So Blender is the new pet software? How's Carrara doin' these days?

WsCG

Hi all,

Haven't been around in a little while. Last time I was here, it looked like DAZ had put their energies behind pushing development and support for Hexagon as part of the DS pipeline.

This time, it looks like Hexagon hasn't been updated in a long time, and now Blender is the new darling, with the DAZ-to-Blender bridge (which I got working for about 5 minutes, and haven't since... which I expect with DAZ's software by now, frankly). 

A little bit ironically, I just reinstalled Carrara 'cause I'm not liking Blender's direction lately. The program was already "everything and the kitchen sink", and yet they keep finding room to cram yet more stuff in. It's getting to be a bit much. I checked out Silo, but that program's missing so many basic functions/features it's actually embarassing (for them).

But anyway... How are the content creators here feeling about things lately? Is Carrara still doing it for you, in terms of creating stuff to use and/or sell for DAZ, Poser, etc?

WendyLuvsCatz

I mostly create stuff to use in Carrara myself  and jump through increasingly higher hoops to get the latest DAZ stuff into Carrara too 

I have Zbrush and still prefer Carrara 

WsCG

Yeah, it's nice when you have something you know is reliable and will work the way you expect it to. That's one benefit of DAZ not developing Carrara anymore. They can't break it if they're not working on it.

mschack

Cats everywhere!

WsCG

We're taking over!!!

Steve K

I've heard content sellers here at DAZ say their sales are almost all for DAZ Studio, and so they've given up on Poser and Carrara format.  Still some great vendors at other sites offering Poser content.  I long ago gave up on using DS content in Carrara, and in the last year or so have bought over 400 Poser format products for use in Carrara, about 75 here at DAZ (only four in the last couple of months), 340 elsewhere.

I tried Blender years ago and couldn't get comfortable with it (I'm not a modeler).

Reality1

TwoCats said:

Yeah, it's nice when you have something you know is reliable and will work the way you expect it to. That's one benefit of DAZ not developing Carrara anymore. They can't break it if they're not working on it.

It would be great to see someone who really knows the history of Carrara go in and fix the things that broke while DAZ was getting it compatible with Genesis. It's still the most intelligently designed and intuitive 3D app I've encountered. It's sad that the original (Ray Dream) dev team didn't get a chance to iron out all the glitches before it was passed along, they seemed to have a real vision for where they were going with Carrara. Still seems to have so much potential... Maybe DAZ will find someone who can integrate the best of Carrara and Studio. Not holding my breath though.

mschack

whispers "open source"...

Paintbox

Just a heads up that Blender has an LTS version, basically long term support that doesn't change much for use in projects : https://www.blender.org/download/lts/

I just saw Poser 12 released, any thoughts on that? I still own Poser 10 but not used it much.

tsarist

Steve K said:

I've heard content sellers here at DAZ say their sales are almost all for DAZ Studio, and so they've given up on Poser and Carrara format.  Still some great vendors at other sites offering Poser content.  I long ago gave up on using DS content in Carrara, and in the last year or so have bought over 400 Poser format products for use in Carrara, about 75 here at DAZ (only four in the last couple of months), 340 elsewhere.

Yeah, that has always bothered me. I ask vendors about Carrara and the SAY their sales are for Daz Studio, BUT how do they KNOW?

Up until 3 years ago, my main workhorse had been Cararra. It's still my animation workhorse. NO other software combines the power, ease of use, and boasts the abundance of resources that Carrara does. I was running Daz 2.3 too but not in any serious way.

So, when I would ask a vendor about Carrara or even making Poser versions and they tell me no one would buy it, I'm thinking "I would and I HAVE been buying those, as have all the other Carrara users." Up until 3 years ago. EVERY purchase I made was used exclusively in Carrara!

So, I ask again, how do they KNOW? I say they do not know.

I too buy Poser content from other sites, because that loads better into Carrara. I DO buy some Daz stuff for Carrara, but it's very hit or miss on how easy it loads. Some stuff, like Stonemason's loads easier, others not so much.

WendyLuvsCatz

I am still using the new content in Carrara, it just takes more work, I think therein lies the problem, DAZ assumes I am using it in studio, if not in Carrara then I use iClone or Unreal, not studio as much except as an exporter.

Sci Fi Funk

Carrara is the software I use to construct scenes, model and render a still. It has been my animation software as well from approx 2011.

However with Twinmotion now hooked into the Unreal pipeline, I will be using that for simple animations as it renders so fast. Ultimately I will start using Unreal as well, as it has better animation and camera movements. 

However I render with the Octane plug-in whereever possible as it is faster than Carrara's builtin render and (to my eye at least - I don't want to start a render engine debate), the more accurate render engine.

Daz is used to export and entire set to Twinmotion, and in part to Carrara. Some stuff in the DAZ store is still made for Poser Format.

So in summary my 3D world is a more fragmented place since 2011, but I'm happy with the progress. I would welcome further development for Carrara, and it's still my favroutie 3D program even in 2021.

 

magaremoto

the only way to help carrara staying alive and kicking is to make and publish a short, like blender (or unity) does. The daz universe has almost evrything to get a satisfactory outcome and, may like it or not, DS would be a great addition to carrara to accomplish this aim. As for the render engine, due to the fusion of inifini-d and raydream, the built-in is incredibly versatile and powerful and, as a gigantic added value, it can render on many machines effectively from the beginning. Actually I have scenes that take few minutes or even seconds to render in a realistic way. Moreover the shader and the animation departments are very clever and easy to understand IMO. Of course carrara lacks of many features but generally speaking only few softwares can overcome it even at the present time

Diomede

I am much less hostile to Blender since they allowed for the more user-friendly interface.

I still prefer Carrara because I am so familiar with how to use it.

Over time, I am sure I will use Carrara less as I learn to use other programs for certain features.  For example, I can save a lot of time by UVMapping complex models in anything other than Carrara.

Mistara

cant say i not intrigued by blender retopology.

but for animation, carrara all the way!!

i'm much less addicted to made for daz studio content. lack of store content does not discourage me from carrara.  if i really need to, will import as obj files.

have all the human figures i want or need.may buy a nice character skin or outfit sometimes.
beauty of carrara hair has spoiled me for my hair fetish.
redoing my whole runtime, installing very few vertex extra lovely hairs

Steve K

Sci Fi Funk said:

Carrara is the software I use to construct scenes, model and render a still. It has been my animation software as well from approx 2011.

Same here.   I don't model since there are so many great vendors selling very high quality Poser format items for very affordable prices (almost always under $10 on sale).  But I do use the modelling features to modify purchased models.  One recent item used Poser only features to get a texture onto a part of the model.  That part was not a separate shading domain in Carrara, but I selected the polys and created a new domain, then just kept trying Carrara's many shading features ("Pattern Function:Wires"!) and ended up with a better texture than the original.  Another item needed a tunnel thru the wall, so a cube stretched out and poking thru ... 

WsCG

 

Paintbox said:

Just a heads up that Blender has an LTS version, basically long term support that doesn't change much for use in projects : https://www.blender.org/download/lts/

I just saw Poser 12 released, any thoughts on that? I still own Poser 10 but not used it much.

For Carrara, I really really really want to love the software. It does so much I want to do, and I love the setup. There's just some kind of weird "it" that keeps me from falling into it completely. And I can't pinpoint what that "it" is.

I just reinstalled Blender 2.79b - the last of the 279 series.
My fingers just know exactly where to fall in that version, I know where everything is, and it "makes sense". That series' interface is the only one I've felt comfortable with. I could never get to like the previous interfaces. I've tried, over and over, to get used to 2.8 and 2.9. I can't get myself to like it.  Every time they add more and more features, it makes it worse.

I just dropped the required .cubin files for my RTX card into the correct folder, so it has full Cycles support.
 

Sci Fi Funk

@Steve K 

 But I do use the modelling features to modify purchased models.  

Oh yes. You are preaching to the converted brother. There's so many great textures and props that come with the various sets that it's a kitbashers heaven out there!

Mistara

i'd really like to learn how to do the deemolition physics.  how they smash down a brick wall?

mschack

In Carrara?  Just go to the motion tab for each object you want to react and select 'Physics' for the Motion type.  Then just simulate by pressing 'simulate physics' icon button in the top left corner. (shortest physics tutorial ever!)