Carrara 8.5 Pro Content
Ron Knights
Posts: 1,785
I finally bought Carrara 8.5 Pro. It was under $30 with the sale price & PC Club discount. I see Carrara came with lots of content. I already have all or most of those items. Are the items that come with Carrara modified to work with Carrara? Or are they all the same? I've owned various versions of Carrara since DAZ bought the software. But I've never managed to learn anything... Maybe I'll get lucky this time?!
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Carrara Pro comes with DAZ Studio content as well as Carrara native content.
You can set up your directories to read the DAZ Studio My Library files that are dsf and duf, other files will need to be saved as a duf file.
Another must have directory is the DAZ Studio Poser content.
If you have Poser you can also set up that directory as well.
Carrara can also read in a fair selection of different file types.
Darts Information Manual link is great value and a great reference - https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15970/carrara-information-manual#latest
The Carrara Challenges are good fun and also a good place to learn - https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/45254/learning-tips-and-tricks-from-prior-carrara-challenge-wip-threads/p1
Any questions feel free to ask, someone will have an answer 99.99% of the time.
Hi Ron,
Adding to what Bunyip said:
We tend to follow different paths in getting to Carrara. I bought it because of the Genesis content which I didn't have. Then I checked into the forum to ask a few (very basic) questions, and I began to get an idea of how enthusiastic people here are about Carrara. Something clicked, and I decided to give it a whirl.
Are you a "read written instructions" kind of guy, or do you prefer to "look over someone's shoulder" to learn new software? For me, it's easier to watch a video, and I purchased Phil's basic course. (no longer available on the Daz site, but you can get it on Amazon here) It is available as an online download or DVD, in either Mac or PC format. Best purchase decision in my life. Even so, it took a couple of months to get comfortable. Carrara is very deep.
Welcome to Carrara! As Bunyip said, feel free to ask anything.
Welcome, Ron!
Please ask if you have questions. I have a short walk-through to introduce people to some of Carrara's features. Carrara has too many features for it to be a complete introduction, or even a beginner's tutorial, but it will show you how to load a genesis figure (I'd recommend sticking to genesis 1, genesis 2, Victoria 4, or Michael 4 to start). Then load and conform some clothing. It will show you how to place some Carrara dynamic hair on your figure. It will show how to insert and do a simple edit of a terrain. Ditto for plants and skies. And, you will do a render. My intro scene may not be very good, but it will introduce you to some basic functions.
See here.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/119181/no-one-asked-me-diomede-posts-screenshots-on-whatever/p1
The rest of that thread sort of got out of control so just start with the first page or two. Like UnifiedBrain, I learned a lot from PhilW's tutorials. But assuming you are on a budget, you might start with free tutorials by the late, great, Cripeman. He made short video tutorials by topic.
See https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/233895/#Comment_233895
I have a hard time with videos. All too often they go too fast or just don't show the right stuff. I also have trouble with some "written" or PDF tutorials if they don't provide enough, appropriate screenshots. I've bookmarked the links you've provided. I still have a boatload of DAZ stuff I bought recently. I'm trying to make renders with most everything I've bought. It may take me awhile to get into Carrara.
Here's one basic question: Do you think it's ok to have Carrara and DAZ Studio access the same content directories? Will anything get messed up by sharing the content?
It is perfectly OK.
Thanks. That makes things much easier for me!
The Carrara Pro content may be of use as it should be optimized shaders and such for the Genesis figures. There may be more things as well. I haven't checked the installed items in a long time.
I will add, that anything above Genesis 2 is either not going to work or needs some kind of work around in Carrara. That being said, I haven't felt a huge need for the latest and greatest figures. I don't have a lot of disposable income and the raft of new figures, weighting, and rigging changes over the last couple years has really kind of killed the desire to invest in a whole new figure, and then the next year it is incompatible with my other stuff unless I want to eff around with plugins, conversions, or workarounds.
If you would like to see some of what Carrara can do with environments and such, I have a couple free scenes that you can look at and play around with.
You will need your own buildings for this scene. I have placed proxy objects where I suggest building should go. There is a link in the manual/Read Me to the free Poser style buildings I used in my renders.
https://sharecg.com/v/69697/view/5/3D-Model/Fantasy-Village-terrain
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1q869tm9v28yvd3/River-Dells.zip?dl=0
Not an environment, but a model of an old auto bridge that can be used in an environment.
https://sharecg.com/v/91494/view/5/3D-Model/Gilman-Bridge
Both Genesis 3 and Genesis 8 have a work-around with many thanks to Misty.
Oh, wait, which Genesis Generations work out of the box with Carrara 8.5?
Genesis & Genesis 2 work out of the box with Carrara.
Genesis 3 & Genesis 8 will cause Carrara to crash, Misty has done a nice work-around for the character figures. Clothes for G3 & G8 also need to be converted to blended weight - with a few items still causing a crash.
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Bunylp02 Thanks for the info on Genesis and Carrara. I'll stick with using the "older characters" and Genesis and Genesis 2 in Carrara. Selina, it will be some time before I make the move. I'm glad you and others are ready to provide your encouragement and insights!
You can change the speed on Youtube videos in the settings... very useful! Ouch, I am looking at cataracts surgery in my future, t
Yowzah! Take care of your eyes. Seems like that is pretty standard these days that we all may have to deal with eventually, but still, sending you positive vibes. When is your grandchild expected?
SileneUK, my cataract surgery was a breeze. I had one appointment for each eye. I had one or two nurses fussing over me while I got ready for the surgery. Just had to get the IV with saline solution and a mild anesthetic in me. I was wheeled into the surgery room, and greeted by a doctor and his staff. They were all very supportive and friendly. The surgery was very fast. It felt like a little gun was swishing air on my eye. Then the doctor said we were done!
I had very little pain. I probably used Aleve (12-hour pain relief) once or twice. They gave me some eye drops to fight against infection, etc. I got a list of instructions. It's a very easy and pleasant procedure.
Thanks Diomede and Ron, Dio, I mentioned cataracts as Ron has his on video in his sig line! My cataracts are a bit more complicated and I have to have some corneal nodules removed first, then the cataracts will be done after the first surgery heals properly. Both procedures will be under full anaesthesia because of the time involved. I hope to find out first week in Sept when it all kicks off! Grandson due within the next 2-3 weeks!
Silene
SileneUK, wow, you sure have lots of stuff going on! Best wishes to all!
tsarist, I'm glad you were able to learn Carrara. It's harder for me to learn such things. I got desperate and bought the Carrara 5 book. I just couldn't reconcile the fact that it was about an old version. Right now I'm going through some personal stuff that is keeping me from doing much.
Have a great day.
Best of luck with your optics, Selene!
@Ron Knights: The older characters work great in Carrara and they look great doing it! There are still a lot of powerful features that come with Carrara that Studio either can't do, or you need to buy a plugin to do it. Not a diss on Studio at all. They were designed for different purposes.
evilproducer, I hear you. DAZ Studio fits the needs of many people, including myself. Over the years, DAZ Studio has eclipsed Poser. I no longer install Poser. I don't buy the newer versions.
DAZ did a wonderful thing by giving DAZ Studio away for free. Heck, they practically give away Carrara sometimes, with frequent sales, PC discounts, etc.