Change the Cutout Opacity to actually turn the emitters on. That took a few minutes of snarffeling around in the textures.

Cutout opacity has nothing to do with it. Use the Mat file provided and they work fine. I couldn't have renderd the promo images if they didn't. 

Duh. I was looking at the Materials, saw "Emitter" and started in on that - I didn't look at the Emitter material actually supplied.

I was able to get the emitter to glow by changing the Opacity Cutout. You already have it in there, ready to go - the color is a little off, not as good as the Material supplied, but its there.

The green pumpkin I applied the Green texture, and the Emitter texture. The central one I applied the light color skin texture, but changed the Opacity on the Emitter (did not apply the Emitter material), and changed the emitter color to a deep orange). The orange pumpkin I just changed the opacity on the emitter and left the rest.

All that said - it would have been better if I just lokked at what I bought, at what you worked so hard to create. It really is a wonderful set.

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

 

Same here.  I think everything I contributed to the second project is posted as zip files to this thread.  Some of the files for the first challenge were posted to sharecg. 

Awesome!

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

My cat is your cat, sure thing, all of the models and textures I have posted here or anywhere else for download are in public domain, no credit required either (would be nice though) 

LOL! Cool Thanks!

Yeah... I'd hope that credit is always given to the author.

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

Yes, please feel free to do what you wish with whatever I contribute, all free etc..

Sweet!

Anyone is welcome to anything I have/will contribute(d) as well.

Beautiful!

Hey, thanks everybody! I wouldn't want to go offering stuff to others without permission from the original author. I really appreciate your generosity! 

Something that will probably be forgotten by most seasoned Carrara users is that there are features of the program that seem to be very seldom used by anyone but which sit alongside the other tools looking just as important.  An example is the Storyboard Room.

I know that Carrara has an interesting history of how it came to be.  There was a thread on the subject describing how several previous programs were developed and merged and how ownership of the program changed a few times.

Setting the real history aside for a moment, Carrara always seems to me to be like a program where the creators, at a moment in time some years back, decided to make a general all-round 3d package and put into it all the features such a package could wish for in those days.

So we have a Spline modeller, a Vertex modeller, Metaballs, Landscapes, Vertex animation, Bones-based animation and so on.

Since that moment (which exists in my imagination), the world of 3d has developed and fashions have come and gone.  Spline or Patch modelling seems to be largely a thing of the past.  Vertex Modelling (box modelling) is still very much alive but Metaballs seem to have had their day.  (Although they could merely be lacking a champion to show the rest of us what they can do.  I reckon that a metaball figure could be further sculpted and re-topologised and such a model might be done very quickly).

What I'm getting at is that a stranger to Carrara might think that everything in the package has equal weight and that all of it needs to be learned.  Whereas a long-term user will have forgotten that certain features even exist because they are simply never used any more.

I have gone just about as far as I want to with trying out new software - where does it end?  So Carrara is just fine for me as the central home of my endeavors.  I can get respectable results with Hexagon for modelling these days and can animate quickly in Iclone and I also like Poser.  The final software item for my needs is 3dCoat which I haven't yet used nearly enough.

If I wanted to start saying that Carrara needs to develop further then I think it would be along the lines of today's sculpting packages.  Dynamic tessalation, voxel sculpting, etc.  Others might prefer more particles, liquids and so on.  I don't know enough about game engines to even know whether these compete with software like Carrara except to say that the animations from games these days are breathtaking.

But to reiterate my main point: a newcomer to Carrara may not realize that some aspects are seldom needed by most users nowadays.  Such newcomers might feel a little overwhelmed by what they find on opening it up.

Spelling edit

Thanks for the interesting perspective, Marcus.  Great big-picture stuff, somewhat unique from other views I have read.  My view is that there are at least two camps that want to see Carrara improved - those who would like more features (probably the majority of users) and those like myself who would like it to be made a bit more friendly for the new user.   I don't think that one has to exclude the other.  But I'm going to deal with what it is right now, and see if it becomes as friendly as Studio currently is for me.

Just yesterday, I opened Studio for the first time in a couple of weeks, and just fooling around I loaded a new item (Modern bed 1), applied new shaders to multiple surfaces, and rendered it multiple times, all in less than 2 minutes.  Easy peasy.  So, I thought, "how long would this take in Carrara?"  Surprisingly, it only took about 5 minutes, and the resulting render looked even nicer than the Studio render.  Getting there!

I've got English, Irish and Scottish blood and born and raised in Australia.....

 

Look Out!

Heh heh.  Funny AND clever.

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

My cat is your cat, sure thing, all of the models and textures I have posted here or anywhere else for download are in public domain, no credit required either (would be nice though) 

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Same here.  I think everything I contributed to the second project is posted as zip files to this thread.  Some of the files for the first challenge were posted to sharecg. 

do with the broomstick what you please .. ;-)

 

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

 

Sweet! Thanks Stezza!

By the way... killer freaking broomstick!!! 

do with the broomstick what you please .. ;-)

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

I've got English, Irish and Scottish blood and born and raised in Australia.....

Look Out!

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

Fantastic, Mark! I'm loving all of the stuff you've been contributing already!!! Thanks!

FifthElement, diomede, wgdjohn, Stezza, Mike, others, do you all mind if we were to include your submissions to a depository for public download?

 Hey 3dage,   Having a central repository for Assets is a great idea.

  I know that with google docs you could have the links to all the models in one place and with different categories it could be very helpful.   Anyone can edit the main google docs page and add links to their models which are actually hosted on the site of their choice.  I set up a page like this for the "Bang" movie , it worked not bad but need a little more orginization on my part. .  The ShareCg may be an option but I don't know much about their website.

 Maybe for the next Animation club movie we can do something or have something ready.

 

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

 

I'm glad you like ,. :)

 

 

 

Fantastic idea, 3DAGE! and excellent support suggestion, Mike. I like the idea of a central depository thing - and also agree that having content like this (even though anyone would also have access) would be excellent incentive to join in... less worry about this or that.

Speaking of which, I am planning on including a bit of advertisement of the club at the end of the movie, if that's okay, which will include mention that the links to the fun are included in the description - so then I'll make a consolidation post for the <<< Carrara Information Manual >>> which leads to general club conversation and each of the completed, current, and known future project threads as they become available.

Of course that consolidation post will be editable by any of us - I'd just get it started and add the links around the place.

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

I am on board with that. Anything I contribute to these forum projects is free for any use to anyone who wants them. 

 Hey 3dage,   Having a central repository for Assets is a great idea.

  I know that with google docs you could have the links to all the models in one place and with different categories it could be very helpful.   Anyone can edit the main google docs page and add links to their models which are actually hosted on the site of their choice.  I set up a page like this for the "Bang" movie , it worked not bad but need a little more orginization on my part. .  The ShareCg may be an option but I don't know much about their website.

 Maybe for the next Animation club movie we can do something or have something ready.

 

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

 

I'm glad you like ,. :)

 

 

Something that will probably be forgotten by most seasoned Carrara users is that there are features of the program that seem to be very seldom used by anyone but which sit alongside the other tools looking just as important.  An example is the Storyboard Room.

I know that Carrara has an interesting history of how it came to be.  There was a thread on the subject describing how several previous programs were developed and merged and how ownership of the program changed a few times.

Setting the real history aside for a moment, Carrara always seems to me to be like a program where the creators, at a moment in time some years back, decided to make a general all-round 3d package and put into it all the features such a package could wish for in those days.

So we have a Spline modeller, a Vertex modeller, Metaballs, Landscapes, Vertex animation, Bones-based animation and so on.

Since that moment (which exists in my imagination), the world of 3d has developed and fashions have come and gone.  Spline or Patch modelling seems to be largely a thing of the past.  Vertex Modelling (box modelling) is still very much alive but Metaballs seem to have had their day.  (Although they could merely be lacking a champion to show the rest of us what they can do.  I reckon that a metaball figure could be further sculpted and re-topologised and such a model might be done very quickly).

What I'm getting at is that a stranger to Carrara might think that everything in the package has equal weight and that all of it needs to be learned.  Whereas a long-term user will have forgotten that certain features even exist because they are simply never used any more.

I have gone just about as far as I want to with trying out new software - where does it end?  So Carrara is just fine for me as the central home of my endeavors.  I can get respectable results with Hexagon for modelling these days and can animate quickly in Iclone and I also like Poser.  The final software item for my needs is 3dCoat which I haven't yet used nearly enough.

If I wanted to start saying that Carrara needs to develop further then I think it would be along the lines of today's sculpting packages.  Dynamic tessalation, voxel sculpting, etc.  Others might prefer more particles, liquids and so on.  I don't know enough about game engines to even know whether these compete with software like Carrara except to say that the animations from games these days are breathtaking.

But to reiterate my main point: a newcomer to Carrara may not realize that some aspects are seldom needed by most users nowadays.  Such newcomers might feel a little overwhelmed by what they find on opening it up.

Spelling edit

Hi Dart :)

Yes, you can keep it,.  it's free to anyone who can download it and use it in Carrara. :)

Maybe it can be re-cycled and used it in another project,. the same applies to everything else,.... from me, at least (can't speak for other modelers)

I think that if we're going to have an animation club,. it needs to have some assets which can be dropped into scenes, tables, chairs, potion cupboards, jars, etc..

it's also an encouragement to participate ,.  join in ,get free stuff,. .. or maybe not,... maybe just get free stuf for carrara, which is fine too.

(just thinking out loud here)...

I dont know if it's possible to set up a  club "account" on something like Share CG where we could upload  and share stuff, ..rather than having links in different project threads

so we could have a central repository for scenes and assets.

To clarify,   I'm saying,.  let's create a central storage area, to keep all previous scenes and models available to any carrara users,

if that's possible, and everyone agree's.

if not,.  i'm ok with the way things are.  

I'm glad you like ,. :)

When Leonard Nimoy passed away, I felt motivated to complete a scene that had sat unfinished for quite some time.  My goal was to interpret the 1974 model kit (designed by Aurora (known for its various movie monster kits) and distributed by AMT in the US), expanding upon and enhancing the elements of the kit.  Yes, the original version of the assembly kit included a 3 headed space hyrda and Mallen Lane's mythological beastie proved the best choice.  Funny enough, Lane's Sea Dragon would also have worked as the head and its morphs are nearly identical to those of the Hydra.  Because the model kit depicted the monster's heads all springing from a central neck, I had to use three copies anyway, hiding all body parts except for the central neck and head.

Credits

Michael 2 P4...DAZ.com
Face morph...Porthos
Uniform tunic...XCalPro
Uniform pants...XCalPro
Uniform boots...XCalPro
Tricorder...XCalPro
Phaser...MechMaster
Communicator...MattyManx/Sgreco
Spock hair...Mylochka
Dragon's Keep...AntFarm
Twister sky-dome...AntFarm
RDNA XenoFlora...Traveler
Hydra...MallenLane
Enterprise...MattyManx/David Metlesits

*** *** ***

Sincerely,

Bill

I would also like to try my 1070 at last, and then, I loaded the DS beta, and when it's loaded, I just see a grey plane or whatever on the viewport sections.

I can't see the move/zoom/pane... etc of the camera, nor the selection of the cameras, or the type or render. And If I render I just see the same grey plane. I never get to see the grid or the icons to navigate.

Is the viewport actually open? It should ahve a tab with the name at the top of the space. If not, Window?>Panes(Tabs)>Viewport and drag the top of the frame (not the tab) to the top of the space to dock it as a new group in the central well, you should see a line in the highlight colour when you are in the rigyt place to drop it.

I thought that would come open, thank you Richard!!! now to dock and try my 1070!!

I would also like to try my 1070 at last, and then, I loaded the DS beta, and when it's loaded, I just see a grey plane or whatever on the viewport sections.

I can't see the move/zoom/pane... etc of the camera, nor the selection of the cameras, or the type or render. And If I render I just see the same grey plane. I never get to see the grid or the icons to navigate.

Is the viewport actually open? It should ahve a tab with the name at the top of the space. If not, Window?>Panes(Tabs)>Viewport and drag the top of the frame (not the tab) to the top of the space to dock it as a new group in the central well, you should see a line in the highlight colour when you are in the rigyt place to drop it.

Hansmar - thank you.

Stuart - thank you. Yes, you get that distortion towards the sides in real photography as well if you use a very wide angle rectlinear lens (10 mm DX, 16 mm FX). I tried to correct this a bit, but was obviously not successful.

The distorted sun/moon problem can be overcome with a bit of forward planning (as you know, I'm just writing this to try help others).

Set your scene up with the sun or moon central, then use Pan H to move it to the side and create your terrain where it looks best in your scene. The Sun or Moon will then remain perfectly circular. This will distort your terrain, but as distorted terrain is less noticable, it's a good soloution.

@Hansmar.

I agree, excellent landscapes of Horo's.

That's one thing that annoys me about Bryce. If you have the moon anywhere other than central in your image Bryce distorts it.

May be thats realism. If you were outside looking up, and the moon was on you left or right but you were looking straight ahead it would look like that, seeing it out of the corner of your eye.