Carrara 5 Pro Handbook arrived this morning
eyesee
Posts: 172
My copy of Carrara 5 Pro handbook's just arrived this morning.
See http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=carrara5
or
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=carrara5
Now, all I've got to do is find the time to go through it
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - So much to learn and only 24 hours in a day !).
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uhm we are on Carrara 8 now you know and you just missed a sale
but
it is DAZ and there will be more sales :lol:
Yes, but no one's produced a book for Carrara 8. Version 5 seems to be the last version one was written for it.
Already just found out that, while I've had Hexagon on my machine for years, I never new it was written with Carrara in mind and can output .CAR files. Wonder what else I'm going to learn?
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - Time for another cuppa!)
Edit: Didn't miss the sale BTW. Picked up Phil's 8.5 new features videos. BARGAIN!!! Me miss a bargain... NEVER.
Besides, now you've got addresses where you can see if you can pick up a book on your favourite subject(s) at knock down prices.
How about putting "iClone" or "animation" into it and see what pops up?
Woohoo! You are going to love it, I am sure.
I'm a huge fan of Cripeman, PhilW, etc. video tutorials, but sometimes I need to be able to use something as a reference, slowly following step-by-step, and other times going back a few pages and double-checking something. I picked up a used copy of that Carrara handbook some time ago, and now it is terribly dog-eared, with yellow sticky notes marking frequently used passages. For example, now that the Carrara developers have fixed the inconsistent normals in duplicate-with-symmetry, I am going to page 163 of the Handbook and following the paragraph that starts with "At this point you should have half..." Not only that, but I am much more likely to use the other functions and modelers now because I have a better reference for projection mapping. In other words, one of the biggest drawbacks of the spline modeler to me was uvmapping and the need to convert to vertex model. But for a great many ordinary objects lying around that might require a bevel or a curved edge, the spline modeler can do a quicker and easier job (just ask EP) than the vertex modeler. But I thought I needed clean uvmaps withno distortion and no overlaps. Aaargh. But for many of these objects I don't really need uvmapping if I understand projection mapping and layers. Check out the rocket tutorial on page 244. Great stuff!
And all very cheap because it is a used book!
Like everyone said, we are on version 8.5. But, there are many useful tools that you now have a great reference (with accurate index!) for. Similarly, I picked up the Bryce 5 Handbook for about $2 or so. Lots of useful stuff in it.
There's a course by Jack Whitney at Lynda.com for Carrara 5. It has 64 training videos. You must enroll in at least their monthly course (25$ U.S.) to gain access to the full course.
http://www.lynda.com/Carrara-training-tutorials/171-0.html
Very tempted,
But I've spent up this month (Did I really buy that many models ???).
Will consider it again when the bank fairy's been.
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - May the Tannin be with you.)
Hilarious...
I bought the Mark Bremmer package. It was good tutor, but Carrara 7.5 Pro version.
A lot of water has gone under the Carrara brige since 7.5.
I spent $70 and wish I hadn't. Mark does a good job, but the information is dated.
Recently, Daz had a great sale...and I got the PhilW Infinite skill version of Carrara 8.5 pro and Advanced Carrara.
So far, been through the Carrara 8.5 pro version once.
Been trying to get all the files set up between Daz3d studio and Carrara for the past couple weeks.
Getting close, hopefully be able to Carrara next week. SInce nothing has been that easy I will not count on it.
Again, in so many words.. Don't waste your time on older version tutorials. Get the PhilW packs they are very well done.
Daz should have another sale with tutorials in it. The last sale was 70% discounted... That encouraged me to buy tutorials that I do not need now, but I will need them soon enough..and the price was right.
rampart1,
The thing about Design Acrobat's suggestion is that for a small monthly fee you get access to all the tutorial videos from InfiniteSkills old AND new (including all of Phil's) with the added bonus that there's tutorials available on allsorts of related subjects, not just Carrara, at the same time. Might get learning overload though ! :coolsmile:
That's why I found it tempting.
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - Green tea, Yoda's favourite!)
Lynda.com does an excellent work. They only offer Version 5 of Carrara, which is archaic now.
Watch for Daz sales. I bought the Carrara 8.5 Pro training by infiniteskills - PhilW for $29.95.
Why would I buy the tutorials instead of taking online courses you ask?
Simple, as some have shared on this forums. You can dig out those files anytime, watch, practice and learn.
Lynda is $25 per month. You won't learn Carrara in a month, if you spend 8 hours a day devoted to it.
I learned the hard way buying the Carrara 7.5 pro tutorials from Mark Bremmer.
Mark has excellent presentation skills and really does a goood job.
It was still old stuff. Once I learned the basics I found it was important to have more timely information.
All the Daz3d applications are first rate, and fully featured. You cannot master them with a one pass tutorial.
Wait for the sales you won't regret buying the infiniteskills tutorials by PhilW. I highly recommend them.
The tutorials are important to daz3d promotions.
Anyone planning to get on board the daz3d train knows they will have to deal with a complex learning effort.
Daz3d wants to promote new users and competent tutoring information is crucial to those efforts.
One thing you can do... join with Lynda.com and learn the Carrara 5 as best you can until Daz3d runs a sale.
I think Lynda has a free two week deal, so you can make plans for when you will have alot of free time.
Join for that period of time. You can get the basics down pretty well in a couple weeks.
Keep watching for Daz3d sales in the meanwhile.
If the money isn't important just buy the infiniteskills and get on with it. One thing I caution.
Just because you learn the application doesn't teach you how to really facilitate and develop your content.
It has taken a lot of time and effort over the past couple weeks for me to get things working well enough.
Still it will be several more days until I get familiar enough with the things you don't learn in the tutorials.
Things about working with the applications as they are applied with your computer system are just not discussed.
Look at the number of questions and answers on the forums.
This isn't brain surgery, but it has it's complications.
You can get alot of really good help from other users on these forums.
The forums are your friend.
Don't ignore anyone that responds to you, they may share a wisdom key you are missing.
Rampart1,
Thanks very much for the excellent advice and passing on your experiences.
Much appreciated and I'll bear it in mind.
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - May your Topology never get lumpy! ;-))
Mine arrived yesterday.
It's a BOOK. I can flick backwards and forwards, annotate it, all those things that make books so attractive. I loathe these video tutorial...but I'm ancient.
What lead me to buy the book is the tutorials on modelling which are as much about techniques as tools.
My initial impression is that an ancient book is going to be perfect for this ancient newb :-)
Hi Andrew.commons,
Welcome from a fellow ancient !
I must confess to having gone digital with my book collection, my local library received a massive book donation over 6 months or so.
Now I read PDF's and EPUBs on PC and tablet. They take up much less physical space and you can annotate and bookmark as well.
And with PDF's you can have embedded videos as well (a la Hexagon manual). The best of both worlds, but not many use this feature, which is a shame.
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - Mine's a pint of Tetley's - tea that is!)
Hi eyesee!
I have also got a considerable collection of DRM free PDFs which are the best of both worlds. This was only available in hard-copy...and it comes with the CD!
I'm not sure about the embedded videos. I want random access...it's quite possible I'm not using the right tools. I have avoided them (videos) for a while now. Recently I downloaded a video tutorial for Blender which was fascinating to watch...well at least the first 10 minutes of the full 2.5 hours of it... but was wasted on me because I am not an experienced user of the tool and had no idea what all the key short-cuts were meant to be doing. So it was back to searching for a good intro book again that would allow me to take it all in small bites and roll backwards and forwards through the content at will.
Obviously I'm way past my use by date :lol:
. . . I had the entire 800+ Carrara 5 manual printed out back in 2009, it cost me over $50 at officeworks inc a punch and two ringbinders to put it in :red:
I was a noob!
But it was exceptionally usefull and I doubt I would have learnt to use Carrara otherwise as it was I was uploading videos rendered using C5 within a month!
Because, I read the F'ing manual!!! :lol: as some tell you to on forums,
is funny as I only really posted about things I could not find in the manual as a noob and got that response from someone.
Made damn sure I NEVER tell amyone to RTFM myself as a result.
Hi Wendy,
Yes, It was sad to see printed software manuals replaced with helpfiles and later PDF's. Took me a while to convert.
How's the weather in Aus, by the way. Raining here currently - AS USUAL :roll:, snowed earlier though.
Eyesee(Jedi Tea Master - Time for a refill. Green tea I think l!!)
I relate to books better than digital print I must admit
yes I do read a lot online and spend a lot of time on my android but the physical feel of paper in my hand as I peruse the text seems to help me retain information much better.
A newspaper is much more impacting compared to an RSS newsfeed for example esp reading disturbing world events, I actually avoided reading about all the recent terroist stuff in print for example, even though I read it all online.
So how do you two enjoy the book? Is it as excellent as I think it would be?
I still have and occasionally use my printed out version (but mine is in a single, massive three-ring binder) of the Carrara 7 Pro manual, version G - th same one that can be downloaded here. If there is ever released an updated version, I'll print that one - mine is beginning to show its age!
I look forward to the day that I bring that book home for myself. I already know that what's in there is still very useful for using today's Carrara, even though there have been numerous changes since then.
I'd like to put in my two cents on some of the above comments, regarding Infinite Skills and Lynda dot com:
I've never had the membership at Lynda, but I have the Essential Carrara 5 Learning, by Jack Whitney, and just love it. It is a very nice tour through just about everything in Carrara, with some excellent examples. I've actually even contacted Jack and asked him if he ever planned on making more, for the more recent age. He, of course asked, "Has no one made updated tutorials?" and I mentioned PhilW and Mark Bremmer, and assured him that there is no such thing as too many. While he did agree on that, he is simply too busy in his other endeavors to consider it... unless, perhaps, Lynda dot com were to come knocking, once again! LOL
Phil's "Learning Carrara 8.5" brings us well up to speed into the latest version, and includes the whole Learning Carrara 8 as well. I didn't have this one when I contacted Mr. Whitney. If you want to have a really nice and understanding of all the things that you don't know about Carrara, this course along with the Advanced Carrara Training video sets are absolutely fantastic! I'm sure you've seen me embellish on this before, but it really is nice to have that 'live' demonstration showing you how things work, where they are, how they look as you go, etc., etc., ...and the working files make for an excellent addition to the browser.
Getting Digital Lighting and Render - by Jeremy Birn was awesome! I am also among those whom love to have an actual book. It's an excellent textbook college course on learning the ins and outs of digital lighting and rendering, with incredible explanations of what's going on. From reading the description of the Carrara 5 Pro Handbook, along with the great remarks about it by JAY_NOLA, I just have the feeling that it will be very much like that - an excellent course in understanding what's going on.
I can't remember if that's the one that also includes a chapter by Jack Whitney... Jack and Philip Staiger (now with Project Dogwaffle) worked for Eovia in the days that they've produced Carrara - not really that long ago. Was Ringo with Eovia too? I think so... if not, they've at least included some of his work with Carrara 6.
Anyways, I hope it isn't long from now that I'll be joining this book club - I just recently upgraded some software, where I could have bought this book instead! Argh! Oh well... I do like updated software. If I kick myself, I'll wait until later! ;)
Evening Dartanbeck or more likely afternoon where you are,
'fraid I've not had time to give it more than a scan through, busy doing Uni course work. In fact, it's kept me so busy I've not had chance to do much else. But as diomede64 said, nice to be able to take your time going through and not keep start/stopping videos. Makes for a nice change of pace.
By the way, how big is your Carrara library now? It must take up quite a chunk of the server, it's a wonder you can remember where you've put everything.
Did you get a chance to watch THX1138?
Eyesee(jedi Tea Master - Assam with a Cinnamon stick in it - lovely !! )
Which one? The original student film, or the one he did while at Zoetrope?
Man, I hate to say it, but the theatrical film put me to sleep. Not that it wasn't creative or anything, it just wasn't my thing.
Never saw the student film.
Not sure which one it is but the link below is the one they aired on UK TV.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thx-1138-Robert-Duvall/dp/B0002RRS24/ref=sr_1_4?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1421884016&sr=1-4&keywords=thx1138
EDiIT: A bit of Brave New World with 1984 and a touch of Logan's Run thrown in.
That's the theatrical version produced by American Zoetrope. A company started by Francis Ford Coppola. He and Lucas were pretty good friends at the time. Lucas went on to direct (and write?) American Graffiti under that company if I recall correctly. American Graffiti gave Lucas the credibility and bankability he needed in Hollywood to eventually get Star Wars made.
I think I remember American Graffiti,
Isn't that the one about some teenagers and something about a radio operator called the wolfman?
EDIT: I'm more of a SciFi nut really.
Hold it, isn't this the Christmas lights thread? Y'all need to google the Christmas tree lights on 37th street in Austin, Texas. - Just a tip of the hat to J2K who probably feels oppressed when someone else takes a thread off topic and doesn't get jabbed for it. LOL.
Back to the subject at hand. During the last 18 months, I have
- watched the for sale tutorials by PhilW, Mark Bremmer, Jack Whitney, MMoir, (and many free ones by others)
- acquired used Carrara books for old versions at deep discounts to use as a reference The books include the Carrara Bible (version 1), Carrara 3 Handbook, and Carrara 5 Handbook - each of which I got for about $2. (I have also acquired the Bryce 5 Handbook, materials for general drawing, general art, art history, figure art, landscapes, anatomy, geology, zoology,...)
Although none of the actual art-related stuff seems to have penetrated the right side of my brain :sick:, I do think I have made significant progress climbing up the Carrara learning curve. Each of the video tutorials and books contributed, so to me it is really a matter of cost-effectiveness and of priorities, not of either-or.
1) In my opinion, someone new to Carrara should get PhilW's intro to Carrara course as soon a possible. It should be the top priority. It isn't cheap, so if you need to wait for sales and skimp on other training opportunities to save up for it, then do that. It is a general introduction to all of the features of Carrara (and for the Studio User, the 8.5 version includes integration of genesis). I can't stress the following enough...
*** Carrara is a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none program, so you are only going to get the full benefit if you know what all the "trades" are. Each individual element of Carrara might be inferior to another program if considered in isolation ***
... and PhilW's course is going to introduce you to a great many things that you would have no idea Carrara could do if you don't have a general introduction.
2) PhilW's other tutorials (Advanced and Realism) are also great. Again, these tutorials are not cheap so plan accordingly. But to the extent that a person wants to get the most possible out of Carrara, these additional PhilW's courses are excellent and should be a high priority, in my opinion.
3) Mark Bremmer's tutorials are also excellent, but as has been pointed out, they are for version 7. Mark and Phil do not have the same emphasis, so I can honestly say that watching Mark's did not feel repetitive after watching Phil. Here is one concrete example. PhilW has nice discussions of uvmapping concepts and examples for both organic shapes and furniture in the advanced video. Good job, PhilW. But Mark Bremmer goes into more detail on using the uv unwrapping tools for a face. Because of that extra detail, I have more confidence in my ability to uvmap within Carrara, and because of that Jack of trades thing, that means I am also more comfortable PLANNING to use the 3D paint tools to customize my own textures because I am more confident that the uvmap for my custom organic figures will be clean. I am emphasizing the planning part because you should ask yourself how are you planning to get additional detail? You don't always need a more complex mesh. Anyway, I personally got a great deal of benefit from Mark Bremmer's tutorials even though I had already seen PhilW's intro and advanced. However, again, these options are not cheap. If you have seen PhilW, while I would say yes that you can still get good knowledge from Mark Bremmer, it should be of much lower priority because of the cost. Having said that, VTC has a subscription option for its other training topics. If you have an independent reason for those, then Mark Bremmer might piggy-back on that choice.
4) Mmoir's vertex modeling tutorial is narrower than PhilW or Mark Bremmer. I absolutely loved it! I consider it one of my best purchases. However, to be honest, one needs to ask oneself where the modeling is going to occur. If you are already comfortable with Blender or Hexagon, the fact is you are not going to be modeling much in Carrara even if I magically put the knowledge in your head, in my opinion. I say that in part because I just spent a great deal of time learning Hexagon, and guess what? I model in Carrara. Oh, but Hexagon has some more tools! Yes, but I am more comfortable with Carrara's vertex modeler interface because that is what I learned on. Remember that planning thing? If I want to model a street light or a cow or a spaceship, Hexagon is not better or faster for me, emphasis on "for me" because a plan easily forms in my head for the Carrara approach, which is 95%+ of the time identical to the Hexagon approach. So, in my opinion, if you are coming to Carrara from Daz Studio or Poser without much experience in a modeler, get Mmoir's vertex modeling tutorial and politely smile and ignore all the people telling you how much better Hexagon is. However, if you already model in Hexagon or whatever, you can still export objects from that program to Carrara, which makes learning to vertex model in Carrara a lower priority, in my opinion.
5) Jack Whitney's Lynda.com tutorial is for version 5 and is also a little expensive, although you might also get access to other training topics depending on how you get it. Although I liked his tutorial, I think it has to be the lowest priority of the video tutorials because both Bremmer and PhilW are more up to date. Like VTC, you might get value from Lynda.com's other training videos for some independent reason. If so, Jack Whitney's tutorial might be more cost-effective.
6) ** The Carrara 5 Handbook ** Hey, before we say anything else about this, it is available for almost nothing. You know, skip lunch one day and pick up the Carrara 5 handbook. It might be out of date for some things, but it is still useful for a lot of others. ** For example, by now you might be angry and writing up your "hexagon is superior" reply to my point #4 above, unaware that the Carrara 5 Handbook has a complete chapter devoted to modeling in Hexagon. So get the Carrara 5 Handbook and quote that chapter back to me to explain why I am wrong in point #4.** I like a book with a subject index and the ability to hold a page open in my lap while following along. Pausing and rewinding a video when I just want to remember what the recommended setting was, or the shortcut key, or the order of operations can be a pain. I like the Carrara 5 Handbook because it is a useful reference for almost free. I would not pay anything that I consider substantial for it. A medium priority as long as it can be acquired for next to nothing.
7) Other handbooks. These are even more out of date. They still have some useful information, but again their main virtue is the very cheap cost. For example, the Carrara 3 Handbook has a nice landscape example, but I wouldn't pay anything substantial just for that. Low priorities.
This is just my opinion and experience, so please keep in mind that I was newbie not just to Carrara but also to 3D stuff more generally when I began this learning adventure a year and a half go. The most important part of my newbieness was that I had just a little experience in Poser and almost no experience in any modeling programs when I started. If you already have substantial experience in other 3D modeling programs and similar sort, then my experience probably does not apply to you.
BTW - my posts have gotten longer than Dartanbeck's. :cheese:
I like your priority listing.
Wolfman Jack. An American icon from back in the day.
The movie, while not science fiction did have some future sci-fi film icons. Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfus and Ron Howard, who went on to direct that '80s old-folks meet aliens movie.... Speaking of old.... I can't remember the name of that damned film... He's done many more significant films of course.
I think it is British and/or Australian slang for University course.
Wolfman Jack. An American icon from back in the day.
The movie, while not science fiction did have some future sci-fi film icons. Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfus and Ron Howard, who went on to direct that '80s old-folks meet aliens movie.... Speaking of old.... I can't remember the name of that damned film... He's done many more significant films of course.
Cocoon?
Cocoon?
That's it! I knew it was a single word title, and I thought it started with a C, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember it.
Morning Folks,
I'm back from the land of Nod (sleeping). Your correct EvilProducer. Decided three years ago that after thirty years of programming Mainframes I'd update my wetware (brain) for working on PC's. It has meant that I've not had as much time as I would like for my hobby though.
diomede64: Great post, though I think you should spend less time with Dartanbeck! :lol: Re Christmas tree lights on 37th street in Austin, Texas. Where can I get me one of those light synchronisers? That'd blow the neighbours away next year. There's a bloke a few houses down, treats it like a competition each year, and get's more and more elaborate.
Dartanbeck: Got another video suggestion for you. Keep an eye on the video and film thread.
Do not underestimate The Carrara Bible. It is version 1, but you will be surprised how useful it still is. Several of them on Amazon.com for 1.50 dollar. You can look inside.