Sun Expression Basic TagTag Properties
Enter the time for the sun light using the upper three Time boxes (from left to right: hours, minutes, seconds). Enter the date using the lower three Time boxes (from left to right: day, month, year). You can also set the date with the help of a calendar. To display the calendar, click the triangle next to the input boxes. To use the system’s current time, click the Now button.
Note that when loading a project on a given computer different time zones will lead to different results (this can, for example, happen when using Team Render; therefore it’s important that all computers are set to the same time zone).
Simple number sequences can be entered into the Time/Date data entry fields:
- Date: "19311" produces "19 / 3 / 2011"
- Time: "1920" produces "19:20:00"
Separators can also be added, e.g., . /. This applies to all data entry fields in Cinema 4D with regard to time or date.
Interpolate Time
Interpolate Date
Use these options to control whether the time and date are interpolated.
Enter the latitude of the desired location, such as 51.3˚ for London, 40.4˚ for New York, 35.4˚ for Tokyo, 48.5˚ for Paris or 50.1˚ for Friedrichsdorf.
Enter the longitude of the desired location. 0˚ runs through Greenwich, UK. Negative values are west of Greenwich, positive values east.
Here you enter the distance of the sun light source from the center of the world axes. The smaller this value, the smaller the circular arc on which the sun travels.
- You want to simulate three days — the sun should fall and rise three times. Enable both options.
- You want to animate several months with the clock always at 12 o’clock in the daytime. Disable Interpolate Time. Enable Interpolate Date. This prevents the time from being animated while still allowing the data to change.
If this option is enabled, Cinema 4D automatically adjusts the sun light’s color to match the geographical position, time and date.