Shopping for Cinema 4D models for visual effects (VFX), animation, and video games can get expensive quickly. Sure, there are plenty of open-source 3D merchants and sellers on the internet to explore and scroll through. But when window shopping turns into binge buying, before you know it, you’ve spent hundreds of dollars for models without any continuity or idea of how they will fit your project. In this article, we’ve sorted through the digital shelves to share the best free and affordable Cinema 4D models that are a solid foundation for your next project.
Short on time? Here’s the list.
1. Mission to Minerva Living Pods
2. Los Angeles Terrain California USA
3. HQ Lunar Terrain
4. Concert Venue Stage
5. Scifi scene
6. SEA WAVES
7. Shopping Mall Interior
8. Desert Landscape
9. 21k Planet Earth - Day & Night
10. Animated Sci-fi Teleporter Platform
5 free Cinema 4D models.
We’ll start with some freebies that you can experiment with. Here are the best free Cinema 4D models on the market.
1. Mission to Minerva Living Pods
From KitBash3D (that’s us), Mission to Minerva includes sleek, free Cinema 4D models for a space adventure. Specifically, the living pods in this kit look like they are pulled from a Hollywood space epic with realistic seating, platforms, and living quarters for adventurers, workers, or planetary species to interact in. Download this model for free to house your next Cinema 4D scene that’s out of this world.
Cost: Free
License: Non-commercial only
Tech Specs:
- Poly Count: 19.7m
- Model Count: 60 Models
- Material Count: 63 PBR Materials
2. Los Angeles Terrain California USA
Back on Earth, this free Cinema 4D model provides a bird's eye view of “The City of Angels” for a detailed map or view from a plane. Los Angeles Terrain California USA is made natively in Cinema 4D by pixorender3d through TurboSquid and is ready to render.
Cost: Free
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 100,000,000
- Vertices: 10,000,000
- Polygonal Quads Only
- UV Mapped
3. HQ Lunar Terrain
Back in space, the HQ Lunar Terrain free Cinema 4D model is perfect for staging a lunar landing or dramatic scene with the best view of Earth or the stars.
Cost: Free
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 722,500
- Vertices: 724,201
4. Concert Venue Stage
Speaking of staging, the Convert Venue Stage is a ready-to-render stage for a music scene. It has rigged lighting, speakers, and stage props all set up. All you need to do is select the entertainers who will make the gig unforgettable.
Cost: Free
License: Personal Use License
Tech Specs:
- N/A
5. Sci-Fi Scene
Finally, we return to space with a vivid, free Cinema 4D model perfect for testing your sci-fi animation skills. Scifi scene by Angelo Ferretti, through CGTrader, is inspired by a Lee James Ormerod short film and includes 20 materials, 11 textures, lighting, and camera settings so you can play with how you’d set up the scene in the director’s chair.
Cost: Free
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 688,727
- Vertices: 638,677
- 69.7MB
5 Cinema 4D models under $50
Now, if you’re willing to spend some cash to advance your project, here are Cinema 4D models that can make your project realistic without a professional budget.
1. SEA WAVES
Water is one of the trickiest VFX to animate for your Cinema 4D project, but with SEA WAVES, there won’t be any rocky seas unless you want them to. With low, mid, or high wave animated loops, it’s easy to make a realistic water surface for your scene. This model also includes a video tutorial for importing caches into Cinema 4D.
Cost: $18
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Total triangles: 58,000
- Vertices: 29,900
- UV Layers
- 29MB
2. Shopping Mall Interior
Shopping malls may be decaying across the country, but if you want a throwback 90s scene or just room to play in a large space, Shopping Mall Interior is the “rad” place to be. This Cinema 4D model is highly detailed with objects and props of a generic thriving mall that retirees would be jealous to walk through.
Cost: $49
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 2,504,496
- Vertices: 2,615,336
- UV Mapped
3. Desert Landscape
The opposite of a shopping mall might very well be an empty desert landscape. This Cinema 4D model is a scene-ready realistic desert plain for a sci-fi, dystopian, or real-world adventure. The mountain model is a separate object that can be duplicated, and the ground is an 8K desert texture included in the model. With a detailed model like this one, you can immediately start a project built on desert power.
Cost: $44
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 500,081
- Vertices: 502,561
- UV Mapped
4. 21k Planet Earth - Day & Night
Welcome to Earth. 21k Planet Earth - Day & Night is a Cinema 4D model that provides a hyper-realistic view of humanity’s home planet and includes night and day animation. So, whether you’re using it as a backdrop to an astronaut scene or a cinematic establishing shot, this Earth model is as realistic as taking a camera up to space (and much cheaper).
Cost: $29
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 37,920
- Vertices: 37,926
- UV Mapped
5. Animated Sci-fi Teleporter Platform
While most of our list of Cinema 4D models focuses on scale and realism, this discovery is a uniquely built teleporter for a sci-fi or fantasy project that will amplify your VFX design. CGMansoori designed the Animated Sci-fi Teleporter Platform model through TurboSquid, which enhances the imagination of your project by serving as a technical teleporter for time or space travel. The model includes animations of flaps and is ready to drop in any scene at a human scale. Where the teleporter sends the characters is up to you.
Cost: $39
License: Standard
Tech Specs:
- Polygons: 32,671
- Vertices: 33,293
- UV Mapped
Start building your Cinema 4D project.
Now that you have a selection of Cinema 4D models, you can start your animation, VFX, or video game project on the software. But if you want to turbocharge your worldbuilding in C4D, download Cargo - our free asset management software. Cargo is an asset browser plugin that gives you access to over 15,000 premium 3D models and materials from KitBash3D (that’s us). With 1-click import to Cinema 4D, powerful search and filtering, and a vast library of 3D assets from a wide variety of genres, Cargo houses one of the largest asset libraries for Cinema 4D. Happy KitBashing!
