United3dArtists Archive

Hi

Does anyone here have any experience with Carrara?
I would especially like to hear of experiences from former Truespace users who have switched over - how do you like the UI?

Since I have some free version off version 6.2 Pro (came with 3D artist several times) I was thinking of giving it a try. Does anyone know how and if it differs much from the current version, version 8?
The price for Carrara 8 is actually humane, something you can't say of most 3D software....

Last - have there been any free/newspaper versions of Carrara 7 and is it possible to make some update price from any version?

I have had a look at Carrara a few times, getting it free in magazines etc. I've also purchased the upgrade to Carrara 8 Pro they were selling a at crazy price (150 bucks or something).

Carrara definitely isn't my favourite app gui wise, I just don't like the rooms business. The renderer is nice quality if you crank the settings (and know what you're doing, which admittedly I don't), however it can be very slow.

Carrara also has a few other things going for it. It's easy to learn, and does have some nice features like mesh painting, and with a cheap plugin you can bake textures, lights etc. into the mesh. This is something I always wanted truespace to do. It also has a nicely laid out and powerful shaders panel, however this is in a "room" also, something that annoys me.

I also respect the fact that while Daz obviously only want Carrara to help them sell more content, they are definitely making steady improvements to Carrara without throwing out all of the stuff that users like already. This is something I wish hadn't happened to truespace. The new Bullet physics feature also looks very promising, there are some nice videos showing it in action on youube.

In short, I haven't "moved" to Carrara, but it's a nice all round app, at a very cheap price right now, that's also relatively easy to learn - if not a bit annoying to use in some ways.

I got it recently too with an upgrade to 7 with free upgrade to 8.
I'd agree with benjii in that the UI leaves a lot to be desired. Point editing is so much easier in truespace and even in hexagon except it crashes way too much.

There are some great features too like the ability to put together trees and plants, sky generation and animation and I like the way you can create textures and build up layers, each with its unique bump and alpha settings.

The other good thing about Carrara is it supports PC/mac and 32 or 64-bit as well.

Things like subdivision isn't so intuitive but looks great once you get it working. I guess it's like anything else in that it depends on how much effort you put into it.

If TrueSpace was still being developed, I'd not have considered Carrara but it isn't and Carrara is so that swayed it for me. There are also loads of, both cheap and expensive, plugins and also loads of models in their store you can buy as well.

Differences between 6 and 8? hard to say. I've only messed with the very basics and I am sure there are loads of changes. The UI is consistent between them at least

spyfrog wrote: Last - have there been any free/newspaper versions of Carrara 7 and is it possible to make some update price from any version?

What are the features of the last versions that you absolutly need ?
I for one only see one for me thats the Collada export that now also includes other objects then characters.......
Carrara doesnt change anything in what you are doing now and struggeling with.......
Same poly based modeling that Truespace is too !You might as well continue with Truespace model side.
It will still work for many years to come.
I told you some time go what would dramatically speed up your modeling and fits your modeling style a lot more.
You just got to learn how(and that takes time..... dont just open an application and close it again).I told you I would help you and that works with the trials so your not going to have to sell
one of your organs.... (it just requires some time..)
Put 3d Coat on top of that and a standalone render engine like ie Thea and you get your trains on track in less then a week !
The 2 hassels that you avoid that way are booleans going out of wack what is normal for poly... and the time consuming Uv mapping
which is probably the biggest pain....
The way the people work with Cad like software and nurbs software is the way most wanted Truespace to work..... make a cylinder ad it to a box ad that to another box .. soften the corners and so on. Working with polys is different its starting with a block or a poly and constantly adding faces or subdividing to get higher detail...
not to mention making holes is not just booleaning them away in poly based software.....
2 different worlds !
Peter

The last cover disc version available was version 6.2. I upgraded to 7 from there but won't be going to 8 anytime soon. Too many other things to learn.....

Good hunting.

Try to do something like that easily with any of the poly based software including pretty high end ones.... ! (in 5 minutes!)
That includes Carrara too !
The Ui isnt everything ......most important is your modeling style !
Peter

I stayed with Carrara 6.2, I only use it to as an assemby room and renderer so there's no great benifit for me to upgrade, ok the post pro tools would be nice and png support, the crashing with big scenes is a pain but I don't do them that often to feel the need to dig deep and upgrade
A number of people have called it the poor man's Vue, which I guess is true in some respects.

Its also easy to end up on the DAZ money chain, some of the pre made content in the store is crap, specially buildings, Rayman's fence is more advanced lol

nigec wrote: Rayman's fence is more advanced lol

Its just an example of a boolean union of planks with subtraction of a second shape on top of it.....
wait till i animate it ...... a running fence !

No serious now...... I made this suspension the same as on your carriage Spyfrog and painted it in 3d Coat.
You want to get something that makes it easier for you not the same thing you had problems with last already..
Carrara is the same wine in a different hose...
Peter

vi ... 5&start=10"

RAYMAN wrote:

spyfrog wrote: Last - have there been any free/newspaper versions of Carrara 7 and is it possible to make some update price from any version?

What are the features of the last versions that you absolutly need ?
I for one only see one for me thats the Collada export that now also includes other objects then characters.......
Carrara doesnt change anything in what you are doing now and struggeling with.......
Same poly based modeling that Truespace is too !You might as well continue with Truespace model side.
It will still work for many years to come.
I told you some time go what would dramatically speed up your modeling and fits your modeling style a lot more.
You just got to learn how(and that takes time..... dont just open an application and close it again).I told you I would help you and that works with the trials so your not going to have to sell
one of your organs.... (it just requires some time..)
Put 3d Coat on top of that and a standalone render engine like ie Thea and you get your trains on track in less then a week !
The 2 hassels that you avoid that way are booleans going out of wack what is normal for poly... and the time consuming Uv mapping
which is probably the biggest pain....
The way the people work with Cad like software and nurbs software is the way most wanted Truespace to work..... make a cylinder ad it to a box ad that to another box .. soften the corners and so on. Working with polys is different its starting with a block or a poly and constantly adding faces or subdividing to get higher detail...
not to mention making holes is not just booleaning them away in poly based software.....
2 different worlds !
Peter

I tried to use Moi as you suggested but it wasn't really my thing. Additionally I couldn't really try it more than a couple of times before the trial expired (the trial is for 30 days but I can't do 3D more than a couple of hours each week at best so 30 days is little time for me) and in my opinion so is $295 quite much money for software that I haven't really tried. I didn't get Mois UI in the time I had to try it.

My question about Carrara was more about that I saw a new version was released and I wanted to know if anyone had changed and how they liked it - it is one of the few affordable packages out there. My question about what had changed was since they don't say so much on Daz site about that - any comparison is also between version 7 and 8 and the version I have to try is 6.

I wasn't really asking for an explanation to why I should stay clear of polygons for the reminder my life.
To make things easier I will refrain from posting here for some time until I can learn how to express myself better so that everyone understand me and when I understand what you other mean.

Thank you all for your answers. Have a nice summer.

I do this kind of work with Adobe Illustrator, then import it to moi3d and convert nurbs to polygones if i need to finish the work in Truespace for the render or animation. It is better than import Illustrator (limited to version 7) to Truespace. At each step, i do the best that each software can do. When you do design, Illustrator or pdf are one of the most used 2d files and moi3d resolve all the problem i had with truespace and these files.

spyfrog wrote: I tried to use Moi as you suggested but it wasn't really my thing. Additionally I couldn't really try it more than a couple of times before the trial expired (the trial is for 30 days but I can't do 3D more than a couple of hours each week at best so 30 days is little time for me) and in my opinion so is $295 quite much money for software that I haven't really tried. I didn't get Mois UI in the time I had to try it.

Spyfrog I didnt get a simple PM in that time to help you because if I would have I would have been able to tell you that there is a trial that doesnt expire at all.
Other then the 30 day trial it is save disabled but lets you find out how to use it.
Its called alternate trial version !
The point that I made was that you already have Carrara and that the few new things in 7 and 8 are´nt that many features that help you that much in what you are doing.
Moi 3d is just ONE of a kind of soft that are nurbs based... there are tons of others but its probably the most accessible and least expensive.
Others like Rhino or Solid thinking or Spaceclaim are a lot more expensive...... ! But are all NOT poly based.......
All the goods that are around us are in real world constructed with Cad software or design software of that kind.
Marcel is right I even use Moi the other way round and make the ai´s in moi 3d and import them into illustrator sometimes.
I do that when I make corporate logos for companies...... I have a 3d vesion that way and can use it also on 2d like businesscards.....

When using boolean operations very often (and thats what you always wanted to do in your wips....I read your wips) stay away from polys !
Making drills and using them very often in your models is a nurbs or CAD thing !


@ Marcel ...Cool design !
Peter

marcel wrote:I do this kind of work with Adobe Illustrator, then import it to moi3d and convert nurbs to polygones if i need to finish the work in Truespace for the render or animation. It is better than import Illustrator (limited to version 7) to Truespace. At each step, i do the best that each software can do. When you do design, Illustrator or pdf are one of the most used 2d files and moi3d resolve all the problem i had with truespace and these files.

@Marcel
Dont foreget Marcel that you can also use Photoshop and the magic wand or the color selection to make ai files pretty easily with one touch........not only Illustrator
@spyfrog
Same idea with Photoshop and the expotrt of illustator file from the path that you make....
You can make very detailed sideboards for trains.......
Peter

The render pass feature in Carrara good enough reason to upgrade imo. Add in the Bullet physics (if you don't know why this is cool, look at the video demonstrations) and paint tools and really there's no reason not to upgrade if the price is right, and you already know how to use Carrara.

Really, though, what's the point of discussing tools outside of Moi and Vue (and now I guess 3dcoat can be added to the list) in these forums anymore?

I see why Spyfrog is frustrated, anyway I hope I helped you make your decision, if only in small way.

Really, the Daz forums are probably the best place to ask these questions.

Benji wrote: Really, though, what's the point of discussing tools outside of Moi and Vue (and now I guess 3dcoat can be added to the list) in these forums anymore?

I see why Spyfrog is frustrated, anyway I hope I helped you make your decision, if only in small way.

Really, the Daz forums are probably the best place to ask these questions.

Its not about any of those products Benji......
Whats the use of bullet physics if you open a wip and you dont finish them because your struggling with modeling problems
and on top of that you running into a to difficult UV mapping tasks......
I read Spyfrogs threads .......
Rather then upgrading to Carrara 8 he might as well stick to the model side of Truespace because its not going to change the way of modeling.
Moi 3d is just simply the nearest to the workflow of what people wanted Truespace to be and was.....
I´m not saying updating to Carrara 8 is a bad move for everyone as such ......
I´d ad to the list the imho very important feature the pupeteer panel...
But hey Daz studio is free and has that for years.. also from Daz.....
Peter

I got carrara 8 and am hoping for the best.

I bought Carrara 7/8 several months ago. I found a great training course at VTC.com. I only wished there had been more training courses for TS7

Well, you have more choice now. 3D Artist have Carrara pro 7.2 free in issue 17 which just came out in the UK. 3D World are carrying it next month (this month's issue is HUGE!) but from the price they are listing it may just be the 'non-pro' version.
There is a 25% voucher in the mag too so if you buy version 7 i.e. get the mag, then the upgrade price will be $105/£69 for digital download.

I can validate that price as I just ordered it. However, I have not paid yet as I have heard a few horror stories about Version 8.

Apparently they always do this:

Release version X.0 before it's ready, no matter
what anybody says, then by version X.1 or X.2,
it's working fine.

But they shoot themselves in the foot that way,
review-wise.

Can anyone vouch for the reliability of Version 8 and is it worth the upgrade from 7.2?

It seems to work okay for me.

There seems to be an issue with some pre-made scenes from pre-carrara 8 crashing during a render. This may or may not be due to the win32 2gb memory limit. Apparently, changes were made to the renderer that make it slower in some cases, but higher quality.

Keep in mind that the Daz scene is fairly neurotic, so don't buy into the hysterics too much imo. There's no widowmakers like ts7's infamous vray bugs and whatnot, from what I can tell.

Anyway, if you've been using truespace all this time, then a few bugs shouldn't worry you.

neurotic, as in they make a bigger deal out of bugs
than is warranted?

The improvements are good, but there is nothing dazzling in Car 8 that one would miss if you didn't have it.

If you are lighting type of guy, the IES lights are fun to play with.

The physics is a work in progress.

Just my opinion, but nothing there currently that is a big draw, imo.

BTW, supposedly, Carrara 7 Pro is coming old in 3D World mag for the price of the magazine. Next issue I believe?

Back to Carrara 8, I upgraded, but it was an upgrade 'dog' sort of thing. Haven't found any love for the new stuff as a yet.

neurotic, as in they make a bigger deal out of bugs than is warranted?

As in if there is some problem that they can't figure out it ends up becoming a five page rant against the world. Not everyone, of course, but there have been some major freakouts about Carrara 8 for very little reason that I can make out, especially considering how dirt cheap it is.

I also agree that Carrara 8 isn't a must have upgrade, however it's a lot better than version 5 pro, which was the last time I looked at Carrara. Daz are at least having a crack at making an affordable, decent 3d app, that's usable by humans. There's not too many left.

Think I will leave it for now then...discount code is good until September and, to be honest, I haven't even played with version 6 much never mind version 7.

Does 7.2 have Sub surface scattering, hair and displacement mapping? If so I am good with that.

splinters wrote:Think I will leave it for now then...discount code is good until September and, to be honest, I haven't even played with version 6 much never mind version 7.

Does 7.2 have Sub surface scattering, hair and displacement mapping? If so I am good with that.

As I remember, it has all of those Splinters.

The SSS rendering is "calendar slow" though.
It's a check mark under each shader to get SSS. In my opinion it doesn't operate properly and have seen no improvements to it in version 8.

What would make it interesting for me to update to 8 pro would be
the possibility to export animated objects or physics as a Collada file.
Version 7 Pro didnt do it has anybody got experience with that on Version 8 ?
version 7 only did it with characters.....
Daz studio does it very well .......
Truespace does it pretty well from workspace side.
Something for the devs on the to do list for modelside..... (would greatly enhance the program)
Peter

RAYMAN wrote:What would make it interesting for me to update to 8 pro would be
the possibility to export animated objects or physics as a Collada file.
Version 7 Pro didnt do it has anybody got experience with that on Version 8 ?
version 7 only did it with characters.....
Daz studio does it very well .......
Truespace does it pretty well from workspace side.
Something for the devs on the to do list for modelside..... (would greatly enhance the program)
Peter

Collada is still buggy in Carrara 8 Pro.

jamesmc wrote:

RAYMAN wrote:What would make it interesting for me to update to 8 pro would be
the possibility to export animated objects or physics as a Collada file.
Version 7 Pro didnt do it has anybody got experience with that on Version 8 ?
version 7 only did it with characters.....
Daz studio does it very well .......
Truespace does it pretty well from workspace side.
Something for the devs on the to do list for modelside..... (would greatly enhance the program)
Peter

Collada is still buggy in Carrara 8 Pro.

Thats to bad then thats something I would have updated for.
Thanks for the info !