2 part Question Help with Browser Object Use & Rigging

Turk_WLF

I have a 2 part question about using Carrara’s Browser Tray’s (the bottom tray) Object Tab & Rigging objects in Carrara (if it can be done & how to do) *I’m using Carrara 8.5 Pro

First part of the question is has anyone else have had problems with using the Browser’s Object Tab (where you can save your objects) have you ever saved an object with a number of cameras and lights and when you load the object into a new scene that either a camera or a light changes position that it was originally saved.

For example I have a truck with about 10 lights & 8 cameras and camera #7 would jump from the truck (Camera # 7 was Rearview Camera) to about 10 inches to the left & 20 inches high away.

The second part of the question is about rigging and animation within Carrara. For the older Carrara User may remember the old stand-alone ironing board where the legs pivots and the top end of one of the leg slides forward or for the younger generation of users how a sliding door on a minivan pops out then slides rearward.

I’m wondering if it is possible to animation these actions without having to manually move or set the objects into position within Carrara. I know for instance in Poser & Daz Studio you can use a slider the will do multiple actions on a single object, I’m wondering there should a way to do something similar in Carrara.

Thanks,

evilproducer

Turk_WLF said:

I have a 2 part question about using Carrara’s Browser Tray’s (the bottom tray) Object Tab & Rigging objects in Carrara (if it can be done & how to do) *I’m using Carrara 8.5 Pro

First part of the question is has anyone else have had problems with using the Browser’s Object Tab (where you can save your objects) have you ever saved an object with a number of cameras and lights and when you load the object into a new scene that either a camera or a light changes position that it was originally saved.

For example I have a truck with about 10 lights & 8 cameras and camera #7 would jump from the truck (Camera # 7 was Rearview Camera) to about 10 inches to the left & 20 inches high away.

The second part of the question is about rigging and animation within Carrara. For the older Carrara User may remember the old stand-alone ironing board where the legs pivots and the top end of one of the leg slides forward or for the younger generation of users how a sliding door on a minivan pops out then slides rearward.

I’m wondering if it is possible to animation these actions without having to manually move or set the objects into position within Carrara. I know for instance in Poser & Daz Studio you can use a slider the will do multiple actions on a single object, I’m wondering there should a way to do something similar in Carrara.

Thanks,

Not sure what the issue is with the first question. I have saved complex groups that included cameras and lights to the browser and not had issues with reloading them. Could there be an errant keyframe somewhere causing the issue? Are you sure the Camera wasn't moved inadvertently prior to saving the group to the browser?

As to the second question, the way to get the sliders is to set up a morph or a couple morphs in the VM. Using the van as an example, if the sliding door is a separate polymesh you could select it and create a morph to move the door out, and one for moving the door back.

BTW, the reason you can do that in Poser and D/S, is because the model was set up that way by the person that built it, and not because of some special feature that D/S and Poser has, that Carrara does not. If it has a slider to control movement in D/S or Poser, it should be available in Carrara as well.

There are also ways to set up your model with a rig and constraints. There will be no slider, although if you grab the bone and move it, and the constraints are set up to allow only a certain range of movement, then the door will only be able to move so far.

Dartanbeck

Turk_WLF said:

have you ever saved an object with a number of cameras and lights and when you load the object into a new scene that either a camera or a light changes position that it was originally saved.
Yes. If you would like to save by dragging into the browser, you first select everything in the scene, in the right panel, and go Edit > Group (Ctrl G)(Cmd G (Mac)), and then name that group the same name you want to save it to the browser as. Now drag that group into the browser.
Otherwise performing Save As and saving into that part of the browser will automatically give you a group of everything in the scene - even any Scene effects or parameters that you may have set - so I mostly use the Save As function for saving, and the browser for loading.
Either method used above will result in a file that you may drag into the scene, and the whole scene will load in under a single group.

Notice the difference between a "Save As" and dragging a group to the browser, if you use thumbnail images. Both situations will use the lights included within the save, but the Save As version will also use the camera that you've set as the rendering camera. It's either that or the highest in the hierarchy - I don't recall right now. But I do remember, a while back, reordering my cameras in the list, just for the saved thumbnail.
The thumbnail that results from dragging into the browser always uses the same, default camera set-up, in a png file which leaves any blank parts of the scene invisible in the thumbnail - so it has the browser's background color where nothing is. The Save As empty areas would be black by default.

There are many other times when I do not want to save lights or anything else but a single item - even if that item is a group (it often is), so I have a special folder made up in my browser where I simply drag that single thing into the browser. This is great for making singular objects that you want to load individually into an existing scene.

The second part of the question is about rigging and animation within Carrara.

In Carrara 8.5 you need to go into the "Parameters" tab (right panel above the instances tray) of the object, or a part of the figure. With the object selected, go to the Parameters tab. If the morphs you need are not listed, try selecting different parts down the hierarchy. If there are currently morphs available, they'll be in there.

The exception to this is a Prop object, whose morphs should be listed right there towards the top of the general tab. A small list of morphs which you may select and then the dials for that morph target appear.

Alternately, for objects that don't come rigged, morphed, etc., or you make the object yourself... whatever the case may be, you may rig it yourself, somewhat easily, depending upon the model involved. For rigging purposes, it's best to keep your rig in mind before you begin modeling - at least the moving parts. This is because of the weight painting that gets automatically applied when you attach the skeleton. Though weight painting is simple, it can get finicky (with any software) and so any help that comes automatically is great! But this is why humans default with their arms stretched out and legs spread. Anyways, If you're familiar with rigging, in Carrara you use the bone tool, which looks like a little bone icon on the upper toolbar of any scene. Select that and place your initial bone. Use the isometric cameras (Top, Left, Front, etc.,) to place it exactly where it needs to go now. Any bones you add after this will move when this one moves, so get it right now. It is also a good idea to now select the scale tool. Hold down Shift and size this bone to what will make the rest of the rig creation easy. I almost always have to shrink it a lot first.
With your first bone placed, select it and then the bone tool again. Use the best choice of isometric camera and place the rest of the bones as they extend from that base origin. You may use Edit > Duplicate with Symmetry to make exact copies on opposite sides. When you have all of the bones you need placed where they belong, select the skeleton you've just made and the model that you intend to rig together, then choose Animation > Attach Skeleton. Note that you may also precede that with Animation > Orient Joint, which will set all of the joints in the current position to be their starting point angle - which is then considered to be 0.00 afterwards. This can be important for some figures - not for others.

Once you've attached the skeleton, you may now try it out. I usually don't, and just go straight to weight painting first - but sometimes the automatically assigned weights might be just right. This is where proper topology can really help you out. I have also been told that most lighting situations render better with proper topology, which is where each polygon is mostly uniform in proportions and size to those adjacent to it - throughout the entire model.
To paint weights, select the actual model, not the skeleton and then enter the modeling room. In the upper right of the screen, there are three wire frame-looking icons. Choose the middle one, which says "Animation Mode" when you hover over it. At this point, the only tool available in the upper tool bar is the weight painting tool. Select that. Now your various bones that have been attached to the model can be selected from the drop down on the right panel, below which are your controls for the weight painting brush itself. Notice the "3d Sphere Mode" check box for the brush. For totally symmetrical models of easy shapes, it might be easier to deselect this. What it does it this:
With it checked, your toll paints only as you see it paint in front of you - meaning that, if the model has mesh on the side you cannot see, none of those polygons are being painted on. So if you want to paint straight through the mesh, deselect this mode. The rest of the toll's settings are set depending upon how you are most comfortable. By default you have to keep shading over and over, watching the paint build slowly from dark, deep orange to bright yellow, which is max weight. That's it. Note that all polygons must be accounted for in a weight painting. So if you set the tool to subtract as you paint, as you do so Carrara will feel the need to (and will) give those polygons to the closest adjacent bone. This is why it's always best to start at the base and paint your way out, or the opposite - whichever will make your life easiest.