Attached Link: http://www.velarde.com

Hello Everybody: I'm a former Infini-d and Raydream user. I'm trying to decide if I should buy Carrara. They seem to be advertising this program for mutlimedia and web animations, but does anybody knows if the renderer has broadcast quality or is this too much to ask for the price? And also what is your overall comment (good, bad) of the software, do you recommend it? I know Bryce, Infini-D and RayDream, Poser, do you think think it will be difficult for me to make the switch? Thanks in advance for any comment. Fernando J. Velarde

The new updater is just out so it may be too early to tell. However, Carrara is very easy to learn if you are familiar wuth RDS & Infini-D. Shouldn't take more then a few days to become familiar with it. The shaders are perhaps the most noteable change. If you do any QTVR panos the camera was removed.

Yes Carrara can be used for broadcast animations,it renders 60fps, with fields if needed. You don't have any NTSC safe color mode,but it can be done, I've done it and it worked alright. For the money, nothing else will beat it, unless you step up to 3D Studio Max or the likes!. For the money though it works for small time stuff.

If I had to rate it 1 to 10 (1 being somthing like Bryce 1 and 10 being Maya), i would give it a 4&1/2. Pros Very nice procederal shading Cool deformers Quick and Easy animating Fast rendering Friendly interface Well organized tools and functions Cool volumetric primatives such as fire, clouds, and fog Cool particle systems Built in sky generator Cons Weak modeling techniques (basic splines (lofting, extruding, sweeping ect.), metaball, and polygon modeling) below standard render quality Poor integration between modeling and assembling Cheap terrain primative No caustics No bones No fusion Unpredictable/exagerated subdivision Poor antialiasing I could keep going but i think you get the picture. Its a decent piece of software and the new Carrara Studio is worth the price because its bundled with Amapi. I would recommend looking around at other packages before you buy Carrara.

Thanks for the reponses people I''ve tried Cinema 4D and I know it is a much better package but I just can't get the hang of it. I might give Carrara a try. For 150 bucks (upgrade) I think I'm getting a pretty good deal. Most of my jobs are stills for Webpages but I'm kind of trying to migrate (if the need arises) to broadcast animations I guess After Effects and a little Carrara can make a good combination... (i hope) thanks again, talk to you later

After Effects and Carrara! Between the the two you should be able to create what would of cost millions just ten years ago! Cinema 4D is difficult to learn, but a very worthwhile program(my friend uses it). The XL version is made for broadcast graphics,but unfortuately it costs a small fortune.

I use Carrara mostly for television work. You are not going to find a better program for this for under $1,000 bucks. I have looked long and hard but when it comes to integrating with after effects & Avid Carrara does what you will need. the field render works and Carrara does a GREAT job with the Alphas on animations. I looked around @ truespace & Animation Master and both have siginificant problems (from what I have read) generating alpha's. And I would bet that would be close to the top of your list for functionality. HOWEVER...if you are looking for character animation go elsewhere :( BUT for broadcast work (logos, text, basic animation) Carrara rules. + it's easy :)

One of the problem with Animation Master is that it's hard to learn and master it, from what i've heard . Carrara is really easy to learn, especially if you used Raydream, Infini-D, Bryce and Poser ! And because you're a user of RD and I-D, you'll get a good discount for Carrara Studio ( $149 ) . Well, i'd suggest to go for Carrara : you'll sure use it for some stuff and if it's not powerful enough for your needs, you won't lose much money . litst

Attached Link: http://www.dvgarage.com/3dkit.html

You can purchase Electric Image 2.9 and DVD training for only $99 until June 30th. This was used on the Phantom Menace among others. Here's the link: http://www.dvgarage.com/3dkit.html

Thanks again to everbody that answered my post. I've also have given Electric Image a try and it is kind of complicated ( I used it a long time ago when it didn't have a modeler..). I guess I just don't want to spend too much time learning a program (besides I just don't have the time!) Carrara is sounding better and better now.... brenthomer says he is using Carrara for television work. Do you have a link to a homepage where I can see some of your animations? Another person said I should render to 60 fps. Is this necessary or 30 is good enough (with the interlaced field option)?

I agree with brenthomer, you can't get anything that can even come close to Carrara for the price. Get Carrara, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise look into 3D Studio Max(if you can afford it). Carrara is the poor mans 3D Studio Max!

I use RDS 5.5 for broadcast work, and apparently with Carrara's new patch, it's looking as stable as RDS.... So, that said, addressing the 30 / 60 fps question. I've been rendering full frame (not interlaced) AVI's at 30 fps. I import the finished product into After Effects and do whatever doodling I need to do there, then export as an uncompressed QuickTime. Then, I save the file on a Jaz disk, and move it over to my ancient Mac (on which I run Media 100 editing software). The animations are BEAUTIFUL in NTSC. (You just have to be careful about the compression schemes.) I've had people "in the know" come up to me after seeing a RayDream animation in one of my broadcasts and say, "so, how long have you been using Max?" I just smile....