I'm relatively new at this 3d thing, and I recently purchased Carrara 1.1 from Purplus.com for $29. I figured that I would practice with it until I had developed some skills, and then maybe buy version 3 and switch without missing a beat. However, the program is so horrendous as to be nearly unusable. Most of the problem seems to center around the vertex modeler. Polygons won't fill, models end up full of unwanted artifacts that I can't edit or delete, converting spline opbjects to vertex objects causes "unknown errors", switching from the assemble room to the vertex modeler causes "unknown errors", boolean operations cause "unknown errors", breathing on it causes "unknown errors", the user's manual is poorly written and the pages are all falling out even though it is only a couple of weeks old, etc.....etc....etc... The only practice I'm getting is practicing not going insane. Are there any other low-end complete modeling/rendering programs other than Bryce? Should I get Carrara 2 or 3 despite my experience with version 1? What have your experiences been with Carrara 2 and/or 3? Thanks!

I would say "yes" go for version 3, but to make sure you should download the demo at www.eovia.com I've personally used a ton of different programs, some cheaper, some very expensive. C3 does offer a heck of alot but you have to get use to the interface and workflow...but that's for any program. If the C3 demo doesn't convince you then go and download some other demos. I got the same advice when I asked about programs..and it really is the best advice. Only you know what works best for you and what you like, not to mention what you are going to do with your 3D art.

Just FYI, I do almost all my modeling in the spline modeler. The vertex modeler is pretty good but spline for me is a ton easier. Other people are the other way so it's really a personal preference thingy. You should check that out to help you make a decision. -Kix

Carrara was a program that nearly died on the table. After all the struggles Ray Dream went through it finally got fully stable and properly usable at 5.5 Then Meta decided to make Carrara 1 out of it. Which was so buggy it almost killed the entire line there. Eovia took over and fixed half the bugs for their Carrara Studio 1. By C3 it is nicely stable and quite functional. I like the vertex modeller myself, but the splines are great for knocking out a quick model. It is also weaning this long-time Bryce user away from his favorite render engine. Anyhow....try the demo, see how it runs, see how the workflow works for you. There are other options within the same range. And you really shouldn't stop looking at options until you have tried Wings3D (a free modelling ap).

Creating vertex objects from spline objects does creates a lot of unwanted artifacts. To clean up a vertex model I found that selecting small segments of the vertex object and welding it using a small tolerance will work. I've tried selecting the whole object but it usually crashes Carrara. The vertex modeler has a pretty steep learning curve but it is well worth the effort. Version 1.1 is just fixes the major bugs in version 1.0 which should have never been released. Carrara 2 is vastly superior to 1.1. And if you can afford it Version 3 is the way to go.

Sorry about the frustration you're experiencing. I'm still using C1.1 and it is pretty stable but I tend to stay out of the vertex modeller (not that its bad I just don't get it... yet) and create most of my models entirely out of spline objects. My only problem is jumping to the modeling room will cause Carrara to crash too frequently. Other than that I rarely have problems with the program. Good luck. memaci

All of the models that I've have put up in free stuff were created using Carrara 1.1... and, probably, 95% of those models were done using the spline modeller. The only time I've ever gotten the 'unknown error' pop-up is when I've done some modelling, closed the modelling window, switched back to the assembly room, then tried to go back to the modelling room (either by clicking the modelling room icon or double-clicking the object). If I leave that modelling window open when switching rooms then I usually have no problems. I tend to stay out of the vertex modeller unless I absolutely have to... subdividing some models has produced some very strange results... on the whole, though, I love Carrara. The interface and workflow just seem more natural to me... and I have yet to produce a worthwhile model with any other program (not through lack of trying). BTW... just ordered my upgrade from 1.1 to 3... couldn't afford 2 last year... but after playing with the demo, I just couldn't pass this one up. Wife's gonna be upset when she finds out... FedEx says I've got until 10/7 to break it to her...can't wait :D

At one point, I remember people saying that most of the development for C1 was done on machines which utilized nvidia hardware. I originally had a Voodoo 3 and had the rendering problem a lot but with my Geforce hardware, that problem really dissolved. No idea how much of an issue it is anymore. -Kix