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...so there May be a pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow... if we try hard enough?
my bad,. that's quite bizarre,.
I'm seriously considering getting into modeling a lot more. There's some stuff I'd really like to have that I don't have and don't see anywhere. Besides... It's a lot of fun!
So I'm not going to rely on any new software for it, being that I really enjoy modeling in Carrara, and I already have Hexagon, so I may just play with that as well.
I also have Blender, Wings3D, Anim8or, and some other apps.
But I also really want to invest in some modelers that the pros are using. I have four in mind right now, and the list may get smaller - depending upon how pleased I am with the first couple of purcheses.
UV Layout - Carrara being so strong in so many departments, I think my first addon would likely be UV Layout, by Headus, just because I really like what I see Garstor doing with it. I love the interactivity of it all.
Silo 2 - With it being so inexpensive, along with really liking what I'm seeing so far. Silo just looks like a really great modeler. For me, a modeler without any other features is perfect. I like Carrara for everything else. After hearing HeadWax's wishes for a Knife tool, and discussing it with him over the years, seeing it in action in Silo looks incredibly useful. I must admit, I didn't really ever feel a need for it untill I saw the demonstration, which shows several options for how it works. Really neat!
Being as inexpensive as it is, this would likey get added before UV Layout. I also think that the UV Unwrapping tools in Silo just might be strong enough to end my add-on purchases right here - so I may just end up reducing my wishlist to One from four.
3D Coat - This looks like an excellent addition to any 3D modeler's toolkit. It also has excellent UV tools.
Modo - If I really enjoy modeling enough to pursue creating props and/or figures for Daz3d, I'll likely upgrade to Modo with what I make in sales.
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That's it for my current 3D mesh wishlist, but some of that may just have to wait.
My main study right now is Visual Effects for motion pictures - all in pursuit of getting my dream project as good as I can make it. Of course, like everyone else, I will be improving as I go, so I'm not letting any possible shortage of software slow me down. This stuff can all come in due time.
But still, my main #1 wishlist item for software has to go to HitFilm Pro, and for Hardware, an HP Z600 or Z800 class workstation sporting dual Xeon cpu running Windows 7 Pro. I'm getting tired of 10. It seems to feel like it (Win 10) should hinder me whenever it wants to - likely sending every action made to Microsoft for analytics or some such.
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All in all, though, Carrara does have UV Editing and Unwrapping. I think Hexagon does too. So these extra software purchases can wait as long as I need them to. Though I can already see how any of the four items in the upper list would greatly improve my workflow speed and sanity.
We just have to remember, when using Carrara for UV editing:
When the tools feel really unruly, try zooming in on our selection as much as possible. The closer we get, the smoother their control!
That said, a larger monitor might also be a wise next purchase ;)
Oh... a Z800 (with dual hexa-core Xeon) and an enormous monitor! Yeah... that's what I need!
Just dreaming aloud, is all! ;)
Most of those are on my list too, although I already have Modo Indie. I've specially got my eye on one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-34UC98-34-Inch-Class-UltraWide/dp/B01BFH1AIM/ Needs to be 34" to get the same height display as my 27" iMac (anthing smaller just feels cramped!) It's also Thunderbolt 2, so great for dualling the Mac on. But it's 750 quid, so yeah just a pipe dream. Still who knows what 2017 will bring, eh?
is there a path for starting with a DAZ object in carrara, taking it out to do UV work in silo, and then essentailly pasting the new UV back into Carrara? If so, might give this a try. But reluctant to give up any morphs associated with the object which would be lost roundtripping directly through Silo so trying to understand options.
Thanks,
I might be wrong - and I've heard that C4D is an exception, but I think Carrara is entirely unique in being a modeler which can open figures without losing their morphs, rigging and such.
Yet their may be some hoops one might jump around to do it.
When I consider buying these modelers, it is for creating all-new mesh.
For creating Morphs and such, I already love both Carrara (export single morph OBJ - or only use the morph within Carrara) and Hexagon (bridge to and from DS is undeniably awesome!)
I am going to give Blender another try. I think my frustration the first time may have been in part due to the particular tutorials I had been following. They were not good matches for me.
I really recommend a YouTube channel called "Blender for Noobs." I struggled for a long time with Blender until I watched his "Learn Blender in One Hour" video and then I finally got the layout and navigation. He's got a series of 10 or so basic modeling in Blender videos too that were really helpful learning the bsic tools. Some of his other videos are not as good, but those were all very helpful to me.
Thanks - now I have a New Year's resolution I plan to keep.
.
Thanks, Man!!! Very helpful. I might like Blender if I can figure it out! LOL
Coming from Carrara, it stinks entering a confusing interface. I love Carrara's!
Modo's and Silo's look really nice.
Awe man! UV Layout requires a Dongle for Pro as well as some other security hoops to jump through. Screw that! I think I'll try going for another option if it ever comes down to that. Pay more, get a bigger Pain In The Arse! Why? (I know why... I just don't like those things for my setup)
Besides, for that price I think I'd rather get either Modo Indie of 3D Coat, both of which have excellent UV Tools - I think. Actually, Silo's looks pretty darned nice as well!
Here's a cool little look at Modo's fine setup from Modo 601
He says that it's too boring to watch, but I wish he'd have shown us the Relax and other tools too. Still, it's a nice little look at the power of Modo
Here is Modo 10. I've shown this video earlier in the thread, but I'd like you to notice how similar this is to UV Layout - even seems a bit more powerful to me, since it actually lets us use sculpting and other modeling tools directly on the UV Map (around 1:22) and being right inside the modeler, where I'd always rather be doing my UVing, personally.
Here is one I've found for 3D Coat at their website, which makes it look pretty darned nice, too! I know it has a lot more options - I'd like to see ;)
Here is their most exciting main promo for 3D Coat 4.7, which is rather tasty!
Here's a kinda cool example of 3D Coat at UV Unwrapping, even if our actual work decisions might differ... it shows some of the tools nicely - but it's also very obvious that there's a lot more to it's UV controls. Now I seem to recall that 3D Coat's documentation wasn't that great several years ago. I wonder if that's still the case. It would be nice to see some complete info on it's UV tools
Wow... and again another decent example of just seeing the tool in action. I think I'm liking this
UV's don't work like that,. it' not something you can copy/paste,. it's a description of how your 2D textures are "projected" onto the surface of your 3D model.
it's possibly less confusing to call it Projection mapping.
I think the confusion comes from the wireframe "texturing template" which can be exported from the UV layout panels, and used in an image editor, as a guide for creating your texture images.
Daz3D Figures are already UV mapped, so,.. I don't understand why you would want to change that,.
Genesis has alternative UV sets, depending on the initial model you load,. (basic female / basic male
if you want to change textures,. make your own,. or edit existing ones,.
As Dart mentioned,. these tools are more commonly used to setup UVs on your own models.
You can create new morphs in existing figures to edit the shape, or create new texture maps to change the appearance of a model,.
I guess i'm trying to understand what you're trying to do.
OMG... yes I got it within a few days from the original offer. But look at the price now....
I am gobsmacked at this discount!! Go for it...wished I had waited now. Hope to get into using it in the New Year once my final coursework is done end of January. I want to use it for nuts and bolts models as the PC World reviewer said. Maybe the con in that it's no longer being 'developed' is causing the price tank?
Happy NY to all Carrarians!
@3dAGE - thanks for explaining. I didn't think you could do the copy/paste UV's back in (because I thought the UV's were 'attached' to / coresponded to the 3D geometry), but I didn't know if there were any alorithms inside of Carrara that already accounted for that and would proivde some sort of copy and paste option to the end-user (while already accounting for/keeping track of the geometry internally). And it's been a couple of years since I used DAZ and Carrara significantly, so a bit rusty on terminology and how everything works.
I have exported texture templates in the past and played with them in photoshop - and maybe that's all I really need for all of the DAZ and Carrara products. I've always found the UV section in Carrara clunky - but may have been mixing up in my head what I was doing with my own simple models vs needs with simply re-texturing purchased models.
My other big problem with UV mapping (now that I think about it) was that I've considered bringing DAZ models into the Unity gaming engine (I have the Indie Game Developers license that allows you do that with DAZ originals). But the way DAZ has its texturing set up requires numerous calls to the game engine, rather than just a few. Had considered a standalone UV layout program that had been recommended on the DAZ forums (think it was UV Mapper) which would let you fix that problem - but other issues with the pipeline between DAZ and Unity were troublesome enough so never dove in (though still want to if I can find the time)
I'm still on the fence about Silo but will keep following the thread - not clear to me if this is sort of still being developed or likely to go away - and probably going to be 6-12 months before I do significant modeling with a game in mind (though if overwhelming concensus was that Silo is far better than Hexagon and Carrara for modeling and mapping and that I could then bring that into Carrara consistently to add morphs, texture, and incorporate into Carrara scenes would probably grab it while it's so cheap)
While Silo is not being developed atm, i can atest to its ability as a 3D modeler. I have used Carrara and Hexagon in the past for converting models and personally could not wrap my head around a few things in it, plus I kept getting confused trying to remember what icon is what. Silo is very streamlined and I found it much easier to learn. Its extremely intuitive and well laid out. All my models here in the Daz store were built in Silo though I still keep Hexagon for 3d text as its one thing you cannot do in Silo. If you would like I can give you a list of useful videos that will help you quickly learn Silo (via PM as to not derail the thread). The $40 offer is well worth it even if you're not going to be using it for a while.
Hey Mattymanx - thanks for your input - and sure, I'd appreciate a list of videos - looked like the site had some good ones - just don't have the time to watch a bunch right now.
Are there any specific features that Silo has that Carrara 8.5 pro does not?
(think I daw Dart mention a 'slice' function)
Have you had any luck with building models and creating UV maps in Silo, and then bringing that into Carrara, where you could then create morphs and incorporate into animations?
My main interest is for animation work rather than stills.
Thanks
I dont do animations or use Carrara anymore. I dont see the need to export to Carrara for making morphs either unless its just what your use to.
Building and uvmapping for me is just fine in Silo. Click on the car in my banner to see my models in the store, all built and UV mapped in Silo.
Hell yeah! Thanks for the further testimonial! I love your work, and FifthElement, whom also likes using Silo is also very excellent.
I love how Silo is laid out from the videos I've watched, and then we can even customize it too... pretty cool, I think - though I'd probaby use the default.
Happy New Year to you too, Sweetie!!!
Try not to wait before delving into Silo. Some time during relax phase, just fire it up and play around without a goal to save anything.
We must Play!!!
I see that Andrew has taken notice of folks complaining about the lack of documentation on his 3D Coat, for their YouTube channel is packed with useful videos!
TangoAlpha, is there a difference between Modo and Modo Indie? or is it just a license thing?
Reduced export options and no scripting, plus a 100K poly count limit per model, essentially. And about a grand.
Hmmm. Not sure I like that :(
At least it gives the (intended) chance to learn the software while we save up for the big bang, eh?
3D Coat also has an inexpensive version at Steam. Wondering if that's watered down too? They don't tell us anything in the Steam store (I'm brand new to Steam as of yesterday)
Steam even has an Indie bundle for both Modo and Mari, their (The Foundry's) HD Texture Painting software
Do you use it much yet, or still doing everything in Carrara?
I always do this. I get all wound up to get a new modeler, then decide to just stick with what I have - since it's so darned good. But both Modo and 3D Coat are fant-freaking-tastic, as is Silo, which I'll likely end up getting just because it looks like such a great way to model - simple, fast, flexible, with excellent UV Unwrapping, which is actually all that I'm looking for, when it all boils down.
I just get all giddy about Modo and 3D Coat when I see everything else that they do!
Okay, for others, like me, whom might be interested in knowing the differences between Modo Indie (only available through Steam) and Full Modo, here's what I've found. It includes Mari Indie differences too, and there's also a well-priced Modo Indie/Mari Indie bundle at Steam. Mari is an HD Texture Painter software
Nor me, but £7.50 a month is a much less expensive mistake if I don't get on with it than £1400 inc VAT. And by the time I can afford it (2018 I reckon), I should be reasonably conversant with it. The downside is that a lot of the tutorials I've seen when googling how to do something, start with a script or plugin.
I don't use it a lot yet. I always seem to be up against a deadline and so fall back to what I already know. It's got lots of exciting features that go far beyond Carrara's abilities, it's just that "this has got to be finished by Friday . . ." IYSWIM.
Funny, Silly me. It's always like this.
I'm taking tid-bits of time here and there checking out these other modelers - especially focussing on how well I think they can unwrap UVs.
The three I'm looking at (plus the stand-alone UV Layout) all look very good. Then I watch videos on folks using the tools and, every so often I see them struggling with the viewing navigation, trying to adjust their view.
So I go into Carrara today and open up a model that I was working on a while back, one with some pretty hefty shape changes, no separate material zones yet, just to give UV Unwrapping a go in my lovely Carrara.
Sure enough. Carrara is a lovely beast! Sure, I don't get the distortion color indicators like the others have. But...
Marking seems is easy as eating pie for me - and I'm darned good at eating pie! For really tough selections, we can easily exit the UV zone and into the main modeler to make our selections. I love Carrara's selection tools - I really do. I also love its ease of use throughout the program. Anyways...
So after marking seems, but no pins, I commited to an Unwrap. Cool. Worked great.
Carrara doesn't have an auto pack feature, but frankly I like to orient my islands manually how they'd make the most sense for me in the texture-creation process.
There was one spot that looked really strange, so I followed the edges around, watching where I was on the mseh as I went, and started to chuckle to myself. I erased a couple of edges from being seems, and drew a new seem and unwrapped again. Bingo! This time I had an excelent unwrap - and in no time at all!
Here is where I check to see how the edges are as far as overall scale against one another. This time they all loked perfect, even though I did have some overall Island scaling to take care of - which is fun and easy. If not, though... I'd select the island in question and go to the Operations tab and relax the UVs. I can do 100 iterations at a time, which is fine for my purposes. Most of the time I never really need this - but sometimes....
So now I select each island individually and "Detach", then drag all of the left side islands out of the grid to the left - keeping plenty of space around each of them so they're easy for me to grab with a rectangular selection. Then I repeat for the right, and then work out the center islands and plunk them into the grid where I want them.
Next I orient the left side islands to match nicely with the center portions in the grid and place them loosely. I'm also scaling everything properly during this stage - then I repeat with the right side - after a few minor adjustments, I'm done and the UVs turn out really quite well - just from this quick and simple process - and I've never had a difficult time with navigating through the entire situation.
I use the keyboard shortcuts for rotate and pan and my mouse wheel for zoom, or the Navigation tools for getting vast distances quickly.
In and out I go - all the time. I go in really close for selections, then I detach and zoom way out to move my selection where I want it.
Really slick!
I Love Carrara!