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DAZ Productions, Inc.
224 S 200 W, Suite #250
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
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© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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I get excited about Carrara's animation features, especially the seamless use of Poser figures. Someday I'll get a round tuit and get into the physics:
I'm pretty sure once I get to the animation features, I'm going to really dig them, too. Haven't gotten that far along yet. Just going through the shader tutorial... seeing the possibilities, but those options alone are overwhelming. You could really focus on becoming an expert in just one SEGMENT of what Carrara is capable of and put a huge amount of time into that and never even touch on the rest of its abilities...
donovancolbert, Very good... I've never even tried, yet, going to DS from Carrara... thought about it of course. Which video are you speaking of? I have all 3 of Phil's super good tutorials and probably overlooked that part... the only one I've not completed is "Advanced Carrara Techniques".
You have definitely taken the right approach to Carrara... had I bought videos, books along with bothering with the Forums I'd certainly be a lot further along than I am. What a dummy I am :( for thinking I could learn Carrara with absolutely no outside help. If only I had... .... the list goes on and on. I bought Carrara 4 Pro to replace my Amiga modeler, Imagine3D, which ceased any further support shortly after it's Windows version(s) came out... I'd been mostly into 3D modeling and animation... little had I known of the many features that Carrara offered... it's much more powerful and feature packed than my older modeler.
Thank you for your earlier break down of Carrara in your earlier post... http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/1609366/#Comment_1609366 which explains very well why anyone would want Carrara... very inspiring... I need no explanation as to why but... Thank You Very Much. Have fun with Carrara and the tutorials.
IMO, I look at Daz Studio as another program for the toolbox... find I very seldom need nor want to leave Carrara.
wgdjohn...
This video tutorial series:
http://www.daz3d.com/carrara-8-5-tutorial-video-11-5-hours-long-instant-digital-download
I resisted takling part in the forums for a while when I first started using DAZ 3D. Didn't really have a desire to be part of another online community...
Yet... here I am... with an avatar and everything... :)
I think with my introduction through DAZ, I'll always be oriented toward DAZ... and I think DAZ has more mainstream consumer/hobbyist reach and appeal. Carrara is intimidating and has a level of complexity that a lot of people will never be interested in learning. I've still got a lot to learn about Carrara, though. Maybe as I become more competent with it, I'll come to prefer it to DS.
Someone else mentioned the Amiga...
This is where I first saw the checkered red ball. :)
In a way both Carrara and the Amiga are alike in that they were introduced ahead of their time. I might be wrong but I believe that the Amiga ball was animated using Amiga Basic programming. I have AmigaForever by Cloanto installed on my Windows computer in order to run Amiga software.
I had an Amiga 2000 with a SupraRAM 4MB memory card and a SupraSCSI with 2 Miniscribe 20mb SCSI drives.
It was insane power! :) Had the Newport Digitek digitizer too. I'd say around 1989.
Could you mean the Digitek Digiview... I had one. Believe it was by NewTek... home of the Video Toaster and LightWave... have both.
Newtek! Yes. With the color wheel.
If you were looking at scanned HAM images from popular magazines on your Amiga or Atari ST circa 1989...
It is quite likely I was the guy who scanned them in. ;)
I had their audio digitizer, too.
Very cool! I love nostalgia like this!
(referring to the above posts regarding Amiga and such!)
So I take it you're happy with PhilW's Training videos? I really love them, and now have the complete collection.
They cover so much stuff, that there's a lot in there that I'm not actually doing at the time that I watch the course, so when I do decide to try out these new tactics, I just hop back into the course and watch the correct chapters again.
Personally, I also like watching them like TV once in a while, which keeps me more in touch, for one, but also helps me to know where to find specific information when I need it.
I also added the Working files to my browser, so I can load them quickly into Carrara for a real-world look at what he's doing ;)
Here is a cool little dedication I've written about Phil Wilkes, which also includes a link to my article on designing your own Custom Browser categories.
There's also a bunch of other free learning to be had throughout that thread... enjoy!
Once again, though... it's really fun seeing you post these cool renders! Thanks for that!
Carrara is (in my opinion) the finest 3d CG software on the market for many good reasons. This forum is one of them! I love this place!
Well, the first several CDs are him explaining basics to you without giving you any hands on, guided lessons on how to apply those basics. I've basically just been trying to approximate what he was doing by following along with the video... pausing it, rewinding it... he moves very fast through those steps, and sometimes it isn't clear what he is doing (hitting the del key or some other keyboard shortcut so that something happens on the screen that is disconnected from the action that made it take place...)
It would be nice if these early tutorials were a little more interactive and guided. I'm still able to follow along and learn from them - but I think a less technical person might not go digging through the Working Files disk or simply figuring out how to set up a scene to approximate the scene Phil has created.
Just as an example... the Sunbeams scene from Share CG... he really just mentions in passing that it is at Share CG...
I understand a big part of his philosophy is that he'll give you the overview, and then you should play with it at your leisure to figure it out - aand that is cool. But I think that a little more of a hands-on, guided lesson approach would benefit the coursework. I know that in the end chapters, it all comes together into several projects that are guided this way... so I'm looking forward to that part, creating the scenes and learning through that process. I'm not really trying to be real critical, because I'm only on disk 3 of 6... there is a lot of content ahead of me.
And... following along as I have been, I've been able to produce quite a bit and even try some things outside of the scope of the lesson (like exporting the object above out and importing into DAZ...)
I'd recommend the lessons to anyone wanting to learn Carrara - There is no doubt Phil is an expert at this subject and he covers the topics in an interesting and engaging way. But the first few CDs are mostly lecture and exposition - without a real planned out, "now go and do this project and apply what I've taught you," lesson plan, at least early on.
Once I complete the entire course - I'll have a better idea of if I still feel this way, of course. :)
Designing your own custom browser categories is something I am REALLY interested in! I've organized my custom content in DAZ 3d, but that organization doesn't work in Carrara, and Carrara arguably makes the DAZ runtime libraries even MORE confusing and difficult to navigate, in my opinion. Struggling with finding my content in the DAZ libraries in Carrara is one of my biggest headaches with the program right at the moment.
Not that DAZ Studio has that particular area dialed in and working awesome, either. :)
Carrara is crazy-awesome in a lot of ways, way above Daz Studio and Poser - being able to do so many more things - even really, really simple things that the others cannot.
Once you complete your Basic Training, I cannot help but to recommend Advanced Techniques, where he really does take us by the hand and take us into some really important stuff - making custom clothing, using particles, modeling and uv mapping (several methods of each), and just getting more advanced all across the board. I also love his Realism Rendering course - which is different than the others in that it's more specialized toward lighting, shaders and rendering.
Man... you seem to be learning your way around pretty well. Go ahead and continue the course. You'll se that it'll help in many ways! ;)
But don't hesitate to come into this forum and start a new thread with a specific question, or put a comment into another existing thread that doesn't quite answer your questions fully.
► Forum Help Links
It's really fun to see how many ways there are to get results in this amazing software!
Really glad to have you on-board!
Some more helpful (perhaps?) links:
► Dartanbeck Video Tutorials ► Some Articles I've written for the Carrara Cafe
Some of my Babble-Session Tutorials ;)
► Cripeman's Carrara Video Tutorials Index
Carrara Community's very own Super Hero takes plenty of time from his busy life to
explore many exciting features of this amazing 3d content manipulation, modeling and animation suite
► GK Dantas' Video Manual Index
Carrara Cafe's Die-Hard Instructor - now with an easy-to-use index of links
► Carrara and related 3d Art Tutorials
Carrara Community Tutorials and Articles to help you get the most out of this incredibly
feature rich authoring software. From lighting to animation, the list keeps growing so check back often!
► Working with Content
With Carrara 8.5 beta, this software is getting much closer to true compatibility
with Daz Studio. This article attempts to illustrate what can and cannot be taken back and fourth.
It also covers some of the basic techniques required to get the most out of any Poser/DS content
within Carrara.
► Dynamic Hair
Now including a link to Jonstark's video tutorial series!
► Carrara Plugins FAQ & Information - By Jay_NOLA
Jay compilled and organized a great measure of info regarding Plugins specific to our
beloved Carrara. FAQ, Information and Links to help you determine which are right for you. Thank You Jay_NOLA!
► Comprehensive List of Video Tutorials on Carrara - by FractalDemensia
The purpose of this thread is to collect, consolidate, and make available a comprehensive list of all video tutorials available on Carrara.
► Carrara 3D Expo Magazines
Sponsored by:
A community Project webspace for Carrara Animators!!!
(sorry... I just always think that posts look nicer with images! LOL)
You'll eventually see that there's actually an awful LOT of free education for Carrara, and it's almost operating at a constant 24/7... and that is this forum!
I'm looking forward to it... and I apperciate all your encouragement, advice and direction, too. It is awesome getting feedback like this.
If you make content in Carrara, can that data be exported and packaged for sale in DAZ 3D without additional software, or is it possible at all?
I really want to be able to create my own content - rather than just "posing other people's content." I'm a traditional artist and work in a lot of different mediums and media - and I'd love to be able to express my DIRECT visions in 3D modelling... but I'd also like to be able to package and sell that and maybe make a little money at this hobby, too.
Yes, you can make content for Studio, but Studio cannot read everything that Carrara can do. For example, Naomi and PhilW make Carrara dynamic hair that is sold in the Daz store. Studio cannot import and use that as it is. On the flip side, Carrara cannot load the Genesis 3 figures straight; instead, I have coverted them to collada dae format and loaded them that way. I regularly make items for Genesis and Genesis 2 figures in Carrara, then use the transfer utility in Studio to complete the figure.
The following thread has a lot of related information that is much broader than just Carrara, but it does include a couple of Carrara-specific tutorials as well.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/65357/the-male-content-creation-mutual-support-group-thread/p1
Bookmarked! Thanks!
I get a bit "babbly" here, but for what it's worth, here's a tutorial I made about the process of making clothing for Genesis 2 figures in Carrara.
Why is it that my voice always goes hoarse when I do tutorials! LOL
It's never like that when I sing in my band! ;)
One day I'll learn how to sound like "me" when I make tutorials! LOL
EDIT: ahhh... it's the babbling for sure! LOL
Also, check out the link in my signature: "My Store at Daz 3D"... everything in there was made in Carrara, even the stuff that isn't Carrara-Specific.
Tango Alpha makes Daz Store stuff for both Studio and Carrara
That looks very cool - and delighted that you are finding the tutorials useful (if not always as clear as you'd like)!
By the way, I am an ex-Amiga user too!
They're pretty darned clear, Phil. They just move quickly - I'm more of a hands on learner - listening to a lecture then doing after doesn't work as well for me - so it is as much MY learning style as YOUR teaching style that is the issue. ;) Despite that... I've found it all very informative and useful and I think the proof is in the content I'm already producing with just a few short lessons. I can't wait to get into the real heart of the tutorial.
The Amiga was a great machine. I wish I had done more with it, although it was my introduction to digital painting via Deluxe Paint 2.
Fun and simple - though a half-hour long due to my need to talk! LOL
Great, thanks for the clarification. I have seen some video training where a single point is repeated and laboured again and again, so that as a viewer, I am thinking "OK, I got it, now move on!". So I intentionally avoided that. I figure that as you have the video, if you need to repeat a point, you can rewind and watch it again rather than me repeating the same thing time and again, adding length to the video but not really adding any substance. And for later chapters, I assume that you are broadly familiar with the earlier materials, so that we can focus on the new stuff without repeating what went before. By including as much actual substance as possible, I hope that the videos represent value for money.
might as well come over to Carrara and join the fun.
render a movie.
OK, I took the plunge (actually more like a toe dip because the sales price was so low).
I've read through several threads, including this one. But my most basic of all questions are not answered. How do you install it? How do you install content? Do I use the DIM? How do I put content on a separate drive from the program itself? (I have a very small SSD primary drive)
It seems important to avoid screwing up at the very beginning. I've had Studio 4.9 for a few months, and I'm just now getting comfortable with it, even though I used 2.3 for many years (pre-Genesis) on a limited basis. Right now, the install process is automated and I rely on the DIM to install everything into Studio. Setting up the pathways was a chore by itself. So, does content which I just purchased go into Cararra only, or can I install it into both programs?
Like I said, pretty basic. It's also nuts! I'm finally feeling good about 4.9. :-)
PS - I've had Hex and Bryce for years - never even opened them. What the heck am I doing? Someone please give me a real complex response, so I can retreat back into my comfort zone. :-)
Hopefully I can help with some of this... let me know if and when you need more. Others will likely chime in with valuable advice as well ;)
WELCOME ABOARD!!!
Here are some links according to some of your questions:
► Carrara 8.5 Installation Guide
Yes, Use DIM to install content. In the Download Filters area, check to make sure you enable Carrara as well as Poser formats. Carrara works very well with Poser content as well.
As for using Daz Studio DUF content in Carrara, being a DS user, your done. Genesis1 and 2 will show up in the "People" category in the Content tab, under "My Daz3D Library", if you've used the defaults from DIM.
If using Carrara gets you into the spirit of wanting to use some of the older Poser content, and wish to create and organizational system for installing your various content that older Poser style method, here's an article I've written all about that stuff:
Daz Install Manager - Installing Custom Poser Runtimes
Basic walkthrough of designing your own custom runtime structure
That should also help to explain how to install content to the Drive of your choice - right through DIM.
To Add folders and/or new Runtimes, etc., to your Browser in Carrara, use this little Icon - the File/Folder Menu icon in the proper tab, and choose Add Folder or Add Runtime
*Note to All:
Often, if we buy an item meant specifically for Carrara, the product's installer will place it into the Carrara system - but not into the browser due to Carrara's Custom Browser nature.
However, if this or these products include a Scene, it'll often place a folder of some sort into the Scenes folder. If they add Objects, they'll often install a new folder in Presets > Objects. Likewise Shader might get a folder added to Presets > Shaders, etc.,
There used to be a separate site called ArtZone, which allowed artists to add specific instructions for their products - linked to from the product installer - which no longer exist.
Basically, they would tell the user to use the File/Folder Menu (as mentioned at the end of the above post) and then mention which folder to add to which tab of the browser.
To make things really simple on myself, here's what I do:
Keep in mind that some products, like Tim Payne's Skies and others, will need us to add specific folders to the "Misc" tab. Find the documentation (within Program Files > DAZ 3D > Carrara 8.5) and read through it, because the Misc tab requires that we know which type of misc data is within the added folder.
My Swordworks for M4 animations product includes clips in the Program Files > DAZ 3D > Carrara 8.5 > Presets > Clips folder. There are not many Clips products at Daz3d, so it's up to you whether to just add my folder or the whole "Clips" folder to your Browser.
But by adding these whole categorical folders ensures that as we add products, they'll automatically get added to those folders mentioned - at least in most cases that I know of. These new "Folders" will show up at the Bottom of the specific tab in which they're added.