RENDORA · AI FOR CINEMA 4D
User Guide
RENDORA brings real-time AI rendering, 3D model generation, style images and AI video into Cinema 4D. This guide walks through each of the four tabs and the settings that matter most.
● BEFORE YOU START
Setup & API key
RENDORA runs every AI feature through fal.ai. You use your own fal.ai API key, and fal bills your account pay-per-use — RENDORA adds no fee on top.
GOOD TO KNOW
Turn on Show cost estimates in Settings to see the approximate fal.ai price before every generation. The running total for the current scene shows at the bottom of the panel.
1 Open RENDORA from the Extensions menu.
2 Click the gear (bottom-right) to open Settings.
3 Paste your fal.ai key (create one at fal.ai/dashboard/keys) and Save.
4 Use Test connection to confirm the key works.
● TAB 1
Live — real-time AI viewport
Live streams an AI reinterpretation of your viewport in real time: type a prompt, press Start, then move objects or orbit the camera and watch the AI feed follow.
1 Write a prompt (a default cinematic one is pre-filled).
2 Press Start — the first frames appear after a moment.
3 Move / rotate / zoom in the viewport; the feed tracks your changes.
Getting the most responsive feed
HIDE VIEWPORT UI
The capture is already cleaned at the render level. The Hide viewport UI checkbox additionally hides the grid, axes and gizmos on your working viewport.
• Close the Redshift/Octane IPR while Live runs — it competes for the GPU.
• Keep Auto refresh around 100–150 ms; lower isn’t faster.
• Prefer slow, continuous moves over sharp jerks.
● TAB 2
Geometry — 3D models from text or images
Generate a textured 3D model from a text prompt or from reference images, then import it straight into your scene.
1 Pick a Source — From Text, or an image mode.
2 Write the prompt (or load the reference image).
3 Choose a Detail preset — Low, Medium or High.
4 Press Generate 3D Model; it imports when done.
GETTING MESHY-SHOWCASE QUALITY
The polished look comes from your settings: use High detail, enable PBR maps, turn Remesh off for maximum fidelity, and prefer image mode when you have a strong reference.
● TAB 3
Images — restyle your viewport
Turn a viewport snapshot into a polished still. Everything is generated from your scene, so the AI keeps your composition.
1 Write a Prompt (scene) — what you want to see.
2 Pick a Style preset, or choose Custom and write your own style prompt.
3 Add a Style ref or product photos when accuracy matters.
4 Set the Count and press Generate.
PROMPT VS. STYLE
Prompt (scene) is the subject and action; Style is the look. Keeping them separate stops the style from drowning out what you actually want in frame.
● TAB 4
Videos — AI video from your animation
Turn your images or your animated timeline into AI video. With Use viewport animation on, RENDORA renders your timeline and uses it to drive the result.
Transform vs. Reference (Kling)
• Transform keeps motion 1:1 — use it when the camera must follow your animation exactly.
• Reference creates new motion — use it when you want a richer interpretation from your prompt.
“keep the same camera animation coming from the front of the car, entering inside and coming out of it like @video1. the car is driving in Paris”
● KEY TECHNIQUE
Keeping an object consistent across angles
When the camera orbits a subject, the AI only knows the angles you show it — any unseen side is invented. Give the model several views of the same object.
1 Capture 3–4 clean views of your object — front, side, and especially the back.
2 In Videos, set your main Reference Image, then use Add view for extra angles.
3 Generate. RENDORA tells the model these are the same subject from different angles.
BEST PRACTICE
2–4 well-lit views is the sweet spot. The more readable your input, the less the AI improvises. Multi-reference is a Seedance feature; Kling Transform instead copies your own rendered pixels.
● REFERENCE
Troubleshooting
• Live says a key is required — add your fal.ai key in Settings.
• Firewall prompt on first Live start — allow it; the network runs in a bundled Python process.
• Timeline freezes during video — normal; rendering runs on Cinema 4D’s main thread.
• Prompts vanished after reopening a scene — save the scene and they return on reopen.
• A generation was rejected — adjust the prompt or retry.