ok is there a way in carrara studio 2.0 to save an obj with the same size it was imported as? i am messing with vertex's. this is a 3d game. The games objects are very small, but when i try to export that same object after importing it, its much larger in the game. So i am just wandering about this. also the object that gets imported looks something like a .dfx or .3ds file. though it is imported with what the game calls its shadows. But it needs to export the same size it went in in order for the shadows not to get screwed up in the game. also are there any tutorials anyone may know of that can show me how to edit a vertex model? i have figured out how to model in vertex mode but thats about it. thanks bea

Do you have auto re-sizing turned off when you import the OBJ file into Carrara? This should keep the model small in Carrara while you edit it rather than make it huge before exporting it.

I can help out on the editing. Select your object, go to the model room, select Edit>Convert to Other Modeler, and convert to vertex modeler. Your object will now be editable. As for the scaling, the only solution I can think of is to scale the model up (say 400%) after import, make the needed changes, then reduce the model back to the original size/scale (25%) before export. I'm sure someone else will have a better solution for scaling the model. Good luck!

thanks very much dust for your help. i have been searching the web and everything trying to figure out how to edit a vertex model for a month now....lol. bea

Don't feel bad, I remember having the same problem. So simple ..... after you find out what to do. But before that, you really you don't have a clue what to do.

According to your import settings, the object will already be a vertex object. So no conversion is necessary. I often times get small objects imported into carrara. So I use the camera's Track XZ control on the left and push the mouse foward to get a closer look at the object.

Dustrider you said this I can help out on the editing. Select your object, go to the model room, select Edit>Convert to Other Modeler, and convert to vertex modeler. Your object will now be editable. i cant find where your talking about. i am using carrara studio 2.0

Hmmm.... That's where it is in C3 and C4. I don't have C2 loaded on my laptop anymore, but when I get home tonight I'll check and see if C2 is on the machine at home, and let you know what I find out in the morning (currently no internet access at home)

thank you hon. this is for version 2.0 correct?

I used version 4 to make the screen captures, but everything is in the same place, and works the same in version 2. I double checked to make sure it was the same, since it was easier to do the screen captures and all on my laptop, which doesn't have version 2 on it. Eovia has been very good at leaving things in the same place during the version upgrade process, which makes upgrading a pleasure (not like some vendors who think each upgrade needs to look different with many things renamed or in a different location on the UI).

Good luck, have fun, and keep trying! The learning cure on any 3d application is fairly steep and takes a while(at least for me - I've been trying to learn now for 4+ years, maybe some day I'll get good at it). But, after a while it becomes less frustrating, and a lot easier to do what you want to. The user interface of Carrara, being very similar to Poser, makes the learning process complimentary for both applications.

If you use Poser a lot, and plan on making your own stuff for Poser with Carrara, you might look into upgrading to either C4 Pro or C4 Standard + the Transposer plugin. Carraras render engine is much better than firefly in Poser. Even Carrara V2 has a much better render engine, it's just more difficult to import Poser figures with the maps intact and working properly, and requires some manual editing of the materials (which really isn't that difficult - AFTER you figure it out). There have also been some good improvements to the vertex modeler, animation, and even better redering options (which is very impressive given the quality of the C2 render engine)

There is also an excellent and very active Carrara Group at Yahoo. You can find several tutorials on the web, which should help ease the learning curve.

Happy rendering!

When exporting to OBJ, and you need the object to remain the same size as you imported it as, you should check the "Export Objects In Local Coordinates" is checked inthe options dialog. The object should export as its original size even if you had elected to have Carrara resize it on import.

ok thanks alduin. i have still been struggling to get it to stop resizing on export. i also found out that it some how distorts the mesh on export than from what it originally looked like on import. maybe this happend though from something i clicked on the import dialog bea

Yes, Carrara Studio 2 and 3 have what I like to call Vertex Float problems. You place a vertex right where you want it (ex: 1.00,2.05,1.00), and frequently Carrara decides it wants the vertex somewhere else (ex: 1.00,1.04,0.99). I have not done any modeling in Carrara 4 yet, so the problem may still be there...or not.

Also, when importing an object to alter it or make morph targets, you don't need to have the Autoposition box checked. Carrara will place the objects center where the object's center was originally modeled (most likely at 0,0,0 anyway.

yes that i had figured out, which i suppose is a good thing being that its a sims2 game object. i just hope i dont click what ever it was i clicked to distort the object on last export. That was really odd, bea