Let's have some fun with NICKL! But first, do you have it? If not then you can download it directly from MAXON COMPUTER's Plug in Cafe, here is a handy link:

• Download NICKL for FREE from Plug in Cafe
• If you have had trouble with the SIT file and would like a ZIP file instead...

For those of you who do not know it - NICKL is a deformation tool for C4D XL that uses noise-based functions for modeling and animation.

NICKL works on primitive, polygonal and spline objects in C4D XL. It can be used to create phenomenal effects by modifying and animating objects to look like they made from materials that exhibit fluid, elastic and other amazing behaviors. Like all deformers in C4D XL, NICKL is non-destructive. This means that it is applied to a given parent object and can be removed from the hierarchy at any time to return the parent to its original state. This allows you to try all sorts of different settings with NICKL and never worry that your original geometry is being permanently modified or destroyed.

One of the most powerful features in NICKL is the inclusion of a special class of 3D noise called Period Noise. This is a four dimensional tiling noise derived from Perlin Noise. This means that it tiles in the X, Y and Z space as well as over time. Each different axis can be modified to have different periodic cycles and you can tune it to repeat seamlessly in both space and time to whatever setting you require.

Period Noise can be difficult to fully comprehend so let's take a closer look at:

• Temporal looping noise function alone
• Spatial looping noise function alone
• Temporal and Spatial functions working together
• Wacky Things