So... Why Carrara, and Why Howler?
Dartanbeck
Posts: 21,236
Why am I so incredibly sold on using Carrara?
Simply put, once I've discovered how easy it can be to use DAZ 3D's exquisite human (or other) figures to shoot any sort of picture that I want, I've also discovered how fun and simple it can be to animate them. However, in doing so, I have quickly come to the conclusion that, having the ability to easily 3D model in the same application which I am animating in is really essential to pull off the semi-realistic style that I am shooting for. Not simply to correct problems, like poke-through... but also to add morphs of my own to figures and their supporting models, on-the-fly, so to speak. Meaning: I may not need to perform any of this for a good portion of my project, but then find that, after getting involved in a particular animation, I need the collar of a jacket to flap, or I need his eyebrows to move in a way that is currently unavailable to me, I can do this in the same software, rather than putting everything on hold and transferring (or attempting to) a vastly morphed figure back and forth, without breaking the ability to continue using the rest of the morphs.
Carrara may not be entirely caught up in this department with the latest and greatest Genesis line of DAZ 3D figures yet, but it can still handle a good amount of Genesis work, but also has full capabilities with the previous generation of DAZ 3D figures, like M4, Freak 4, Aiko 4, Victoria 4, etc., etc., etc., all of whom are still amazing morphing, fully rigged figures with a massive host of support products. As a matter of fact, the current market has better-suited support for 'my needs' in the generation 4 line, than what still is not available for Genesis. But that line is growing very quickly, and so I look forward to the day when DAZ's Carrara does catch up and offer better support for the DAZ format (currently, we're much better of using Poser format versions of products, except when it comes to the newer Genesis and DAZ animal lines of products), because the new technology used in the new DAZ figure lineup is intensely wonderful and provides much more ease and flexibility towards our own shapes of characters that we need, without much added fuss or difficulty.
So switching over to Carrara has given me all of the power I needed in the 3D modeling that I was after, while offering the ease of native Poser support - something I failed to find in any other app. But there was SO much more to it that that, once I got my feet wet!
I was used to the idea of keeping scenes very close up and finite in Poser and DS. They can, perhaps, handle larger scenes, but manipulating the camera is nowhere near as effective or efficient as it is in Carrara, which can render distant 3D assets stunningly fast, rather than having to rely upon a billboard - a single polygon plane with an image pasted onto it. So in Carrara, I can actually use a 3D Carrara tree that is rustling in the wind, which can add an amazing amount of satisfaction to the rendered animation.
Learning to animate 3D scenes, I also found myself realizing that it becomes incredibly import to NOT try and shoot too long of a sequence all at once. It's much more efficient and visually appealing in the end result, if we shoot shorter pieces of the story, and stitch them together in the movie editor later. I spent a few years learning my preferred defaults for lighting and camera arrangements, character templates, building filming stages and many other elements in preparation for what's coming next. I was very focused on Carrara and its abilities (rather, my abilities within it! LOL) and saving my assets into Carrara format in the browser, and less so on the movie editing process. So I have been trying to make my renders turn out being ready for the movie editor, lacking a need for any sort of post work cleanup and/or editing prior to that final stitching together. evilproducer truly opened my eyes toward the benefits of simple post work, and the amazing possibilities of much more scrutinizing. I am but a single person - as opposed to a studio that can afford high-end Adobe (or other) animation post work editing software. But wait... I remember seeing a digital painter at DAZ 3D that boasted having animation capabilities. The name is so cool, I'd never forget that: Project Dogwaffle!
So in going back and reading up a bit about Dogwaffle it was the Pro version: "Howler" that I would need for my animation needs. So I watched a pile of their free video tutorials at the pdhowler YouTube channel, and decided that it should work well for what I wanted to try doing and also that the developers were such cool people that I wanted to jump on board for that fact as well... I want to support this insanely awesome project!
As it turns out, Howler is set up much more to my needs than I had initially felt that I needed. Just as Carrara was so much more than I thought I was getting. Howler is not made to edit movies, but is totally set up to work with bits and pieces - the way I render them. Instead of adding hours and hours to a render, where I'd really like to have an apparent depth-of-field, I can easy and very quickly apply the effect I need in Howler. But then I can do much more, too, like color grading, lens flares, specific blurs and other effects - each of which can be animated, as can be the area that is effected. Magnificent!
Very soon, I am hoping to release some video presentations on my workflow in all of this. I use Howler to correct render imperfections that would previously have me scrapping the render and trying again. I used to try and perform all of my special effects directly within Carrara. I plan to demonstrate some of those techniques as well, but further, I will also show my newer methods of using Howler and Carrara together, back and forth, to really get a lot done in perfecting the look that I'm aiming for.
I also plan to come back here and add to this subject. But for now I've babbled long enough.
So until then, Happy Rendering!
Dartanbeck
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Comments
looking forward to it !
I couldnt read the rest of the post because I read with my lips moving and they were getting sore by banging against my teeth :)
looking forward to it !
I couldnt read the rest of the post because I read with my lips moving and they were getting sore by banging against my teeth :)LOL!!!
I love you, man!
I love you, man!
Loving headwax is the first step on the slippery path to destruction. You must resist, man! For you your own sake. Resist!! Who is that man behind the curtain? It's headwax. Headwax is the Wizard of Aus.
Heh, heh. Sorry. I just couldn't resist. :)
I love you, man!
... Headwax is the Wizard of Aus.
Heh, heh. Sorry. I just couldn't resist. :)
Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't you forget an, "N" in there somewhere? ;-P
Heh, heh, Sorry, butt I really couldn't resist!
... Headwax is the Wizard of Aus.
Heh, heh. Sorry. I just couldn't resist. :)
Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't you forget an, "N" in there somewhere? ;-P
Heh, heh, Sorry, butt I really couldn't resist!
You calling me a 'butt'. Them's fightin' words. :)
... Headwax is the Wizard of Aus.
Heh, heh. Sorry. I just couldn't resist. :)
Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't you forget an, "N" in there somewhere? ;-P
Heh, heh, Sorry, butt I really couldn't resist!
You calling me a 'butt'. Them's fightin' words. :)
I wouldn't get to upset. I implied headwax was from Anus. ;-)
Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't you forget an, "N" in there somewhere? ;-P
Heh, heh, Sorry, butt I really couldn't resist!
You calling me a 'butt'. Them's fightin' words. :)
I wouldn't get to upset. I implied headwax was from Anus. ;-)
As long as it's not "Uranus', evil. Now that would be baaad.
signed headwax, wizard of aus ;)
Oooooh... Kaaaaaaay....
I like this sentence too. I think you need more pictures though for us people who like graphics :)