Digital Art Zone

Carrara Starter Edition.

3dtoday - 20 February 2013 06:14 PM

Hi,

forgive me,  If i bring up a possible sore subject.  I’m new here and don’t want to step on anyones toes.  But I’m curious
why there isn’t a Carrara Starter Edition.  You know,  pull out all the advanced features,  make it beginner friendly,  and give it away free.

It would seem to give new people a great choice to get started here.  And in addition would funnel many more users
to paid Carrara Pro.  Not to mention,  provide more incentive for overall Carrara development.

A Win-win all the way around, yes?

I believe it is called “Daz Studio 4.5.” 

Seriously - don’t think it is free anymore but it is cheap enough - have you compared the differences between Carrara Standard and Pro? What else would you remove from Carrara given that D|S is definitely the preferred sales darling?

Win win.

HI 3dtoday

There was a version called Carrara Express,. not free, but i thin I picked it up for 20 bucks in a sale.
It was a cut down version of Carrara 7, and allowed the use of replicators in a scene, but not creation of replicators in your own scenes.
Overall,.. it was too restrictive in functionality,

There was no new version replacement for C7 Express, when C8 was released, and C7 Express,.. is no longer available.

It’s hard to make a cut down version of a program without that effecting the sales of the full version, and without making the “Lite” version simply a scene renderer called Carrara.

Carrara is much more than that.

There was a version called Carrara Express,. not free, but i thin I picked it up for 20 bucks in a sale.

Carrara has been given away for free in various magazines.  3D World (#133) had C7 pro, I believe.  You may be able to find a copy online somewhere….

Hi 3dtoday

It sounds like what got you started though right?  So it worked

No,. I found Carrara 5 by accident while I was using 3DMax,. before Daz bought Carrara,... then I bought Carrara 6 Pro from Daz

I bought C7 express just to test that stuff I made for C7 pro or C8 would work in it.

The main Daz revenue stream has always come from selling “content” to use in Poser, ..
They also developed their own software (Daz Studio) since the ownership of poser changed hands several times, this made it a wise business strategy not to rely solely on Poser (which they don’t own) as the only program to be able to use Daz3D products.

They also purchased Carrara, Bryce, and Hexagon to create a set of 3D pro tools which artists could use to create 3D content,. which can in turn be sold in the store,...

Giving away a Starter 3D program like Daz Studio,. which has always has a “Free version” ,.. even while DS Pro was released for sale,..
is a great way to get people buying your “content” products, to use in the free software…

people are still making a buying decision with Carrara.  hmmmmmm,  do I need
that?  nah,  I already have free Daz

Many people never move on from loading, posing/animating, and rendering pre-made figures.
not that there’s anything wrong with that. ...some people try Daz Studio, ..they like it, ..and they stay with it.
Some people try DS, ..they find it limited, and look at other software with more 3D tools and features,.,.

Having a “ultra-lite”  version of Carrara, at that point may be an obvious first choice,.. but, a cut down version doesn’t do the full product justice. and if anything could have a negative impact on the perceptions of the full products abilities,. and ultimately,.. sales..

There’s also the issue of Why should I upgrade to the Pro version for ??? bucks when I’m happy using the free lite version and loading my Daz Studio made scenes in to render them.

I think Daz3D know what they’re doing,. the decision to drop the “Express” version, hasn’t been revisited. (as far as I know)

Daz frequently have Crazy offers and sale,. and when a new version is released there’s usually an introductory sale with crazy prices, like 60% or 80%. off the full price.

 

I agree with 3Dage. I remember the Carrara light thing in the forums. It seemed like so many people had no clue what would work and not work, and there were frustrations over seeing thing people were doing with the Pro and Standard versions, that they couldn’t do themselves. It also made it hard to answer questions on the forums because you had to find out which version the question was about.

The next version of Carrara is waiting in the wings, there are also frequent sales. If I had to advise somebody, I would suggest they put a little money aside and buy Carrara. I would suggest Pro, but Basic is also pretty decent. You get what you pay for, and while I’m sure D/S is fine software, it’s also extremely limited, unless you buy the Pro version.

There is a 30-day trial version.
http://download.cnet.com/Carrara-8-Pro/3000-6677_4-10782148.html

I think the main reason i started using Carrara is I think it’s own starter version. Simple interface.
If you open a scene it starts with a light and Camera, drag in a object from the included content.
Then I advanced to applying shaders , Then editing shaders.
Simple motion animation. Though I could see how it might be confusing if one were to start
with Character animation which I am not doing.
8068

I got C6 on the CD that came with the book Figures, Characters and Avatars by Les Pardew.  I believe the book is still available on Amazon.

holly wetcircuit - 21 February 2013 09:16 AM

There is a 30-day trial version.
http://download.cnet.com/Carrara-8-Pro/3000-6677_4-10782148.html

Really? Well, there you have a free version! Perfect!
Like 3DAGE, I found C5 Pro by accident - seeing someone else using it - I think he was posing M2… unless it was a morphed M3 but it looked like the MilMan2!
“what is that?” “This?... This is Carrara!”
“Whoa…..”

thanks

LadyZRissa - 21 February 2013 10:39 AM

I got C6 on the CD that came with the book Figures, Characters and Avatars by Les Pardew.  I believe the book is still available on Amazon.

C6Pro, book and lots of content for only 28$
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Figures-Characters-Avatars-Official-Beautiful/dp/1598638165/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361557278&sr=8-3&keywords=Figures,+Characters+and+Avatars

Disc contents:
3D Starter Pack l
Aiko 4 Starter Pack l
Hiro 4 Starter Pack l
Victoria 4 Complete l
Michael 4 Complete
Millennium Dog Le l
Millennium Gorilla l
Millennium Horse l
Millennium Cat LE l
Sea Dragon LE l
Millennium Dragon LE
Apartment 39 l
Apartment 39 Expansion Pack 1 l
Appliances Pack l
Modern Furniture 1 l
Modern Furniture 2 l
Modern Furniture 3 l
Modern Furniture Add Ons

Carrara 6 Pro(full version, eligible to upgrade path) l
DAZ Studio 2.3 l
Hexagon 2.5(full version)