In this tutorial I’m going to cover some awesome time saving tips when using Cinema 4D’s ‘Align to Spline’ tag or splines in general. I’ll go over how to get objects to align & animate with the tips of an object created by a SweepNURB or a SplineWrap Deformer as one would when creating such things as a power cord with a plug, or a headphone cord with a headphone jack, or any abstract animation where you need an object to move perfectly with the movement/growth of the SweepNURB. I’ll demonstrate how this can be done by simply changing the way the intermediate spline points are interpolated. I’ll then show you a way to use a simple XPresso setup to have total control over the entire SweepNURB growth/object tip rig to animate by adjusting just one parameter.

In the second part of this tutorial, I’ll go over the same concepts only this time I’ll show you how you can use it with a SplineWrap deformer’s offset and use an example of how you can get a Light Object to align to the tip of a light streak so you can composite a lens flare or particles at the front tip of the light streak in After Effects. We’ll also do this by using an Align to Spline tag and a bit more complex Xpresso. Enjoy!