Have been gone... for a good cause... my first Carrara renders
MysticWings
Posts: 226
Hello!!
Have been working a lot on 3d scenes!! And doing a lot of learning to.
As I go through the "Learning Carrara" Training from PhillW, and at the same time through Light Master from DreamLight, I've been making lots of scene render, both in Carrara and in Daz Studio.
Actually I also finished some works that were in stand by. As I learn I sometimes build a scene to make what I learn in the tuts, but then I go to the next vid and it's something different so I just let the previous scene unfinished. So I've made 7 scenes in this last 2 weeks, finished one from last month and am improving another from February... This are the 3 Carrara render scenes I've finished. Still 2 to finish.
I'm not working with characters inside Carrara though... I make the character in DS and then import it to Carrara. Really like this workflow. And I can always make little adjustments inside Carrara. But am not really fan of content organization inside Carrara...
Hope you like them!! :)
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Comments
Looking great!
Really? I like working with content in Carrara much better :)
Thank you!! :)
And answering you... really really :P
In Daz I have all the morphs and pose controls in the tab parameters and they are all organized by body region.
All the pre maid poses are in one folder of the smart content. The same goes to hairs, and other things.
Inside Carrara is a mess... I have the poses all spread out in collections (some are under poses, others under a character, then I have like 3 folders in different places just for V5... a mess...) so have to be looking through all the content to find something... the same with most of the things.... And I'm a organization compulsive person... :) Until a certain point I can control. I don't yell with someone just because the plate is to be put 5 cm to the side... anymore... a lot of control needed cause it drives me crazy, but I can handle it... But when working it really drives me crazy!! Is not always easy to be me :P
Besides that, and I think is the most important part, I really got used to Daz Studio workflow when it comes to characters, so I'm very comfortable doing it. All the props I work in Carrara, but the characters....
I suppose the big difference being that you are newer to Carrara. I go looking for stuff in DS and I can find it okay, but having to go back and forth in that content tab between Poser stuff and DS stuff drives me crazy! But then when I go to use morphs... OMG! I want my Carrara back! LOL
Lolololol
Why??? The morphs are completely organized!!! Not even I would do better organization!!! Where do you go for your morphs in ds??
That problem of tabs, I don't have it. Everything is in smart content, so I don't use content library. Also, I don't use poser so.... no poser stuff... And if I install something that is not in smart content, I do it manually. Carrara has a smart content tab to, but half of the things aren't there... :(
But of course you are right. The most important thing is I'm used to and comfortable with DS. It was my entering in 3D so there's a lot of base things that I learned to do in a certain way. Also, I have that problem that I can't find morph injections in carrara. When I import the figures usually some pose controls become available, but if I open them in carrara, don't have morphs nor pose controls... which are a kind of morph to... But creature creature for example, I just don't have it in carrara... nor most of the morphs I have... :S That is something I still don't understand...
Yeah, I don't care for Smart Content. Probably because I am a Carraraist.
I actually find things really easily in the content library. I just think that Carrara's browser displays it better - well... easier for me. Mouse wheel... click.
For morphs, I go to the panel on the right (in DS) and I have to experiment with diffrent tabs before I can find any morphs, and then to find the right ones... ahhhh! :ahhh:
In Carrara, I go to the Actor in the right, and select Parameters. All of the shape morphs are there (for Genesis 2), but I can sort them by type in the upper sort drop-down. For posing morphs, I select the line above Actor, and go to the Parameters tab. There they all are! But again, I can sort them above. I can set expressions there, or I can select the head - either way. So I really like it in Carrara.
I'll get used to DAZ Studio though... I like it too. It could never dream of taking Carrara's place for me though... unless it brought modeling to the table and used a completely different method of setting up render possibilities. I don't know why they make it so limited. I'm sure that the engine has a lot more capabilities than they allow us to adjust. Maybe I just don't know it well enough... could be. Carrara is easy and expansive. It's amazing how easy it is to set the exact definition of your renders. DS just seems like you can do this, that, or the other thing, and that's it.
Lololol.
Actually in DS is the same. Hmmmm.... For me, the secret about DS was to define my work space. But if you select your character in the scene tab (just like in carrara), you go then to parameters tab - actor and... tadaaaaaa...... all the morphs are there organized by body parts. Under actor you have pose controls that are very useful to. The original work space is crap.... It make DS seem really more complicated. But once you understand what you need, you find out you don't need many tabs and that is better to personalize the work space, mostly:
-scene
-content
-parameters
-surfaces
You can really do most of things with this. And of course, animation if you do it ;)
I'm already a smart content child :P But as you said, this is habit mostly. I always worked with smart content so I don't like content library. In your case is the oposite. lolololol
I like DS for character creation mostly. If I thought it could replace all the features in Carrara I wouldn't be so emerged in learning Carrara. Carrara is just an amazing software... The way it works with light it's breathtaking.... I really love doing this kind of still scenes and lighting is everything in this! DS can have great light effect if it is a studio light effect that you want. There's also some cases that it makes a good work, but outdoor scenes... well... you can manage to pass the thing if you are good at lighting... But it doesn't get to the heels of carrara!!! Renders... I'm not even going to comment...
Yes.
I've customized my workspace in DAZ Studio. I love how we can do that. For some reason, shapes tab eludes me. So I just select Actor, like in Carrara? I'll have to check that out. I always end up with a few shapes for real-world women or something... just a few big, beautiful full color icons. I'm fine with small icons and and big list! LOL
Yeah... Carrara has really stolen my heart. I just love this software. You mention lights. I just love working with lights in Carrara! Even more now with 8.5!
you select actor in the parameters tab. shapes tab.... never used it... didn't knew there were one.
You can actually make an whole scene just using content, scene and parameters tabs (and surfaces if you want to make surfacing work, I normally use it to). If you just click in actor, all morphs will appear in alphabetical order I think. If you click the little arrow it will open the folders of the body parts.
In pose controls (under actor) you have control for posing off course, and more morphs, specially face morphs (like expressions, eyes, mouth, brows... controls). What you will see will depend of the morph packs you have of course, but it's all in there. ;)
Lights in carrara.... come on... that fairy work as almost no post work... All that is just 2 lights and a light effect in carrara.... we cannot even compare DS to Carrara on this level... And I have complete conscious that this is just a grasp of it... So many options I still don't even know what they do in each light.... But the indirect light is just amazing... In DS, I have to fake this indirect lights, specially in outdoor illuminated scenes. It does the job... but it's not nearly the same!!! For now on I will use ds renders just for a few specific kind of scenes, but I will mostly use carrara render for sure.
Got it. Yup... simple. Thanks!
Glad I could help you this time!! :)
I thought the library organisation in Poser was bad... till I tried to find stuff in Carrara, now it's Poser, all is forgiven! Carrara's browser is a mess! Stuff all mixed up, lots of things with the same name etc (how am I supposed to pick between 3 identical icons labelled "boots", for example?) Never really used Daz, so I can't speak to that.
I picked up Dreamlight's Light Master in the Easter sale, although I haven't downloaded it yet. Been rewatching Phil's chapter on GI and sunlight etc. I've got Stonemason's new Warehouse interior, & I'm trying to get god rays streaming through the windows - haven't succeeded yet, but I shall... Got sidetracked though when V5's skin exploded!
Love your pictures though, especially like the lighting in the fairy pic, and the bird shadows in the temple one (the spread wings shadow gives an almost militaristic feel)
Actually I never pick things by name. Need to see them, that's the only way I can create a congruent scene. So I normally just use large icons in content, either ds or carrara. In my case, can't talk about poser... in general I don't like the software... give it a try, actually before ds... then tried ds, and became fan immediately.
Light Master is very good. For me it was like - nice, now I know how to create with lights in 3d the volume effects I use in hand drawing. And it's nice cause, like most dreamlight tuts, the way he teaches make what you learn useful independently the software you are working on. You just have to adapt to the features of each software, but the knowledge he passes it's more about the theme and less about the software. I actually did the all training in like 2 or 3 days... And made like 3 or 4 scenes to experiment lots of different things. Do the same with Phill's training.
My mac is working non stop for almost a week... Always rendering... Just glad I can be rendering a scene in carrara and working in daz and vice versa... Got to the point where I have a queue of files to render!! lololol...
The fairy scene... well, I think you know from which video is since it is one from Phil's training :P To what he teaches (the back light and the light effect) I just added a key light from the right side since I wanted the character to be visible.
The Bunny image was where I made a 7 light set that dreamlight teaches but using carrara features. Did one also in daz to train the same with daz features.
The one of the temple, was for the vid in which Phill teaches to illuminate a scene just with indirect light.
I like your scenes, Tania!
I also find DS org of morphs confusing...but you made it easier to follow. What format do you export to carrara? You may have said in a previous discussion but I've lost track, would like to know.
In carrara, you can select ACTOR and if you have more morphs than what comes with that character, they will appear, too and as you say make a big list. I have bought some additional morphs from artists who create them, eg 182 Morphs Die Trying OUTSIDE of DAZ store. If I choose CHARACTER then at the top ROOT,all morphs come up in an organised list per body region and will include the morphs I bought that are not DAZ created,. But Dwarfology IS DAZ, and will show, too in the ROOT list per body section/male/female etc. So I think carrara is OK for organising once you get used to it. I don't rely on the Smart Content very often as if you have a lot, it takes too long to load, so just use Content which works OK for me.
Really like what you are doing!
:) SileneUK
Hello Silene! Thank you!! glad you like it!! :)
If you use just the basic things at ds, the best is to have content and scene tab on the left panel, parameters, surfaces and render on the right. nothing more. It makes ds much more simple. then if you want to use other tabs you just add them. I have another for some pose settings for instance. but there's lots of tabs that just have settings that you find in parameter but organized in a not so easy to use way... as dartan said, more beautiful sometimes... but not so efficient. I also thought ds a little complicated and time spender (always going from tab to tab) before I learned this.
For importing characters, I just save ds files normally (ctrl S or edit - save). It will save in duf by default. than you import the duf file.
the mess I was talking about in carrara is not about the morphs, is about the content it self.... I use smart content even in carrara cause I don't have that problem of taking to long to long to load, but poses for instance aren't there :( They are all spread out in the content... I like to have them all together.
Actually the only thing I like more on morphing in ds is the appearance. If there's something ds is good is in it's preview mode... The textures have a great quality in preview mode. And it does not have this rigging white things in the middle. I make some characters in a very detailed way (not the ones in this images since they were to learn) since they are characters of my book and in ds I have another level of accuracy when I do it (visually of course, cause morphing it self is the same ;) ) Besides, I can't use skin materials in carrara, they just don't work if you apply them...
But again... this is just methods of work, and is just great that we use different methods and share them!! :) always learning and taking ideas from each other!! I actually thought I didn't had morphs in carrara until this conversation. now I know I have them all, just trying to get them in the wrong way ;)