Selection Tools

Select Menu in Cinema 4D provides a powerful suite of tools to isolate, grow, loop, and modify selections for points, edges, polygons, and objects. Mastery of this menu allows precise control for modeling, texturing, and animation tasks.

What It Is

• Selection Tools: Includes Rectangle, Lasso, Polygon, and Loop selections for efficient mesh editing.
• Selection Modification: Grow/Shrink, Invert, and Convert tools allow fast expansion or transformation of existing selections.
• Selection Sets: Store and recall specific selections for reuse across workflows.
• Selection Tags: Save selections on objects for use in materials, deformers, and modifiers.

How It Works

1. Select Mode: Choose the appropriate mode (Point, Edge, Polygon) in the toolbar.
2. Use a Selection Tool: Pick from Rectangle, Lasso, Live Selection, or Loop to isolate geometry.
3. Modify Selection: Use Grow, Shrink, or Invert to refine it. Convert between point/edge/polygon selections if needed.
4. Store Selection: Use the “Set Selection” command to save for later use.

Use Cases

• Modeling workflows: Precisely select geometry to extrude, bevel, or subdivide.
• Material assignments: Apply textures only to stored polygon selections using selection tags.
• Deformer control: Restrict deformers to certain areas using point or polygon selections.
• Topology checks: Isolate N-gons, hard edges, or loops for cleanup and refinement.

Benefits

• Enables efficient and precise modeling edits
• Improves material and deformer targeting
• Speeds up workflows with reusable selection tags
• Supports both manual and procedural selection logic

More info here: Cinema 4D Select Menu Documentation

Video Credit: Behind the Button.
Description: This video demonstrates selection tools in Cinema 4D 2023.1.