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Helpful Threads from the Old Daz3d Forum
There have been many great discussions regarding our favorite softy and some of its features in the old Carrara forums at Daz3d. These links lead to some of my favorites, as well as some that I thought some of you may find to be beneficial.
DimensionTheory leads a discussion of discovery: Everything about Carrara - Physics
Weekly Workshop Bulletin Board
Fenric's Official ERC Support and Discussion Thread
Fenric's How to fix Fix Morph packages in Carrara
How to Build a Big Set for 3d Animation in Carrara Tutorial by Sci Fi Funk
It has been reported that, eventually, after the new store and forums have been made to work as Daz wants them to, they will address these old forums to give us more options within them. For now, see the above quote box for a work-around with broken links and images :smirk:
Search the Old Daz Forums Thanks to Holly Wetcircuit for the link
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Visit the Carrara Cafe
Carrara Cafe
Show, discuss and learn about Carrara 3D
If you're like me and you like to get into the hobby of 3d art in Carrara and just like to either see what others are doing with it, find tutorials, read interesting articles, and just hang out with others of our kind, Carrara Cafe is for you. It is also our connection to the incredible C3DE (Carrara 3D Expo) magazine! Pages of full color art, tips and stories from the pros and others who have delved deep within Carrara to show us the best it has to offer. I have collected every issue and always eagerly await the next.
Carrara Cafe is run by a dedicated group of Carrara enthusiasts who are also totally into the hobby/profession and they do a great job of keeping us up to date with the very latest news regarding Carrara and the folks who use it. Treat your self and Visit the Carrara Cafe
* Carrara Café thread on the Forum
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SDK for Developers
The Carrara SDK is a set of headers and libraries that allow third party developers to create royalty-free plugins for Carrara. It comes with full documentation of the Carrara API as well as many samples of code so that you can get started quickly.
Carrara is unique in that it has been designed from the ground up to be a completely open architecture, enabling powerful third-party extensions to be created and seamlessly plugged into the application.
With the SDK you can create new shaders, renderers, light sources, atmospheric effects, modelers, animation effects, primitives, constraints, importers/exporters, and much more.
The SDK includes complete cross-platform support (Macintosh and Windows), in the form of a cross-platform GUI building application, UI specific interfaces which give access to all aspects of the UI elements, and UI support utilities which allow the developer to manage a custom User Interface.
Posted a news post at http://carraracafe.com/?p=2575
Need some time to figure out how to make a permanent addition to CarraraCafe with this alternative manual.
Thank you for your efforts.
Well, thank you guys there as well.
I've got a small write-up about the Cafe in here that I plan to expand upon, but there's just so much to do - so little time! :coolhmm:
Here are some animation shots done in Carrara by Sub7th:
Dragonflies
His Animated Light Gels
Carrara 8.5 Beta and Genesis
So you've seen the hype and perhaps some of the beautiful art surrounding Daz3d's flagship 3d CGI software, and you want to take a closer look - but you're not sure where to begin?
Allow me to get the ball rolling on helping you out.
please feel free to add any knowledge or questions you have about the subject. Genesis really rocks with its near-unlimited capabilities... we want everyone to know what's currently going on with it.
I'll begin by saying that I'll likely edit this first post with updated info as I get it - so you may want to check this top section if you get lost.
Loading Genesis into Carrara is as easy as either double-click the file, drag the file into the work area, or drag the file to the instances tab. Your choice. Know that the first instance of Genesis takes a bit of time to load into Carrara. It actually fools you into thinking that Carrara locked up. Don't worry - and don't let it stop you from loading in several Genesis figures - for each subsequent load is closer to instantaneous after that first load.
Morphs
I guess it's slightly different than DS that some of Genesis' installed morphs can be found under the "Genesis" in the hierarchy, and others in "Actor", while expressions and such are in the head and grasps and such are in the hands.
====================== More to come ===================
I hope this helps some of you ease your way into trying the new beta.
Even if you don't try Genesis, I encourage you all to at least check out how much bliss is packed into this new Carrara!!!
Dartanbeck
Genesis and aniBlocks
The aniBlock importer for Carrara works for Genesis as well. However, due to a different 'pose' in the initial rigging, some modifications of an aniBlock's animation are in order, when using sets designed for Generation 4 Daz figures.
The most immediately noticeable area is the feet. Luckily for us, feet are an easy fix:
Once the aniBlock file is imported to the character, go to the sequencer tab and locate the keyframes for both feet.
Select all keyframes for each foot, EXCEPT for those in the "0" time frame.
Press delete. Now you can easily adjust the feet to match what they should be doing along the timeline by simple rotation of the joint.
Optionally, you can deselect keyframes at various intervals along the timeline prior to deletion. This allows you to see what the aniBlock set the feet at along certain time frames. Do keep in mind that aniBlock keyframes do not always land directly on a time frame when using 30fps. So if you scroll to where you left a keyframe, edit the rotation and find that you've just created a new keyframe, simply undo the action and drag the keyframe to the frame where you are set - they snap into place by default (snap checkbox above timeline).
This method may be used for any part of the body. Keep in mind that aniBlocks, as with most other animated pose files, use the Hip for moving the figure along the path of motion. So when making adjustments for the hip, you'll always want to leave several keyframes on the timeline (don't just delete them all) as mentioned in the Optionally note above.
Genesis also has new rig bones to consider. Since these bone do not exist in Gen 4 figures, aniBlocks will not alter them - giving you free reign to edit their rotation in any way you see fit. Here are some quick hints:
Pelvis - Being an additional bone just below the hip, this bone can make adjustments to both legs (both at the same time) without interfering with the hip or anything above the hip.
Abdomen 2 - Being between the abdomen and the chest, this handy bone can be used to alter the positioning of the uppermost torso without affecting the abdomen, the hip, or anything below.
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Dartanbeck
Thanks for posting all this great information in one place!
Any chance this could be sticky-ed to the top of the forum?
8068
Quick Links Menu
Just a little tool I've decided to add to help navigate this, and other threads
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Walkthrough is currently under heavy construction, please bear with me
There you go. I can be useful sometimes :coolsmile:
Wow, thanks for all this, Dart!
Pleasure's all mine. I've been thinking about doing something like this for a long time. It did take a lot out of me, indexing all of Cripeman's video tutorials. But they are so valuable and cool - not to mention fun to enjoy, that someone just HAD to do it, might as well be me.
I look forward to discussing a great many wonderful aspects of Carrara in here!
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Added a "Carrara 8 Information" button on the frontpage of CarraraCafe:
http://www.carraracafe.com/
It is now almost at the top and also at the very bottom.
Thank you for the effort!
I love the cafe... thanks! Whenever I feel a bit over-eager for the next installment of C3DE magazine, I just browse through my collection of nine, pick one, and lose myself for a while. What a great mag! That freakin' interview with NASSOS!!! Great stuff! Well, I like all of the interviews. Carrara artists surely are a good breed!
Whoa... I just gave myself on heck of a compliment, without meaning to... for I am an Carrara Artist!
Dartanbeck's Fun Page
Here is where I get to show off some of my own Carrara endeavors.
Just a Bit of Fun
A video made up of test renders before they got deleted. It was just an exercise trying out video editing softy
Genesis in Carrara Demonstration
Dragon Animation Kit Promo (Long Version)
Dragon Animation Kit Promo (Short Version)
Swordworks for M4
Possible new product for Daz3d - WIP Promo
Some even Older Test Renders made into a Video
AntFarm Airsled Test
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Everybody says they read it for the articles! Me, I'm a visual guy, I read it for the pictures!
I do love those images! Thanks for visiting Sir Evil! :coolhmm:
Carrara and related 3d Art Tutorials
This index will direct you to other posts within this forum or directly to the source of the tutorial. When it comes to 3d modeling, some tutorials might be made for, or using software other than Carrara. When this is the case, it will say such in the link information, but will only be included in this manual if I feel a strong relationship to what can be accomplished in Carrara.
Modeling for Genesis
320+ TUTORIALS at CARRARA CAFE
Pete Gregorio has a wonderful online video tutorial that demonstrates some
wonderful features within Carrara's Vertex Modeler: Carrara 8 Gears Tutorial
Holly Wetcircuit - (3D.Wetcircuit.com) - One of our very own Carrara forum members, Holly is not only a Carrara enthusiast, but she is dedicated to helping her fellow artist - and her focus is definitely on Carrara! Her tutorials are accurate and entertaining, and very professionally put together. Her site is the first place to go if you're looking for anything related to Carrara. She has a great set of links to all currently available plugins and tutorials beyond her own, as well as some great freebies as well. Thank you Holly... You Truly ROCK!
Cripeman's Video Tutorials - This is my attempt to categorize the great video tutorials by our very own Cripeman! My ambition is to keep this catalog up-to-date always. Cripeman is a true Super Hero protecting civilization from Carrara quandaries.
Carrara Resources at The Best 3D.com
Philip Staiger, one of the developers of Project Dogwaffle, is a huge Carrara fan. He used to work for Eovia when they took over Carrara and released version 2! He loved it then and it remains to be his favorite 3d tool to this day! No wonder. Carrara rocks!
I am really growing to enjoy the unlimited resources found at TheBest3D.com - There are tutorials galore, for many various apps for many different techniques. The videos conducted by Philip are my favorite of them due to his immense knowledge combined with his wonderful personality.
Evil Producer Thread Posts - Useful information provided by one of our very own Carrara 3d Artists
Pros and Cons of Carrara DOF Vs. Postworked DOF I was mentioning how long I was waiting for a DOF (depth of field) calculation, which happens after the image is rendered. The image in question was a giant image designed to wrap around a scene as a background image - and was taking a L O N G time, indeed! Thanks again EP!:coolhmm:
Johnny Ray Has a Blog regarding Daz Studio Displacement in Carrara, which is a very nicely written and illustrated article following his journey of experimentation regarding this interesting, and useful technique
Some Videos from Mark Bremmer
Sci Fi Funk Has a growing list of excellent Carrara Animation and Optimization Tutorials, that are made as he continues his never ending quest towards meeting his 3d Movie goals.
Eric Winemiller (DCG) put up a new tutorial on getting started with Toon! Pro. Get started with Toon! Pro Tutorial. It's awesome to see developers put some input into training new users on how to get going with the products they make. Very cool! Thanks Jay_Nola for the heads up!
Carrara 8 Training Videos from Infinite Skills
These are explanations of the training videos featuring Phil Wilkes and include some great sample footage from the series. I strongly recommend these products unless you feel that you are an absolute expert at using Carrara.
Learning Carrara 8
Advanced Carrara Techniques
More to come... Please submit a post if you have any tutorials or links you'd like to share.
Quick Links Menu
Just a little tool I've decided to add to help navigate this, and other threads
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Walkthrough is currently under heavy construction, please bear with me
How to Build a Carrara Workstation Yourself
In this world of 3r art and animation, we eventually crave a computer that can help us work faster, more stable, and all around more efficient. For the last few years I've been enjoying building my own PCs, which has brought me the good fortune of getting the actual computer components that I really want as well as keeping my pay out much lower than it could have been otherwise. It may seem scary the first time, I know I surely was intimidated, but when it all comes down to it, the process is much easier than building a good model or assembling a 1200 piece puzzle. You just need to know where and how to look for all of the parts that you need, and use good sense during assembly not to create or find any static electricity along the way. In fact, if you lack the dexterity to do the actual assembly process, perhaps someone you know would be willing to lend a hand. It really is as simply as plugging everything in where it goes.
As with most of what I can write about, this really only pertains to Windows-Based computing, as that's all I know. To my knowledge, a MacOS machine has to be purchased that way, and I know nothing of Linux, but the main building procedure should be the same.
If this starts to sound like an advertisement for Newegg.com, it isn't. Just that, during my research, I tried to find a place that had everything I need to buy so that I could save some cash on shipping - besides, it's really nice to get all of the stuff right around the same time. Believe me, once you start down this process, you start to get this exciting feeling in your gut that doesn't go away... even as you're firing up Windows for the first time on your shiny, new computer! Also, as I searched the internet for the best prices, the best links I could find elsewhere were all slightly more expensive, plus I couldn't get everything I wanted in one shop. For someone like me, I need a place like Newegg, because that is where I do most of my actual designing. After I finally decided this, I settled down and created an account. It doesn't obligate you to anything, but it gives you an incredible My Wishlist feature - where you can save several lists with custom names. So you can (and should) make several 'builds', each with their own custom wishlist. This way you may easily weigh the differences between price and quality, this style or that, etc., Plus when it comes time when something new comes out or certain items become unavailable, if even temporarily, you have a speedy way to make a switch. With that done, let's go shopping!
Decisions decisions...
In this modern age of computing, the tables have really turned. Before we had to really watch our purchases as you never really knew if you'd get a product that isn't really up-to-snuff. Nowadays, you can buy the least expensive laptop from pretty much anywhere and it'll last you for years. Buying PCs is like that, too. But what we're looking for is a bit more special that the average gaming device. I used to make my rendering machine decisions based upon a gaming machine, with the mentality that if you can run high-end games, you can run anything. While this might be somewhat true, it doesn't entirely apply to Carrara - and it certainly won't get you the best deal for the fastest render speeds. Know this now. I am now expert on this. But I've done it before - and most successfully, too, I might add.
Carrara would rather have a quad core processor than a zippy video card. This is not to say that the graphics card won't help. You want a good, solid card that can really turn out good OpenGL results - but in Carrara, it won't help at all with rendering. Quad core isn't the top dog anymore, either. I have an AMD Eight Core Desktop processor. Garstor uses server class stuff, which I am incapable of talking about at this point. Too bad, too. Because server class motherboards allow two, possibly more by now, processors on the same board (in the same computer). So two eight core cpus would give us sixteen cores, which isn't just twice as fast - it much faster than that!
Be back soon
Thanks for this thread.
A few things I'd like to see added. How to set up render nodes and a render farm.. On the old forum a very good thread went through how to do this.
A link to this PDF DAZ did for Carrara 8
http://docs.daz3d.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/artzone/pub/faq/software_carrara/carrara/carrara_8_basic_guide.pdf
Link to info about Carrara plugins and Tutorials for them.
One question that gets asked frequently concerns the ArchiTools and Advanced Pack Plugins and having to reenter serial numbers every time Carrara starts, and not knowing not knowing that newest version of the plugins exist that fix this.
Another commonly asked question is how to install Carrara. Maybe adding an install guide or a link to a good install thread.
Share CG also has several good PDF Carrara Tutorials that could be added.
What beginner books exist for a new Carrara artist is another thing that could be added.
These sort of brilliant suggestions and requests is what's going to really make this whole thing shine.
Just because I began this project doesn't mean it can only be added to by me. Links and such, articles you may wish to write yourself either in this thread, or another that can be linked to... beautiful! I knew from the start that this is an enormous endeavor. It will take a lot of time - but at least it has begun and as it grows and gets better it will certainly help folks get into Carrara a bit easier.
I must say that some of that stuff is beyond my knowing - other than seeing a few personal questions and such. Some things about Mac OS I have no clue about, other than reading that Mac has really been screwing with application developers by messing with the folder allocation structures - or something, for supposedly better speed - but with no apparent difference in performance to the user. I may need to find someone who uses a Mac to see about volunteering either links or write-ups... Yikes. Makes me glad to be using good ol' stable Windows 7. My daughter just got a new laptop with Windows 8 - looks sweet!
Anyways, yeah... this thing NEEDS to grow - and it will. :coolhmm:
Dartanbeck,
Your Carrara resources are outstanding. I will defiantly be using them. I just started a Carrara class at a local high school. This will be a great tool for my students. Here is a link about the class. http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/16681/
Man... conducting a Carrara class at high school is just way too cool!
Bravo! Thanks for the kind words and sharing the link.
Community Favorite Threads Links
Depending upon what's going on, we can sometimes lose a thread we're wanting to keep an eye on pretty fast. If there's a good thread you want to keep in touch with, drop me a line and I'll link it here.
Carrara in High School - MSolomon teaches High school students Carrara in the classroom.
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Wow, thanks Dartanbeck.