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Oh, I certainly intend on doing so. I did not mean to convey that I never would, or that the videos are all I'm ever going to watch and then stop. I know how this hoby is a univese unto itself, believe me. I've just been interested in getting my feet "adequately wet" to really fire up my motivation and to keep me going shoudl I run into hardships. By no means do I intend to skip learning anything, especially proper methodology and concepts. I just wanted to hit the ground not necessarily runnng, but at least not doing a face plant that would have made me give up. That's all.
Very cool! :-) Your first sentence is EXACTLY the same reason I'm here. not that I have any real exprience in MAX, but this is the kind of thing I LOVE to read about Carrara - "I use 3DS MAX, but prefer Carrara because blah blah blah...".
What you say about using my sketches as background templates for modeling is exactly what I was trying (and probably failing to) describe eariler.
Understood about the learning curve. Duly noted. I know for a fact that this is the case. But a pleasant surprise so far on my part is that the software itself is VERY user friendly and easier than I had originally imagined (good grief, compared to interfaces like Maya, it's a cakewalk). And once the ground rules and concepts of of 3D in general are understood (as JoeMamma2000 points out), it's really not as bad as I was thinking. I personally love the learning process, even if I crash my way through a good portion fo it, and really don't see it as a chore the way some might. Why else would I be a systems guru and programmer? Like I said before, I'm really quite excited about all of this and that I'm FINALLY getting around to actually learning/doing it. :-)
3DAGE,
Under what circumstances do you sidestep Carrara and go MAX?
One other beginner book to get is Digital Lighting & Rendering, Second Edition by Jeremy Birn.
This book was mentioned and recommended heavily in various posts on the old forum. It isn't written for any one particular program and is clearly written.
Brim's website also has some stuff on it you'll want to look at.
http://www.3drender.com/
The Carrara 5 Pro Handbook that was mentioned does have 2 modeling projects that use Hexagon in it and you'll see how to combine Hexagon with Carrara in it..
Also, you may want to pick up is Figures, Characters and Avatars: The Official Guide to Using DAZ Studio to Create Beautiful Art, by Les Pardew.
You want the 1st edition paperback version of this book it comes as that version comes with the disk that has lots of content on it. that you can use.
The 2nd edition doesn't have any disk with it.
Regarding the animation question, if there's a stunning still image, there's no reason that there can't be a stunning animation. The main issue is time and ability. Time to do the animation and set up the all the scene's components, and the time it takes to render. The other is the ability. It's one thing to come up with a dynamic pose or frame a spectacular landscape, it's another thing to get it from point A to Point G and all the points in-between. The other ability is recognizing how to optimize your scene for an animation and how to plan for those optimizations. Like most people here, I have my story I want to tell, but I know it's not going to be feature length, and right now I'm limited by my hardware, time and ability.
Aside from the issues listed above, the biggest issue in my opinion is scale. Even lower budget computer animated shorts have departments or even just individuals dedicated to modeling, rigging, texturing/shading, lighting, animation (both character and incidentals) etc. There may be some overlap in low budget short films, but not on anything on the scale of a feature. Then there's the writer, director, etc. Most here are just people with a computer (or two or three), and don't have time to wear so many hats.
If you get stuck, don't be afraid to ask for help. There are pros here as well as hobbyists. Most have help they can give, the hobbyist no less than the pro in many cases.
I'd say,.. personal opinion based on the fact that Carrara is currently being developed to integrate it further into the Daz 3D pipeline by adding the new DUF (Daz User Format) which will allow transfer of assets between those apps
Fine. But you do see my point, right? Neither you nor I nor anyone else here knows DAZ's plans, so labeling your beliefs as legitimate opinion and implying that others are nothing but illegitimate rumor seems a bit off track, don't you think? The only illegitimate views, IMO, are those that are presented with no supporting, rational, discussion.
If someone has a rational basis for their speculation, it at least deserves some respect and consideration, no? You presented one reason why you believe what you believe, I (and others) presented about 10 reasons why the opposite could be true. Neither of us pretends to know the answer, and I'm certainly not convinced either way is right, but any rational presentation is at least worthy of consideration and respect, IMO.
Good advice. I actually do have the first 2 books you mention here on order, and waiting for them to arrive, as well as the Advanced tutorials by PhillW (Infinite Skills). I'm holding off on the Figures, Characters and Avatars book due to the frighteningly scathing reviews.
This post hits many bullseyes, especially the limitations we all face. And I wholeheartedly agree - every still may as well be an animation. I have a pretty extensive background in Flash animation for the web, so I at least have the concepts of keyframing and motion behind me, even if it is only 2D. I'm really only interested in animation, but who knows - producing a still or two in the future may be required every now and then. Just short animation clips are really all I need for my software products, no feature lengths.
The wearing of so many hats: Never met any worthy computer-related hobby that this wasn't the case (including web site generation, etc). :-)
Side note: Out of all the forums I intrude upon, this is definitely the slowest. Maybe DAZ can one day move this forum onto a 486 or maybe even one of those newfangled "Pentiums" or something....
Next question: Modeling
There seems to be two modeling products outside of Carrara that get a lot of mention, Hexagon and Wings3D.
Which is the better modeling app? And is using an external modeler that highly recommended over using the built-in tools of Carrara 8?
Would love to hear some opinions on this...
Another question, definitely "cart before the horse":
Realistic fire (particle effect): Can Carrara do it? Do we have any good examples?
Carrara's modeller is capable, but it has its quirks.... ALL modellers have their stated philosophy about how their spiritually divined eco-therapeutic GUI system will magically make the creativity just flow out of you.... But what it always seems to boil down to is some little function that one program does differently than another, not something labeled on the tin, but some buried little function that compiles numbers behind the scene, THAT will be the reason you end up using one program over another. LOL!
You say you are already good at modeling so you probably have a good idea of your needs. Have a look at 3D-Coat as well. It's a different kind of modeller but has some powerful features. Sort of a budget-minded Z-Brush....
This one's easy - Hexagon is the easiest, most intuitive, most cantankerous modeller around. Has pretty much the same functions as Carrara, plus a few - but it's just so darn easy to use.
Actually, I have no real 3D modeling experience whatsoever other than poking around in a few apps to get a general feel, if I even got that far. I'm experienced with Flash, but that is apples and oranges to 3D. Thanks for the tip, however! :-)
Can you tell me a few examples of the functions/capabilities that Hexagon has over Carrara's? And also what makes it easier than Carrara's? Also, you mention cantankerousness (heh). What makes it so?
Thanks!
For one, Hex is the only modelling app that has a direct bridge to Studio - easy transfer back and forth of figures for morphing.
Secondly, you can model as many separate meshes as you want in Hex and they remain separate - in Carrara, whatever you model in the VM in one session is one object. They can be split later, but not in all cases. Modelling, say, a steam engine that has many moving parts in Carrara is a PITA.
There are thousands of free, complex Hex modelling tuts out there - very few, far between and basic ones for Carrara.
One of Hex's most powerful, for me, functions that Carrara doesn't have is the ability to draw a line and give it thickness.
Extrusions and sweeps are better handled in Hex. Doing selections in Hex is so much easier and more accurate. Aligning verts is easier. If you are so inclined, you can model for SL in Hex.
The list can go on forever - navigation, UV mapping and editing, handling of high poly models, background images, ... Comparing Hex to Carrara is like comparing a Ford Fiesta to a Ferrari - they are both cars, but...
For me personally, a model in Hex LOOKS like a model - Carrara's mesh LOOKS like a marshmallow.
As for its cantankerousness - Hex is unfortunately the unloved red-headed stepson in the Daz family. It gets no love, no development and a lot of unsquashed bugs have been introduced in the sporadic efforts to improve it. It can be unstable on some machines - not mine - and it is unforgiving of user error.
I think Hex is still free? Why not install and give it a go - in the final analysis it is user preference that counts.
I have the cantankerous Hex!
I do not doubt it is a hetter modeler than Carrara, it is just that, a dedicated modeler
Carrara is many things with a modeling room thrown in.
Richardchaos is a Hex modeler who uses Carrara for rigging and animation.
he also uses a Mac
on my PC at least Hex stops responding often, I can make umpteen attempts to softselect and move vertices and they will not move but then suddenly move several steps (laggy to say the least)
I have a reasonably good computer
Strange that you should have a lagging issue, Wendy - your specs are way above mine - maybe your OGL settings are too high. On a figure such as M4, it takes forever to engage symmetry, but I have no lag in moving verts. Soft selection is tricky, especially in the face where there are tons of verts, so better to input numbers than use the slider.
Did I forget to mention that Hex has rulers, can do some pretty reasonable sculpting and retopo of a sort?
I dunno, I never have the issues a lot do in Carrara on this desktop, did on my laptop, Hex was unusable there!
yes the symmetry takes a while to highlight, moving vertices without symmetry or using the displacement brush slightly better, I mostly use it to fit clothes with pokethrough, Hex is way to laggy for me to model in whereas Carrara very responsive so no idea why.
Probably your OGL settings - try setting to no optimisation - also try setting your graphics card to let application decide, or words to that effect.
If I bring in a 97K poly Sculptris sculpt into Carrara VM, it is so laggy it's impossible to do anything - Hex has no problems.
Did I forget to mention copy on support, multiple copies with offset, snap to, lay on, interactive deformation? Silly me.
Sounds about right...
Though I'd probably put a slightly different spin on the comparison. Carrara modeller is more like one of those "push scooters" that are like a skateboard with a steering handle. Except one of the wheels is broken, and the T-handle is missing from the steering, so you can't actually get to where you want to go, and anywhere you do go with it you have to kick to get there. You're better off walking.
Hex is more like a nicely working motor scooter that's fairly simple and easy to operate, and can get you where you want to go without a lot of hassle. And in fact in some ways it's a bit nicer than a Ferrari, since it can go places that the Ferrari can't. And it's a lot less expensive.
Bit rough, but yeah...
Far as I'm concerned, any app that can put together three verts and make a surface is a modeller - the rest is there to make it more efficient. Truth be told I'd rather model in Anim8or, as basic as it is, than in Carrara.
Did I mention Dynamic Graphics?
Excelent post, thanks for the lowdown on Hex. I wish I understood more than 25% of it, though. :-)
I have downloaded hex, and have installed it. Yes, it is free. Now I need some tutorials. I'm definitely of the opinion that modeling is going to be my biggest challenge.
Now that is a very interesting statement that says much.
Sounds about right...
Though I'd probably put a slightly different spin on the comparison. Carrara modeller is more like one of those "push scooters" that are like a skateboard with a steering handle. Except one of the wheels is broken, and the T-handle is missing from the steering, so you can't actually get to where you want to go, and anywhere you do go with it you have to kick to get there. You're better off walking.
Hex is more like a nicely working motor scooter that's fairly simple and easy to operate, and can get you where you want to go without a lot of hassle. And in fact in some ways it's a bit nicer than a Ferrari, since it can go places that the Ferrari can't. And it's a lot less expensive.
Nice comparison. Ok, I'm sold. Hex it is.
Very important question to a critical element of my upcoming workflow: Bringing in 3DS MAX character rigs.
Can I bring 3DSMAX character rigs into Carrara and work with them in a similar fashion as we can with the DAZ rigs like M & V? There are a vew specific 3DS character rigs I really need to use, and I heard that Carrara can work with them. What do I REALLY need to know about this functionality? Does it work well? Does your computer explode when trying to use this functionality? This is HUGELY important to what I need to do, as I have some files from MAX that I'm very interested in working with. Hearing that Carrara can work with 3DS rigs is a major part of Carrara's appeal to me.
Well done - OK, for starters, you already have the manual in your Hexagon folder under docs. The videos don't work, but that's not much of an issue. For some reason best known to Daz, clicking on Help in Hex takes you to a 404 site instead of to the manual.
Next - for the basics of using the tools, about the best is http://www.cgdreams.co.uk/hexagon_vid/
There is a thread devoted to Hex tut links at the top of the Hexagon sub-forum - this should keep you going for a couple of years.
Please come and visit us on the forum - the folks there are just as obliging and knowledgeable as the ones here.
Good luck - learning modelling is a pretty long process and you make it as difficult or easy as you want. It is very rewarding to see your own creations finally make it into renders
cheers
Very important question to a critical element of my upcoming workflow: Bringing in 3DS MAX character rigs.
Can I bring 3DSMAX character rigs into Carrara and work with them in a similar fashion as we can with the DAZ rigs like M & V? There are a vew specific 3DS character rigs I really need to use, and I heard that Carrara can work with them. What do I REALLY need to know about this functionality? Does it work well? Does your computer explode when trying to use this functionality? This is HUGELY important to what I need to do, as I have some files from MAX that I’m very interested in working with. Hearing that Carrara can work with 3DS rigs is a major part of Carrara’s appeal to me.
Good info, thanks. :-) Yes, I've already run into Hex's "404 Help". Grr
"This should keep you busy for a couple of years" Heh
Agreed on seeing your own creations come to life. Welcome to programming/software engineering. :-)
Heads up, Wendy - You're obviously well-versed in using a lot of different apps and getting them to play nice, so I consider you my go-to resource for getting a lot of those questions answered. I'll start by referring you to the 3DS rig question I just posted above. :-)
REALLY appreciate everyone's help, you guys are awesome. :-)
PS: I have two giant American Longhairs (Maine Coons) walking around my place like panthers, magnificent animals. They are brother and sister, so they are named Luke and Leia.