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Shader Instancing for Cinema 4D

What's shader instancing for Cinema 4D?

The BlackStar Reference Shader Plugin provides the possibility to reuse shaders in different channels and materials. With this plugin you no longer need to perform time-consuming multiple copy and paste operations after each adjustment of shaders. Any changes of the source shader are automatically applied to every linked Reference Shader.

Below is given a first impression of the Plugin, for further information please download the user manual here.

Available for: Windows / Mac OS X both 32 and 64 bit, for all Cinema4D Versions since 8.5+

For further information about the availability on your platform please contact us.

What's new in Version 2.1?

Overwrite specific properties of the source shader individually! E.g. you can let RefShader 2.1 instanciate every property of the source shader but define a different color (see animation below).

VRAY-Materials and other non-standard C4D materials can now be transformed too (via "transform" and "transform all")

VRAY-Materials and other materials can be also selected via the Select-Tree, too, now.

Try RefShader 2.1 for free!

Don't buy a pig in a poke. Try our plugin and convince yourself of it's capabilities.

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The at² BlackStar Plugin Package

Up to 20% discount! Multiply the awesomeness of your BlackStar plugin experience and save money. Even a combination of only two plugins gives you a great quantity discount of 10%. The more you buy, the cheaper it gets!

Workflow examples of shader instancing

For a brief introduction you can view a short flash movie about the key features of the BlackStar Reference Shader Plugin. To learn more about the usage and the behaviour within a complex material environment there is a second movie available

Gallery (click images for full size)

Basic application of refshader

New in 2.0: Selecting VRay-Material

New in 2.1: Overwriting single properties

Version 2.1

Overwrite specific properties of the source shader individually! E.g. you can let RefShader 2.1 instanciate every property of the source shader but define a different color (see animation).
VRAY-Materials and other non-standard C4D materials can now be transformed too (via "transform" and "transform all")
VRAY-Materials and other materials can be also selected via the Select-Tree, too, now.

Version 2.0

Now also for Mac 64bit!

Reference Shader 2.0 now supports V-Ray shaders and any other shader being a part of an arbitrary Cinema 4D object. In the previous version only shaders of a material could be used by the RefShader select tree. The new version provides a link field where any shader at all can be dragged and dropped.
Dynamic shader changes in animations: the linked shader is now capable of being changed over time in animations. You can use the link field of RefShader 2.0 in animations just like you are used to it. This allows you to easily alter your complete dynamic shader tree over time freely.
The "transform" function to bake a RefShader can now be done for all RefShaders at once (thanks to Adam Trachtenberg and others for the suggestion). There's also a dedicated new command "Bake Reference Shaders" in the general plugins menu as well as a button in each RefShader's Tools Tab.
The C4D function "remove unused materials" previously removed an unused material being linked by a RefShader which itself IS used in your scene. In RefShader 2.0 linked materials now persist in that situation (thanks to Chris Montesano for the suggestion).
Enhanced overview to keep track of your shader dependencies
Better usability (especially when having C4D R11)
Some minor bugfixes

Runs on: Cinema 4D R10 and later versions, on PC and Mac, both 32bit and 64bit

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Important Notice

The ordering process (including generating your license key) is not completely electronical and requires our team to process your order manually.

Therefore it will take some time (usually within 8 - 12 hours, please contact us if you didn't get a mail within one day) to get your required plugin and key.

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Link & Description	Filetype	Size	Availability
Reference Shader v2.1 Demo Version Use this Version for C4D R11.5 With this version you can experience the advantages of shader instancing. Differing from the full version, rendering a reference shader will always result in a white shader. Also the preview image is distorted.	ZIP	1030 KB	C4D R11.5 PC32 / PC64 MAC32 / MAC64
Reference Shader v2.1 Demo Version Use this Version for C4D R11	ZIP	817 KB	C4D R11 PC32 / PC64 MAC32 / MAC64
Reference Shader v2.1 Demo Version Use this Version for C4D PRIOR TO R11	ZIP	451 KB	C4D R9.5, R10, R10.5 PC32 / PC64 MAC32
Reference Shader v1.0 Manual	PDF	293 KB	Every Platform

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Save time and effort by advanced shader instancing! No need to copy / paste your shader instances anymore thanks to our C4D plugin.	enDOFin is a post effect plugin for Cinema 4D to achieve Depth Of Field effects without the Advanced Render module.	SPLURF is a tool set plugin for generating parametrical surfaces (or patches) from any spline types supported by Cinema 4D.
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	Up to 20% discount! Multiply the awesomeness of your BlackStar Cinema 4D plugin experience and save money. Even a combination of only two plugins gives you a great quantity discount of 10%. The more you buy, the cheaper it gets!	Be the first to get inportant news about at² and all our 3D plugins for Cinema 4D. Follow us on facebook!