and Export.

Render

Click the Render button to launch KeyShot Studio. The 3D data will be transferred from C4D to KeyShot Studio.

Update

Click the Update button while an existing KeyShot Studio scene is open to update any changes on your model.

Export

Click the Export button to export your geometry as a .bip file that you can share with other KeyShot Studio users. KeyShot Studio will not launch.

 

How To Use The Plugin

1. Open your scene or model in C4D.

2. Go to Extensions, KeyShot and click the Render to launch KeyShot Studio. The 3D data will be transferred from C4D to KeyShot Studio.

3. To update any changes made in C4D, click Update while your KeyShot Studio scene is open. All materials, textures, labels, animations, transformations, cameras, and lighting will be maintained in the scene.

 

Deformable Animation Import

Deformable animations are not supported by the SDK for C4D and can, therefore, not be transferred to KeyShot Studio directly using the plugin. To transfer deformable animations from C4D to KeyShot Studio export an Alembic (.abc) file from C4D.

 

Uninstall

Inside C4D go to Edit > Preferences. Click on Plugins in the left-hand menu. Right-click on the KeyShot Studio folder and click Show in Explorer… Close C4D and delete the KeyShot Studio folder with the Cinema 4D plugin inside.