Just remembered Carrara 8.5 Pro is installed

Sfariah D

I just remembered that I have Carrara 8.5 pro.  I looked in my serial number page on Daz and found two numbers.  I used the one for Pro.  I thought I only got the pro version, not the pro version and the regular version.

 

Well DIM installed Carrara 8.5 Pro and now I want to use it to create content for DS and Poser (and possibly Carrara) and I want to use this software.   What can I do to shorten the learning curve time or whatever?

 

Also can one paint on 3d models in Carrara?

Diomede

1)  Cripeman!  A very generous Carrara user named Cripeman has a whole set of free youtube tutorials.  Each just focuses on one feature of Carrara so they are not in a coherent order.

2)  Paid tutorial series - general aspects of Carrara and amazing - by PhilW through infinite skills available here in the Daz store under the vendor name infinite skills

3)  Another paid tutorial - Specific to modeling - highly recommend Mmoir's vertex modeling tutorial available here in the Daz store under vendor Mmoir, also has a walk cycle tutorial

4) Top of the forum, there is a sticky thread by Dartanbeck called Carrara Infomation Manual - everything you want is linked there  (Thanks, Dart)

5)  Just ask in this forum - we are a helpful bunch

6) I have a thread called "No one asked me" which might be helpful.  http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/119181/no-one-asked-me-diomede-posts-screenshots-on-whatever/p1

Diomede

Yes, Carara can paint directly on a model. 

 

Here is a primitive cube painted to look like dice.  Lucky 7.

3DAGE

HI :)

Yes,. you can paint directly onto your models in Carrara.

The learning curve depends on what you know already, and what you want to create.

if you want to make clothing,. you can model around the figure. (like a manequin) ,. so i'ts pretty easy to build the mesh to fit the underlying figure.

read through some of the stickied threads at the top, Dartanbeck has created lists of helpful links to tuts and info.

Ask a lot of questions here,. this forum is full of very helpful, highly experienced, Carrara users.

Hope it helps :)

 

Dartanbeck

► Cripeman's Carrara Video Tutorials Index

Carrara Community's very own Super Hero takes plenty of time from his busy life to
explore many exciting features of this amazing 3d content manipulation, modeling and animation suite

 

► Learning CARRARA and need some help?

► Forum Help Links

For more of these sorts of links, have a look in here:

►►► Carrara Information Manual ◄◄◄

TangoAlpha

Every month there's a Carrara Challenge (with prizes too!), although we're between challenges right now, but a new one is expected soon. And a key part of that is learning how to do something "new" in Carrara. Consequently the WIP thread is full of little explanations of how to do stuff, and is really a goldmine of information and inspiration of  all kinds of stuff. There's a collection of all the WIP threads here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/45254/learning-tips-and-tricks-from-prior-carrara-challenge-wip-threads and it's well worth a browse.

Yes, Carrara has 3D painiting. There was a thread on it not too long ago, but I can't seem to find it.  Some people also use Substance Painter, which is also an easy route to texturing for DS that also works with Carrara. See http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/116786/substance-painter-and-carrara

 

Stezza

the easiest way is to learn it 24/7 for the next month or two.... ​ with short breaks every hour so deep vein thrombosis doesn't set in

and keep coffee close by  

Sfariah D

Stezza said:

the easiest way is to learn it 24/7 for the next month or two.... ​ with short breaks every hour so deep vein thrombosis doesn't set in

and keep coffee close by  

would love to be on the computer 24/7 for the next month or two but two problems.  I have a job that is at a mall that keeps me away from my precious computer and also number two problem is my roommate would not like me being on my computer late into the night.   Oh thought of a third problem, I would not be able to see Mummy.

wgdjohn

Keep an eye open for the next Carrara Challenge WIP thread that TangoAlpha mentioned... it will appear here in the Carrara Discussion.

If you are interested in modeling check out my Modeling Objects in Carrara - Q&A - Come One and All thread.  There is very good advice and tips there as well as links to modeling tutorials and threads on page 1. I've learned a lot there from everyone above and their threads as well as the videos and the Carrara Challenges.

evilproducer

In answer to your question about the serial numbers: Carrara has a 64 bit version which is automatically a Pro version. You also have access to a 32 bit version which is the "standard" version. You can enter the Pro serial number into the standard 32 bit version of Carrara to unlock the pro features for the 32 bit version. Comes in handy if you render video directly to a Quicktime Codec as that is 32 bit. Also maybe some Windows codecs. The 32 bit version will be limited as to how much RAM it can address as compared to the 64 bit version, but the speed shouldn't be greatly impacted unless the scene is pushing the memory limit.

Dartanbeck

An excerpt from ► Learning CARRARA and need some help?  (first post)

I have a few "Babble-sessions" recorded on my YouTube channel about various things Carrara-related. In this endeavor I have received quite a few requests for more - some for specific things - which is actually why some of those were made in the first place.

I have to say... I don't really care for my tutorials that I've put up so far and am endeavoring to make new improved ones. Much more on-topic and to-the-point and no more distracting background music/sounds, etc.,

I also have a few (as do others) articles written at Carrara Cafe - a Daz3D supported webspace specifically for Carrara users to hang out... Sweet, eh?!!!

However, those things are just tips and tricks. Yes, I find that it's important stuff - that's why I record them. But if you really want to get into "Learning Carrara", digging into a plethora of the different tools and features that you now have at your disposal, I have to suggest that you grab the Infinite Skills instructional courses, hosted by our very own Phil Wilkes.

I have his complete works and, even though I consider myself an advanced user, I still really enjoy running through his courses - either start-to-finish or by selecting just a few - and get into some good ol' Carrara know-how. Here's the thing:

Carrara has a Massive amount of features and tools. Funny how it's specific combination of functions is unique to itself, isn't it? I'd think that more software companies would want to have all of these wonderful benefits under one roof... don't you? Hmmm. 

All of this stuff can be really daunting if we try to just dig in and try and figure how it all works all at once. Like anything else, each of these things takes a measure of practice and experience to truly gain those skills and have them sunk into our muscle-memory.

So while it's really fun and beneficial to go through each lesson in turn, I find that the stuff that I need to know 'right now' sinks in really well at the time, while some of the other things might be wonderfully understandable at that time, but when I finally get around to trying out those features, a good recap from my personal instructor is just what I need to succeed. 

I also often put him on just for the entertainment value of it - while everybody else in the house is watching crap on the TV! LOL

*Note that you don't need both "Learning Carrara 8" and "Learning Carrara 8.5" - as the latter is the same but with updates regarding new features of version 8.5, so if you already have the former, you may get just the 8.5 updates via the "Learning Carrara 8.5 - New Features Supplement". Very nice of Phil to suggest the upgrade option to Infinite Skills... and it was really nice of them to comply ;)

Learning Carrara 8.5 - If you're buying this for the first time, just get this one, even if you have 8.1 and not the 8.5 upgrade. The price is the same and, who knows? After seeing the new stuff, you may see that 8.5 is better for you. Otherwise, it still covers the same material. 

Check the link (click the image) and scroll down the page to see the Table of Contents. This course is INCREDIBLY useful to any Carraraist, new, used or old. It covers a wonderfully detailed look at Carrara as a whole - with perfect demonstrations to drive the topics home.

The working files are also a wonderful addition to the Carrara browser! I download the working files and add them to my own special "PhilW" category in my My Objects browser, and I'm often glad to have those examples there - not just to see what he did, but quite often just to save some time and load in a project which helps my specific needs!

If you don't already know how to create your own custom browser in Carrara, I've written the following article for you:

Your Carrara Browser
Making great stuff isn't as cool if you can't remember where you put it. Let's get some good habits going right from the start

Advanced Carrara Techniques - puts us in the drives seat of Carrara's modelers with brilliant detail. There are times where the course takes us to a point where he could either repeat a technique or skip past it. Instead, he demonstrates a different method using a different modeler or a different method within the same modeler! Really cool. 

Right from the start he gets us into the processes of UV Mapping, including UV unwrapping with seams and pins. This is essential for any model maker to learn and fully understand. What good are models if they can't look right in the end, right? When it's a good opportunity within the course to revisit UV Mapping... he does. Very well executed.

The models that he shows us how to build are very nicely done, with full explanations and details along the way - and he provides them in the working files which, again, work great as working examples, but also as valuable content! The Sopwith Camel airplane (shown on the Cover art) he makes within the course is absolutely stunning!!!

He also covers many other techniques and tips that really help take us to those next levels in our projects. We could be satisfied with the wonderful country cottage scene he teaches us to build. But Phil continues on and builds some beautiful field grass, forms it into clumps and replicates it to specific parts of the terrain! He leaves no stone unturned - even the ones that he makes in Carrara! ;)

Particles examples, making clothing three different ways for V4 (applicable to any figure), taking us into PhotoShop or Daz Studio when appropriate to complete the instruction... and a Lot Lot More! I'm sure you'll agree that any and all of these course are worth a LOT more than what they cost. It was the cost that kept me away at first. I was embarrassed that I waited so long once I finally took the plunge. He even teaches us how to create HDR images!!! Highly recommended!

Again, the working files are also a wonderful addition to the Carrara browser!

Realism Rendering - is a journey through Phil's extensive research on getting realistic results with Carrara's native render engine. He does a wonderful comparison between images rendered via LuxRender's PBR via Luxor and those rendered in Carrara's native Photo-Realistic engine using knowledge gained from his research into "Linear Workflow" practices.

My rendering habits have forever changed after taking this course. 

Like all of his courses, this one doesn't skimp on education or entertainment. Phil is perfect at delivering a good solid foundation of skills needed to really understand Carrara, which gives each of us something special according to how we use it.

He covers the intricacies of indoor lighting and rendering, along with a bonus tip of a very ingenious method of making quick models to fill the scene - even if you don't model! I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I can't tell you what it is... It's cool, though and it works great!

Building shaders for realism, setting good default rendering and scene settings, exterior scenes, human portrait rendering, and a wealth of information about all of the various light types available to us. He takes us through shading a model of a car to stunning results, he takes a simple scene from Carrara's native browser and, by creating all new shaders, lighting and environment elements, turns the thing into a masterpiece - with added post work examples in PhotoShop! A real treat, this course is!

Yes... everybody runs Carrara in different ways. We have our favored methods, we have our own agendas and workloads and workflows... 

Phil's lessons aren't so much: "This is what you do", but more "Do this and this will happen", which adds to our overall knowledge, which makes us all better at whatever we do when we sit behind Carrara.

So I'd like to take this time to very respectfully thank my instructor for immensely increasing the rush that I feel when I do what I do in Carrara...

Thank you, Phil Wilkes

You Totally ROCK!!!

Love ya, my friend and mentor!