Future of Carrara

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  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    I think Jonstark's experiments with dynamic hair and Stringtheory's experiments with softbody clothing may open up great opportunities for innovative use of Carrara even with its existing tools. I can't wait to see what folks like Antara, Headwax, SukyL, and too many others to name can do with an expanded toolset. And they often do stills, I am also excited to see what the folks at Carrarators come up with for animations.

    Even with no Carrara 9, the medium term future of Carrara is likely to include a lot of wonderful innovation.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,543
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    Always interesting to see people doing something a bit different with Carrara - great examples that wouldn't take too much polishing to look very classy.
    I agree entirely ;)
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,543
    edited December 1969


    Finally, he convinced me, and he went with me to an introductory class where you actually go underwater. Well, I was hooked. It was wonderful. Quiet, relaxing, beautiful fish. Just awesome. Since then I've been addicted.
    Awesome!
    ...and this relates well to Carrara for me. When I first joined this forum, I didn't have Carrara yet, and already learned that I won't be wanting to make my own models with the vertex modeler or use the global illumination, especially with indirect light. They were taboo all over the forums then. Cripeman's wonderfully positive attitude, along with reinforcements from McGuyver introduced the idea of how utterly incorrect those fears were. That's just a small example, too.

    It's no secret that I really love using Carrara. This applies to every darned little thing in it, it seems. Phil's Infinite Skills Video Courses are an excellent way to get inspired into using more parts of Carrara than I've done up to that point. Carrara is so vast. I could get deep into my endeavors without ever touching the majority of what it has to offer. I found it absolutely amazing at what all can be done just with materials in the Texture Room. Learning professional lighting techniques through Jeremy Birn's Digital Lighting and Rendering (third edition) has taken my work on materials to a whole new level - even though I've already felt a strong grasp on lighting previously.

    Taking that plunge to delve deeper and deeper into new levels, even if we might not think we'll want to use them, can become addicting and can even make everything we do much better, easier, and faster.

  • ckalan1ckalan1 Posts: 88
    edited December 1969

    I hope the guys at DAZ are just about ready to release version 9 with all the modern amenities. Out of all the 3d programs out there Carrara is still my favorite.

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited December 1969

    I think that with Carrara 9, we all just have to BELIEVE.

    As the great philosopher Dorothy once said:

    "Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
    There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
    Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,
    And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

    :) :) :)

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited February 2015

    Yeah, Glum....I had forgotten about him.

    Here's my $.02 philosophy on optimism and pessimism.

    People tend to view things in rather simplistic terms sometimes. Be optimistic and hopeful. That's better than being pessimistic.

    Well, IMO, yes and no. Especially when you're talking about EXPECTATIONS.

    There's irrational pessimism. And rational pessimism. And rational optimism. And irrational optimism.

    Glum is irrational pessimism. Always negative, even if there's a good chance he's wrong.

    But then there's rational pessimism. That's when you're riding your motorcycle at 100 miles an hour, and you realize that only 5 feet ahead of you is a 500 foot dropoff into the Grand Canyon. And there's no way to stop. So you say, "Wow, this is gonna hurt". :) That's rational pessimism. When the chances are 100% that you'll have a bad day. Can't really fault someone for rational pessimism.

    Bad example, but you get the point.

    Now optimism, on the other hand, is good if it's rational optimism. You can hope that a flying pig will pass by and when you fly off the edge of the Grand Canyon it will catch you, but that's irrational optimism. Pigs don't fly. Yeah, I can fault someone for irrational optimism. Why? Cuz it often leads to huge disappointment. If you keep hoping something which is highly unlikely will actually happen, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead of hanging on and hoping a flying pig will catch you, choose to be optimistic about something more rational. Be optimistic you can jump off the bike in time, before you go flying off the cliff.

    I prefer "rational optimism". Choose to be optimistic about things that are reasonably likely. Choose the smart things to be optimistic about. Things that make sense. But not just optimism for the sake of optimism.

    And don't expect much in general, and that way when good stuff DOES happen you'll be pleasantly surprised. Better than being disappointed, IMO.

    So don't expect Carrara 9, IMO. That way, if it DOES happen, think how pleasantly surprised you'll be. And when it doesn't happen, you won't be disappointed. Focus on something else instead. Be optimistic about stuff you can be optimistic about.

    Now, when you're talking about personal happiness, IMO, irrational optimism is the key. Choose to be happy. Even if life looks the bleakest, CHOOSE to be happy.

    Wow, all of this philosophy at no extra charge... :) :) and that's about what it's worth... :) :)

    Post edited by JoeMamma2000 on
  • That Other PersonaThat Other Persona Posts: 381
    edited February 2015

    Back in the day Calvin and Hobbes ran a strip where Calvin delightfully stated that the secret to happiness is to lower your expectations to the point where they are already met.

    Who would've known thought Calvin was a Carrara user? Chuckle.

    Post edited by That Other Persona on
  • starboardstarboard Posts: 452
    edited December 1969

    Joe,
    That is quite a colorful definition on pessimism and optimism - I hope I can remember it when the opportunity comes up in a conversation. - ( I do cite sources) . Since I like to think I am a realist, that is a rational pessimist on my left hand and a rational optimist on my right hand..Which works out great seeing that I am right handed. However, I hope you don't mind if I make a small, well intentioned and humored suggest...In your message icon on the upper left, if you would turn one of the thumbs down it would, in my opinion, be consistent with your philosophy. Keep the smile as it shows which one you favor. Sorry, Joe I could not resist it.

    There have been so many good posts on this thread with much to think about.It is really interesting to see how the thread winds and turns as each posts brings a different perspective. We are lucky to have a forum like this.

    Starboardtack

  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited December 1969

    When it comes to Carrara 9 I am a little of both - I am pretty certain (optimistic) that there will be a Carrara 9. But I am limiting my expectations (pessimistic) about what new features and enhancements it may contain - I hope I will be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime, there is a lot to be grateful for - new Luxrender and Octane renderers for Carrara, and Luxcore on the horizon. New Zmodeller in Zbrush, which together with GoZ for Carrara gives access to some wonderful modelling tools. Life is good!

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited December 1969

    I wish I could be optimistic on Carrara 9. I really do.

    But since the feature-less 8.5 beta just came out, I assume it still will be a while before the associated production version will be released. And that's just for an 8.5 update with virtually no new features.

    So if you figure that any Carrara 9, if it would have any substantial features/improvements, would have an associated beta period lasting, well, maybe a year or two if recent history is a guide, then even an optimistic person would have trouble expecting a finished C9 before maybe the end of next year or something.

    But my rational optimist says, well....I'm just not holding out much hope.

  • edited December 1969

    I just wish they would fully support Genesis and Genesis 2.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    My rational pessimism leads me to believe that there will be a Carrara 8.8 in the not too distant future (perhaps called Carrara 9), in which few new features are added and only a few bug fixes. Instead, Carrara will be made capable of loading, posing, and rendering Genesis 3 male and female characters and their content, although not with the shaders translated as designed for Studio 5.

    The reason that I believe that there will be Genesis 3 figures in the not too distant future (and therefore a Carrara update to use them) is that I would think that they will want to issue a figure designed from the start for 3D printing, in addition to the general tendency to issue new figures with updated rigging and morphing features.

    Hopefully, in issuing Carrara 8.8 they will also address some other low hanging fruit bugs (like the normals for the duplicate with symmetry that got fixed in the latest beta).

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited December 1969

    Yeah, I think you're right to some extent.

    Since they are a content company, they need to constantly generate interest to get people to buy more content. And there's just so many clothes and objects you can sell for a particular figure.

    So a relatively easy way to generate an entirely new market is to introduce new characters that require new cloths and accessories. That's why Genesis exists, IMO. So we'll see what comes next. :) :)

  • That Other PersonaThat Other Persona Posts: 381
    edited February 2015

    If they would fix the physics engine so that my block house doesn't explode immediately upon starting the render . . . I want it to get smashed by the 10-meter bouncing pumpkin . . . then I would be happy.

    Gotta watch out for those bouncing pumpkins!

    Post edited by That Other Persona on
  • PhilWPhilW Posts: 5,145
    edited December 1969

    If they would fix the physics engine so that my block house doesn't explode immediately upon starting the render . . . I want it to get smashed by the 10-meter bouncing pumpkin . . . then I would be happy.

    Gotta watch out for those bouncing pumpkins!

    Try to build it so that there is a very small gap between each block to ensure that none are overlapping, that is most likely what is causing your explosion.

  • bertmgbertmg Posts: 3
    edited December 1969

    Eyos said:
    Hi Ken,

    DAZ launched a new website, and Carrara is not mentioned in a place that people can find it.
    If you don't know it exists and intentionally look for it - you won't see it. That says a lot.

    As for Reality plugin: there is a similar product for Carrara which is called Luxus:
    http://www.daz3d.com/luxus-for-carrara
    Both Reality and Luxsus connect to Lux render, which does the actual render.


    CORRECT!... can someone from Daz3d please tell what is the REAL future of Carrara?

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,987
    edited December 1969

    If carrara had no future would they tell us? And if they did tell us that, who would by happier for that data? Better not to know... That way we might be happily unsurprised

  • JedilawJedilaw Posts: 17
    edited December 1969

    I'd be very surprised if there were no future plans for Carrara. If they were letting it fade away they wouldn't invest in creating new beta versions. After all, when was the last time they updated Bryce 7 or Hexagon 2? While Carrara is moving very slowly in terms of incremental improvements, it is still a lot more current than either of those two programs.

  • NexySaloonNexySaloon Posts: 71
    edited December 1969

    Carrara animates like a dream and the frames render FAST

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    If they would fix the physics engine so that my block house doesn't explode immediately upon starting the render . . . I want it to get smashed by the 10-meter bouncing pumpkin . . . then I would be happy.

    Gotta watch out for those bouncing pumpkins!

    Try to build it so that there is a very small gap between each block to ensure that none are overlapping, that is most likely what is causing your explosion.

    And crank down Collision Distance, and crank up Geometric Fidelity. If the blocks are starting out closer than the collision distance setting, the simulator will try to push them apart.

    Also, you can turn "gravity" on whenever you want by keyframing a directional force that simulates gravity, instead of using the default gravity.

  • DUDUDUDU Posts: 1,945
    edited December 1969

    PhilW said:
    If they would fix the physics engine so that my block house doesn't explode immediately upon starting the render . . . I want it to get smashed by the 10-meter bouncing pumpkin . . . then I would be happy.

    Gotta watch out for those bouncing pumpkins!

    Try to build it so that there is a very small gap between each block to ensure that none are overlapping, that is most likely what is causing your explosion.

    And crank down Collision Distance, and crank up Geometric Fidelity. If the blocks are starting out closer than the collision distance setting, the simulator will try to push them apart.

    Also, you can turn "gravity" on whenever you want by keyframing a directional force that simulates gravity, instead of using the default gravity.

    For rigid bodies simulations, uses preferably the Standard engine, it is much more stable during all the simulation (not at the beginning only).
    I made a small demo here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPIfkECLoas

    If you put a soft body in the same scene, convert your simulation of rigid bodies into keyframes.
    There are a few exemples in this short : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjX-0Fd61AM

  • That Other PersonaThat Other Persona Posts: 381
    edited December 1969

    As always, thanks for the tips everyone. There is always so much to learn with Carrara.

  • DADA_universeDADA_universe Posts: 336
    edited December 1969

    So I read this post on tech trends to watch out for in 2015, where it said:

    Smart virtual personal assistants
    Here’s another one that’s been around for a few years, and is now gaining some serious traction—because yet again, it’s getting smarter. We’ve all met Siri, and we all remember her initial limitations. But smart virtual personal assistants (SVPAs) are now learning what we need before we even have to ask (maybe before we’re even aware that we need it). This one also made NPR’s list of “The 2014 tech trends we’ll still be talking about next year,” in which it notes that we’ll get so tired of inputting data manually that we’ll start using our voices instead. Of course, that’s something many of us have already had the ability to do for a while—however, it hasn’t always been the fastest or most accurate method. Now that’s all changing, and it will likely reach the point where our SVPAs require very little, if any, direction from us at all.

    and it struck me that Carrara does indeed have a future.

    Carrara 9 will respond to voice prompts and will have a digital assistant. She'll be called Carrie and she'll be very smart and nimble. Say you want to pose V4 wearing a leather jacket, after launching Carrara, you start by saying: Load V4. Carrie responds by saying: V4 loading... And the conversation continues like this:

    You: Pose V4......

    Carrie: How would you want V4 posed? In a casual-girl-next-door-smiling benignly kinda way or something more sultry? Do you want V4 with all morphs loaded or is there a particular set of morphs you want me to load? How about skin shaders? Remember the really nice set of skin shaders we came up with last week? It would be fun to use that set again....

    You: Whoa....slow down Carrie, you're getting way ahead of yourself.

    Carrie: Sorry love, I'm just so excited that you're about to create new art.....

  • Rashad CarterRashad Carter Posts: 1,799
    edited December 1969

    So I read this post on tech trends to watch out for in 2015, where it said:

    Smart virtual personal assistants
    Here’s another one that’s been around for a few years, and is now gaining some serious traction—because yet again, it’s getting smarter. We’ve all met Siri, and we all remember her initial limitations. But smart virtual personal assistants (SVPAs) are now learning what we need before we even have to ask (maybe before we’re even aware that we need it). This one also made NPR’s list of “The 2014 tech trends we’ll still be talking about next year,” in which it notes that we’ll get so tired of inputting data manually that we’ll start using our voices instead. Of course, that’s something many of us have already had the ability to do for a while—however, it hasn’t always been the fastest or most accurate method. Now that’s all changing, and it will likely reach the point where our SVPAs require very little, if any, direction from us at all.

    and it struck me that Carrara does indeed have a future.

    Carrara 9 will respond to voice prompts and will have a digital assistant. She'll be called Carrie and she'll be very smart and nimble. Say you want to pose V4 wearing a leather jacket, after launching Carrara, you start by saying: Load V4. Carrie responds by saying: V4 loading... And the conversation continues like this:

    You: Pose V4......

    Carrie: How would you want V4 posed? In a casual-girl-next-door-smiling benignly kinda way or something more sultry? Do you want V4 with all morphs loaded or is there a particular set of morphs you want me to load? How about skin shaders? Remember the really nice set of skin shaders we came up with last week? It would be fun to use that set again....

    You: Whoa....slow down Carrie, you're getting way ahead of yourself.

    Carrie: Sorry love, I'm just so excited that you're about to create new art.....

    Carrie sounds hot! Yes, bring us some Carrie!

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    Bad enough reading it on the screen - imagine hearing "An error has occurred!" in a fake American accent. Too ghastly to contemplate :)

  • DADA_universeDADA_universe Posts: 336
    edited December 1969

    Roygee said:
    Bad enough reading it on the screen - imagine hearing "An error has occurred!" in a fake American accent. Too ghastly to contemplate :)

    :ahhh:

  • DADA_universeDADA_universe Posts: 336
    edited March 2015

    So I read this post on tech trends to watch out for in 2015, where it said:

    Smart virtual personal assistants
    Here’s another one that’s been around for a few years, and is now gaining some serious traction—because yet again, it’s getting smarter. We’ve all met Siri, and we all remember her initial limitations. But smart virtual personal assistants (SVPAs) are now learning what we need before we even have to ask (maybe before we’re even aware that we need it). This one also made NPR’s list of “The 2014 tech trends we’ll still be talking about next year,” in which it notes that we’ll get so tired of inputting data manually that we’ll start using our voices instead. Of course, that’s something many of us have already had the ability to do for a while—however, it hasn’t always been the fastest or most accurate method. Now that’s all changing, and it will likely reach the point where our SVPAs require very little, if any, direction from us at all.

    and it struck me that Carrara does indeed have a future.

    Carrara 9 will respond to voice prompts and will have a digital assistant. She'll be called Carrie and she'll be very smart and nimble. Say you want to pose V4 wearing a leather jacket, after launching Carrara, you start by saying: Load V4. Carrie responds by saying: V4 loading... And the conversation continues like this:

    You: Pose V4......

    Carrie: How would you want V4 posed? In a casual-girl-next-door-smiling benignly kinda way or something more sultry? Do you want V4 with all morphs loaded or is there a particular set of morphs you want me to load? How about skin shaders? Remember the really nice set of skin shaders we came up with last week? It would be fun to use that set again....

    You: Whoa....slow down Carrie, you're getting way ahead of yourself.

    Carrie: Sorry love, I'm just so excited that you're about to create new art.....

    Carrie sounds hot! Yes, bring us some Carrie!

    Oh, yes! Just had a thought, and one gets in trouble for having those things from time to time. I know there's been an attempt to launch a community animation project here which didn't quite work out for some reason, but I think this forum is ripe for a community project, much like Blender had Sintel, but probably not that long, could be short but really nicely done, like Wes Ball's Ruin, or the more sedate Francis by Richard Hickey.
    Maybe the script, the team, etc is all selected through a nomination process and through polls. So if you're nominated and can't put in the time, you can opt out and nominate someone else to replace you. And maybe people can volunteer for other roles- Business development, PR and Publicity, etc. I suspect that if there is strong organization and traction gained over a short time, Daz might support this, given how they've consistently supported the monthly Carrara challenge. It might be possible to get Nvidia, Otoy and other related organizations to support with hardware / software or whatever as well, since it will be a not for profit / showcase project.

    Like I suggested on this thread before, I strongly believe that if a decent team is assembled and funded to work on a slightly ambitious Carrara project, we'll be pleasantly surprised at the outcome if well managed. I'm not sure Maya had much more than Carrara's current tool set at the time Blue was made. And being a community project, it should come with copious tutorials and blog posts too, every inch of the way, in the tradition being championed by Sci-Fi Funk.

    So yes, bring on some more Carrie? Maybe the community project could be about Carrie and a Carrara animator and an adventure they have together, sort of like Alan Becker's [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npTC6b5-yvM]Animator vs Animation series I was tickled by Stezza's blending of his characters / props into the Carrara interface in his WIP posts during last year's September challenge and find it inspiring as to how a short film project like this would be really cool for showcasing Carrara (quite literally by taking you straight into the UI) and what it can do while still being superbly entertaining.

    Like others have said here before, even if Carrara 9 is never released, given what it's already capable of, Carrara still has a strong future which will be defined by what we decide to do with it.

    Phew, this must be the highest number of links I've ever fed into one post, it was fun doing it though, I got to re-watch some of my favourite animated shorts!

    Post edited by DADA_universe on
  • TangoAlphaTangoAlpha Posts: 4,584
    edited December 1969

    Roygee said:
    Bad enough reading it on the screen - imagine hearing "An error has occurred!" in a fake American accent. Too ghastly to contemplate :)

    Remember Max Headroom? ;)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt56RMbpq_0

  • JoeMamma2000JoeMamma2000 Posts: 2,615
    edited December 1969

    I know there's been an attempt to launch a community animation project here which didn't quite work out for some reason, but I think this forum is ripe for a community project, much like Blender had

    Community projects here have come and gone almost on a regular schedule, but they never quite get off the ground. And I think the reason is clear....a lot of people like the *thought* of a cool video being produced by the members, but when it comes down to the practical aspects of actually DOING it, it becomes too much like work. It requires a strong leader and vision and consensus and teamwork and a bunch of other stuff that's definitely no fun. Not much different from professional projects. But most folks are here to play with software, and aren't really attuned to focusing on a difficult project and making it happen.

    Which isn't to say that a community video here will never happen. It's just, IMO, about as likely as seeing a pig fly in your window and handing you a winning lottery ticket. :) :) :) :)

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