Cinema 4D - Ping Ingvar

3dtoday

Hi

evilproducer

Why not just send a PM?

3dtoday

evilproducer said:

Why not just send a PM?

UPDATE:

3dtoday

thanks,

daz3d_9ff14f0c17

3dtoday said:

Hi Ingvar, { and anyone else using cinema 4d}
I've read a couple of your posts on going to Cinema 4d { vs Carrara vs Modo }. do you have any updated opinion on Cinema 4D?

Hi,
here you will find a thread where I write about this:
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/10904/P30

This is not a Cinema forum, so I will keep it short.
The short form is - you can use Daz Studio Characters directly in Cinema. No need for Interposer or the like. You just have to know how Cinema works, and stay away from those tutorials who overcomplicate stuff that almost works out of the box, if you do it simple.
Carrara is an excellent 3D app which I still love. Cinema 4D is almost 10 times more expensive, and there is a reason for that. Know your tool, and you can do wonders. Finally I myself know C4D, and realize that all that fuzz and buzz about how complicated is is to use Daz stuff in C4D was wrong. The Daz store is there, for Carrara, Daz and for C4D users to use.

-Ingvar

evilproducer

3dtoday said:

thanks, I've PM'd him now, so if no one else is interested? and the MODS want to close
this thread - fine by me.

I didn't suggest PMing him because I thought the thread was wrong. I suggested PMing him because a PM would more than likely cause the forum software to send him an automated e-mail message letting him know he had a message. The question/topic would be noticed more quickly and thus be more likely to get a response than from a random thread in a forum he may or may not still follow.

magaremoto

hello,
I don't figure out what the problem can be with genesis in carrara; for morph issues you can save the scene in duf format taking into account this tip: save all the used morph parameters using the modifier/shape/generated type, as in attached screenshots, and carrara build 204 will import them fine. For animations I can't see any particular issue in carrara with the exception of dynamic clothes but a couple of guys here may help you easily. C4D is a great piece of software but the learning curve tends to slope immediately IMO

3DAGE

Can one have larger scenes, with multiple Daz characters,

I find this a strange question,.

what size of scene are you looking for,. and how many Daz figures do you want in that scene,.?

Also,.. what limitations are you finding,... if you're trying to work in carrara.

3dtoday

ingvarai said:

3dtoday said:

Hi Ingvar, { and anyone else using cinema 4d}
I've read a couple of your posts on going to Cinema 4d { vs Carrara vs Modo }. do you have any updated opinion on Cinema 4D?

Hi,
here you will find a thread where I write about this:
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/10904/P30

This is not a Cinema forum, so I will keep it short.
The short form is - you can use Daz Studio Characters directly in Cinema. No need for Interposer or the like. You just have to know how Cinema works, and stay away from those tutorials who overcomplicate stuff that almost works out of the box, if you do it simple.
Carrara is an excellent 3D app which I still love. Cinema 4D is almost 10 times more expensive, and there is a reason for that. Know your tool, and you can do wonders. Finally I myself know C4D, and realize that all that fuzz and buzz about how complicated is is to use Daz stuff in C4D was wrong. The Daz store is there, for Carrara, Daz and for C4D users to use.

-Ingvar

thanks

3dtoday

evilproducer said:

3dtoday said:

thanks, I've PM'd him now, so if no one else is interested? and the MODS want to close
this thread - fine by me.

I didn't suggest PMing him because I thought the thread was wrong. I suggested PMing him because a PM would more than likely cause the forum software to send him an automated e-mail message letting him know he had a message. The question/topic would be noticed more quickly and thus be more likely to get a response than from a random thread in a forum he may or may not still follow.

mistake.

3dtoday

nice.

3DAGE

That image was done in Carrara 6,. on a single core (32bit) system (Win XP) with 2GB ram,.. and much has improved since then.
the replicators can handle more objects,. the lighting calculation is better, also,..there's no post production on that image,. and now Multi pass rendering in carrara can help you post process the image much better.

Replicators are the key :

Carrara can handle multiple figures,. and those can all have different NLA or key-frame animation (if you need animation)

If you load a single figure,. add clothes and hair,. then select all of those objects and create a "group" or "animated group"
it's easier to deal with when you add it to a replicator, or surface replicator.
Make sure that the hot-point for the Group is at the base of the group, so it can be positioned correctly when you add it to the replicator.

The replicators have some layout options,. so,. you would choose the type of layout you want and the number of replicated objects you want.
you can also add an "Offset" value,. so that there's some variation in the positioning of the replicated objects.

In C6,. I created three Michael 3 figures, dressed and armed them,. then made each (figure and clothing) into a group,..then added those three groups to a replicator to make 100 figures,
I then added another replicator,. and added the First replicator to that,.. to make 10000 figures.
Then I added another figure,. riding on an Elephant,. and some Camels. and those were added to another replicator.
finally I posed the two main figures on the balcony, and set up the Sun and Moon lights.

Carrara 6 had lower limitations on the amount of replicated objects in a replicator,. but Carrara 8 can handle 1000 x 1000 x 1000

so, you could add an object to a replicator, to create 100000 of them,. then add that replicator, to another replicator, to create 1000000000, or simply Duplicate the first replicator as many times as you need.

You also have the option of rendering things separately,. and compositing,.

Bear in mind that it'll take a bit of time to calculate the instances before rendering, and the more complex your models, the more memory it will take to handle them.
Using Lower resolution figures would be ideal for distant armies etc,.. where you wont see and real detail.

hope it helps :)

PS. the image below was another test done at the same time in C6,. just to see what was possible and practical, using replicators to create an animated marching army. realism wasn't the goal,. pushing carrara, and learning what was possible was.

daz3d_9ff14f0c17

Hi 3dage :lol: long time, no seen!

I find your images super! While I myself often strive for realism, it can get too much of it too, it all depends on the story you are telling (if any). These days, I am not so occupied by realism at all, since I have discovered that my audience does not get the jaw drop effect by that, but insted by the story itself. I do animation, non-profit.
I find the images, especially the first one with the Farao, just fantastic. It conveys a very special mood, and makes you think. It would be adequate for a magazine front page, covering historic events, or the like.
I found Carrara's render engine more than sufficient for me, especially the lights/shadows were much easier to handle than in C4D.

P.S. If you read Asterix, the cartoon, you will find several options for lining up your soldiers ;-)

-Ingvar

Dartanbeck

3DAGE said:

That image was done in Carrara 6,. on a single core (32bit) system (Win XP) with 2GB ram,.. and was a test just to see what was possible and practical, using replicators to create an animated marching army. realism wasn't the goal,. pushing carrara, and learning what was possible was.

That's what I saw in the image as well. Quite the rude response in return. OP, please keep in mind that the most expensive software will still turn out fake looking images. If you cannot make something look real in DS, Poser, Carrara, Bryce... chances are there will be no improvement after you empty your bank account. Just advice, is all. There are plenty of tutorials, and the manual is also a great piece of valuable information. Don't get caught in the trap left by others, stating that the manual is out of date - even though it is... but only in regards to not covering the stuff that was added to Carrara 8 and now 8.5 beta. 3dage has valiantly helped people to understand some of those new features here, in this forum - but most of those have little to do with the realism of renders.

Anyways - Good luck

3DAGE

HI ingvarai :)

thanks :)

it's good to see you here again.

I remember watching "Asterix the Gaul" (cartoon) on TV as a kid, ...but I skipped the Gerard Depardieu film versions,.
I always wanted to make some of that potion. :)

you're also spot on about the importance of the Story line, rather than the realism,. I think it may be the experience of growing up watching cartoons, which were hand drawn by real people,. and told a simple story. ...but captivated my young imagination.

people watched for the story, rather than the "Awesome" realistic look of the characters.

:)

3DAGE

Hi Dartanbeck :)

you're right,. buying an expensive car won't make you a better driver.

those images were some of the first things I did here in Carrara, after finding it and the Daz site by accident,. ( I had been using 3D max) which comes with "no content at all" ..but some great tutorials to explain how to make your own models,. so,. I was looking for pre-made human figures, to save time,. then I found carrara,. had a look, and a play,. and realised that it's easier to use, with these pre-made figures, which max couldn't really handle well at that time (200 morphs per figure limit in max)

so I jumped into carrara.

for realism and comparison,. here's a pic from around the same time,. (when the elite textures were released)
..but going for a realistic look.

daz3d_9ff14f0c17

3DAGE said:

I remember watching "Asterix the Gaul" (cartoon) on TV as a kid, ...but I skipped the Gerard Depardieu film versions,.
...
people watched for the story, rather than the "Awesome" realistic look of the characters.

Yes, the cartoons are better than the movies. Drawing brilliant, but little worth without the good story.

I want to add a couple of comments on the Farao picture, the left side is perfect IMO, the beautifully decorated side wall, the dim fog and the slightly diffuse overall look - like a painting. What I like less is the multiple light sources on the right side, making the soldiers casting multiple shadows. These fight with the "early morning" effect that the left side has. Without multiple shadows for the soldiers, and withouth the lens flares, the impression of a beautiful painting would be perfect.

It must have been a lot of work to make it.
If you have a chance to render it again, I would love to use it as my PC wallpaper in my office :)

-Ingvar

Dartanbeck

3DAGE said:

so I jumped into carrara. ...and we are all glad that you did! :)
Not to take anything away from 3DS, but Carrara simply plays nicer with store bought content. Using Daz content was my aim all along - since I really want to make my movies all by myself, aside from the voice acting of Rosie. I'll need to bring the real Rosie on board for that.

for realism and comparison,. here's a pic from around the same time,. (when the elite textures were released)
..but going for a realistic look.

In my opinion, that is a really nice render. People can say what they want about Carrara's render engine - but when the day is done, it does a really, really nice job. Lighting and shaders. Here... I'll say that again: Lighting and shaders.
Lighting and shaders are what will either make your renders beautiful or something less than that. Let's face it, Carrara's shader functions are really quite vast. It's amazing how much you can actually accomplish without even bringing in an image map. I know that I irritate people with my love for Carrara. But it excites me to now own it. I consider myself relatively new to Carrara Pro - and feel that, even though I've barely scratched the surface of what can be achieved, I've come a long way towards reaching my goal - which isn't realism... but I've seen some amazingly realistic looking Carrara shots. If I practiced Carrara features more, I'm sure I could get real if I wanted to. Heck a lot of my renders have turned out fairly real by accident!

Hi Ingvar!
Good to see you again!
And I agree. It is a really cool picture. So how have your animation endeavors been going? I'm still Loving animation in Carrara. Now I even have a full set of animated Shaders for my main "Rosie" character for running around in the rain! Still doing my keyframing the same way, though... I remember you hated that... is C4D giving you a better time of it?

3DAGE

HI Ingvarai :)

I can't take credit for the set,. it was a Prop from here (kings pass) and it was part of the Platinum club "weekly render challenge"

http://www.daz3d.com/the-king-s-pass

I think the hardest part of making that image was learning how the replicators worked with dressed figures,. (they need to be grouped together, and the hotspot for the group needs to be adjusted,. before adding them to the replicator)

If I can find that scene,. I'll do a re-render in 8, or 8.5

Dartanbeck

3DAGE said:

(they need to be grouped together, and the hotspot for the group needs to be adjusted,. before adding them to the replicator)

Subtle correction - you can now change the hotpoint any time you like - replicants will change as you move the point.

Also, as 3dage was illustrating by showing that pic in the first place; I am amazed at how many figures can be replcated in this manner. For my Orcs, I simply import GoFigure aniBlocks - which include plenty of animation for a single clip, or three... and have several main base figures doing their thing in the foreground. Then I can replicate them until the whole scene is squished with snarling bad apples of evil intent. It's amazing how Carrara can let that one little girl, Rosie, kick the tar out of the lot of them. Well Carrara has the help of GoFigures Martial Arts packs. Those aniBlock kits are a blessing, aren't they? If I want to have hundreds of angry feet running through the woods with a hand held camera without stablization turned on, I can just go to Walk Styles or At the Park and import a block - NLA clip it, and slide the NLA clips around for the various main creatures, so their steps are naturally varied, yet still moving at the same speed - which can be changed neatly by stretching or shrinking the clip! Gotta love working in Carrara!

daz3d_9ff14f0c17

Dartanbeck said:

So how have your animation endeavors been going? I'm still Loving animation in Carrara. Now I even have a full set of animated Shaders for my main "Rosie" character for running around in the rain! Still doing my keyframing the same way, though... I remember you hated that... is C4D giving you a better time of it?

Hi Dartanbeck :)
Yes, C4D is my animation tool now. But I was insipred by your post here to finish a complex animation I made in Carrara. It is out of season, but I want to post it now and not wait until December.
I started a new thread, "Christmas Greetings" - you will find my video there.

-Ingvar