Hi all, I'm a rookie in Carrara, and i was wondering if it's worth spending quite some time to learn Carrara's modellers, if they are too limited ? I mean if i want to do (for fun only, not as a professional !) car modeling, or architectural stuff... Is Amapi the perfect "add-on" tool to Carrara in that case (i already use Amapi v5) ? Thx for your input :-)

I've used a number of other 3D products and I haven't seen anything quite like Carrara's spline modeller. It takes a bit of getting used to (and you may find it best to create your curves in a product like XaraX or Illustrator) but it can make creating certain types of objects really easy. The vertex modeller is a bit primitive but still useful (and enhanced for v3) and Carrara does have subdivision surface support. One of the main problems I had with the v2 vertex modeller is that it often creates triangles instead of quads and most of the tutorials and books want you to use quads (supposedly better for subdivision?) You can also model in the assemble room using primitives with Modifiers (like bulge or bend&twist). Plus Carrara has a nifty text modeller that makes it easy to do bevelled text (or more if you use dingbat-type fonts). There's also a metaballs modeller which I haven't used much but maybe could be used to simulate blobby liquids? So I'd say that Carrara packs a lot of punch in the modelling department even though the vertex modeller is no match for the modellers in C4D or Lightwave (yet). Supposedly www.luxology.net is working on a cool new modeler called Modo. It would be handy if Carrara could import objects in Lightwave format since there are so many of them out there in the world.

Wings Wings Wings and Carrara for splines, texturing, lighting etc. :)

"It would be handy if Carrara could import objects in Lightwave format "

You can with Transporter, a free utility from Electric image. (only for Mac OS 9 however)

"I would bet the horse on the cover of the Carrara 3 box was not modeled in Carrara 3 or Amapi 7"

No question about it. No way it was modeled in either of them.

No question about it?? The gargoyle on the cover/box of Carrara 1 was modelled in the vertex modeller of a very buggy version of Carrara starting with one little bitty point. That horse isn't as complex as the gargoyle model. No question about it. In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing with the program, Carrara could do it easily.

I've been watching the jeff lew videos and trying to decide which tool(s) to use for character animation. Hash Animation Master is inexpensive and seems to have a lot of features although I've heard it's unstable and I haven't seen a lot of realistic-looking renders from it (more cartoony stuff). Lightwave v7.5 has some character animation tools(with more to come in v8) but everybody seems to use Project Messiah but I've been playing with a demo of that and finding it a bit wonky in spots (although I do like the way it can pipeline into multiple programs). I guess Maya is the answer although I don't find that program easy to understand or use and it still costs $2k. TrueSpace seems to have lots of animation features but I just can't get my mind around all those tiny little icons. Hopefully Carrara v4 will have some more tools for character animation. Even though C3 introduced bones I haven't seen many examples yet of people doing cool character animation in Carrara.

MIlkshape can be used for adding bones and animation as well, and is pretty cheap.

"That horse isn't as complex as the gargoyle model." Yes, it is. --- "In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing with the program, Carrara could do it easily. " I submit that the horse could possibly be made in Amapi, and probabley was. It was done by Pierre Bretagnolle a known Amapi user but it likely could not be done in Carrara. No way. That aside, putting an Amapi made model on the Carrara box cover is just a bit misleading. Much like putting a Poser model on the C2 box was. Eovia probably shouldn't do this, nor should they hire artists from ILM to do box cover designs as they did for C2.

I think it would be best if the primary artwork on the Carrara box were both modeled and rendered in Carrara (and hopefully that was the case with c2 and c3). If non-Carrara objects are used (or any third-party plugins) then I think that should be clearly noted. A down-rev version of Amapi does ship with Carrara but it's not officially part of the base product. I guess it's a given that texture bitmaps will need to be created in an image editing program like Photoshop.

I don't know... I"ve been playing in Carrara for a while now, but still concider myself a dabbler. Mostly using the Vertex modeler to make Poser related stuff. However since version 3 I've started actually trying to learn this program and I'm amazed at the power I'm begining to see in it! I think that the horse could very well have been made in the vertex modeller using smoothing functions. Not saying I could do it, but I think a really good artist could! mike

So I think the answer to the question posed would be "no". An external modeller is not mandatory. Great things can be done using the tools within the program by those who have taken the time to learn to use them to their fullest capabilities... as with any program. However, some feel more comfortable modelling with another program and importing the results into Carrara. Whatever works... it's the end result that is the important thing.

I've also been using the vertex modeller to make Poser stuff, but that's because I like the clean lines of an optimized mesh, and I'm also too lazy to learn any of my NURBS modellers. I love the Carrara splines for running off quick objects but I find them no fun to edit...that's why I pretty much plod along placing point by point in vertex instead.