Cinema 4D Training for Veterans

Are you a veteran returning to civilian life or a member of a veteran’s family aiming to avail yourself of entitlements and benefits? This article is designed to help you navigate your options for taking advantage of these services to enter a professional skills training program and learn the Cinema 4D skills you’ve always wanted to learn.Cinema 4D is a software program used for 3D modeling, simulation, animation, and rendering. It was created by the German company Maxon and is used in a variety of different industries, including film and television, advertising, animation, video gaming, and education.

What is Cinema 4D?

Cinema 4D is a 3D animation tool that Special Effects Artists and hobbyists use to create dynamic motion graphics, models, and simulations. Developed by German company Maxon in the 1990s, Cinema 4D software is now available to artists across the globe in 12 major languages. Corporations of all sizes utilize Cinema 4D to create masterpieces celebrated for their special effects, including well-known movies such as Pacific Rim, Avengers Infinity War, and Inception. Featuring tools like BodyPaint 3D and photorealistic materials systems, Cinema 4D allows users to design realistic characters for film and game development. 

Read more about what Cinema 4D is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Cinema 4D Skills?

Cinema 4D is used to create computer-animated designs, models, and simulations, and a variety of professionals rely on it, including artists, architects, special effects creators, and game designers. For example, it has been used to create realistic landscapes, player and non-player characters, and other motion graphics in numerous movies, including Avengers: Endgame and Furious 7. Game designers also use Cinema 4D to bring customizable characters with realistic movements to life. Cinema 4D integrates with several Adobe Creative Cloud applications, such as After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop, further diversifying the tools and functionality of this program. 

Support for Veterans

The original GI bill, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, was passed in 1944 to help veterans returning from World War II successfully return to civilian life. Among other things, it provided educational support for these veterans. Many see it as a way to thank veterans for serving their country. When President Roosevelt signed the bill into law, he explained, “[This bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.” 

A recent Rand Corporation article explains that veterans often benefit from educational support because they might lack a college degree or need to transition to a career unrelated to what they did in the military. The authors state, “Leaving the military represents a major life change for veterans and their families. Although many service members choose to retire after a military career of 20 or more years, the most common exit point is after the first term. A typical enlisted service member transitions around 23 without a four-year college degree. This transition often involves moving away from a military community and changing jobs or occupations, perhaps because a service member's military occupation does not exist in the civilian sector or because the service member seeks a change in career path.” 

Millions of Americans have taken advantage of the educational benefits provided to veterans. The original 1944 bill eventually expired but has been followed by several other pieces of legislation providing educational benefits for veterans. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which was signed in 2008, veterans can get many educational benefits, including money for books, tuition, and living expenses. The Forever GI Bill, signed in 2017, improved or expanded on those benefits. Specific benefits depend on how long a veteran has served and the type of school they plan to attend. Educational benefits can often be transferred to family members.

Noble Desktop offers Cinema 4D classes for veterans. For instance, the Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate includes instruction in Cinema 4D Lite, in addition to a range of other video editing and motion graphics techniques. Note that Noble’s VA-supported programs are only for participants who attend in-person classes at the school’s New York City campus.

Why Learn Cinema 4D

Knowledge of Cinema 4D–in addition to other design applications and design principles–is likely to provide a number of different job options. The 3D modeling, animations, motion graphics, and simulations designed in Cinema 4D are used in various industries, including marketing, film and television, education, and video gaming. 

Job projections indicate a stable future employment outlook for designers who know how to use Cinema 4D. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides job projections for many different professions, including Special Effects Artists and Animators, a category that includes designers working with Cinema 4D. It reports that over the next ten years, employment in this category will remain steady, with a growth rate of about 5 percent, which is average. The growth rate for Web Developers and Digital Designer–another group that utilizes Cinema 4D–is projected to be 23 percent, which is much faster than average.

Working with Cinema 4D can also be a fulfilling and fun leisure activity; in fact, many people use it not as part of a job but as a hobby. A creative activity like working on animation or 3D modeling can be particularly beneficial for veterans who have experienced trauma. The National Endowment for the Arts explains a strong need to address veterans’ trauma in the United States. It says, “Research shows that in the United States, an estimated 2.8 million people sustain a TBI annually, and eight million have PTSD.” The agency explains, “We have seen how creative arts therapies have helped service members deal with trauma as part of an integrated care model. And when they return home, these interventions make a difference in people’s lives that medicine alone could not achieve.”

Why Choose a Skills Bootcamp?

In recent years, bootcamps have become a popular way to learn new skills. One reason for their appeal is that they are substantially less expensive than a college education. Another benefit is that they take a lot less time to complete. It takes at least four years for most people to earn a college degree. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, average tuition costs at a four-year university range from almost $10,000 per year at a public institution to nearly $40,000 at a private nonprofit institution. In contrast, a bootcamp is often completed in less than six months and usually costs well under $10,000 in total. For example, Noble Desktop runs a Cinema 4D in After Effects Bootcamp, which can be completed in weeks.

Further, while a college degree has traditionally been considered the best way to get an education, an increasing number of people argue that it is no longer necessary for many jobs. For tech jobs in particular, skills and experience are extremely important, and a bootcamp can be a great way to get these. Bootcamp students can often keep working while taking the course, allowing them to gain valuable experience. In addition, unlike a college course, which includes general education classes, bootcamps focus on teaching the specific skills that students will use in their chosen careers.

Finally, most bootcamps focus not just on teaching new skills but on helping students find a job where they can use those skills. For instance, some include soft skills, such as communication, in their curriculum. They do this because research has shown that soft skills can be essential to finding and keeping a job. Many bootcamps also provide students with resumes and career coaching.

Learn Cinema 4D at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers a number of classes designed to help students make the most of the free Cinema 4D Lite plugin. Cinema 4D in After Effects Bootcamp is a short but comprehensive course covering this program's basics. Noble also offers a Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate and Motion Graphics Certificate. These multi-month classes teach students how to interweave programs such as After Effects, Audition, Cinema 4D Lite, and Premiere Pro to create the motion graphics and special effects that will make any video stand out. Certificate classes are also an excellent way for students to prepare for certification exams.

Key Insights

• Cinema 4D is used in many industries, and learning how to use this program can give veterans access to additional job options.
• The United States provides a number of different educational benefits for veterans, including money for tuition and living expenses.
• Job projections show a stable future outlook for professions where Cinema 4D is commonly used.
• There is evidence that doing something creative, like working on modeling or animation, can be beneficial to veterans who have experienced trauma.
• Bootcamp programs have become popular because they are cheaper and less time-consuming than four-year degrees.
• Noble Desktop offers a range of different training programs for veterans who are interested in learning how to use Cinema 4D.