And if you are a Mac user, you can get the Full version of Poser 3 in a Computer Arts mag. Also at B&N. And you can get a great compliment to Carrara free with 3D world, Pixels 3.7. I have found the modeler in Pixels to be quite exceptional. They also released there latezt V4.0 which supports OS X and many new features. Competition is good, it makes programs better and cheaper. PAG

Thanks Litst! This is a very well done tutorial and great viewlet.

I use an PowerMac G4 Dual 450 with 1GB RAM, ATI Rage128 Pro (Yuck), Apple Studio Display 17" Running Mac OSX 10.1.3 and OS 9.2.2. I also use a P3-800 with 384MB Ram and a GeForce 4 Titanium with 128MB RAM. Here's hoping that Carrara Version 2 supports Network Rendering. Paul

Yes the shaders need to be "typed" on a mac so that they can be seen by Carrara. There is a simple program that does this, you simply drop a file onto it and select the file type and creator code. I could also create a simple applescript droplet or a Mac OS9 and X program that would allow you to drop multiple files on it and convert them to the mac format.... I think I will. PAGZone

Hey. Well since you work on a Mac you know about stuffit files. That is the mac standard for compression and packaging. On the PC side though, they prefer Zip files. No biggie though because if you own Stuffit Deluxe v 6.0 or newer, you have a program called drop Zip that will make a Zip file. Though these days it doesnt matter as as the Stuffit expander installed on all mac computers also handles zip files. So if you package your models or textures in Zip files you are covered in both cases.

One thing that Eovia has stated that there will be a feature similar to Radiosity only far superior. Also there will be new features for Character animamtion, bones I guess. And as I stated, the Mac users will get a Native version for OS X, which is huge on its own.

Great Suggestions. If you own a Mac there are a couple of methods for putting them on DVD. You can do it the manual method of encoding to Mpeg2 and creating the proper structure/menus for DVD, them burn with Toast and a DVD-R drive. Or you can do it the easy way. If you have a G4 with AGP you can buy a Pioneer DVR-A03 Drive (About $300) This is the same drive Apple touts as there Superdrive. You can then spend $20 on iDVD and bammo, your own DVD. If you are in the market for a new Mac, do yourself a flavor and buy one with a superDrive included. If you have a Firewire DVD-R, then you need Apples DVD Studio Pro ($999). Too much for me, but hey you can create pro level DVD's and interaction with it., Regards, Paul

Good info! Just curious are you afraid to upgrade to 9? Or is it a money thing? The reason I ask is that even with your hardware you will see a noticable stability and performace change by upgrading to 9.2. I don't think you can still buy 9.2 at retail, but if you by OSX then you get 9.2 full version included. Depending on your G3 card, you can use a driver to make 10.1 work on your system just fine. The bottom line is that 9.2.x is much more stable then os8.x ever was. Regards, PAGZone

Here is a couple things that come to mind with Type 2 errors: First when you get an error like that the Dialog also states you should Restart your computer. This is critical. If you don't you will keep making a bad problem worse. The fact that Mac OS 9.x is not a modern OS os the reason for this message to restart. Second, give Carrara more memory and you should see less of these. PAGZone

I have this book. I think it is a great book, but made more for the beginner / intermediate. This is more of a training manual that covers the entire program. I doubt you will find any info about Poser in it Regards, Paul

Wow Litst. That is awesome. Looks very realistic. Paul

Hi, Have you tried exporting them to another format that Carrara supports? Maybe like 3D Studio or DXF? Regards, Paul

Oops, one more thing. The new iMacs are Fab, but if you can afford to, consider one of the new G4 towers instead. I use a G4 450DP and love it. I have no problems with performance in most apps under OS9.x. and since it is a dual Processor I get a major speed boost in photoshop, and anything in OSX. the iMac is a consumer level system. The G4 towers are pro level and have a faster Bus speed, Faster Ram, Faster Ethernet port, Faster Video, Faster HardDisk & Access, and very expandable. Like I said I love the new iMacs (My wife owns a flower power one!) but for the most bang for your buck, especially for graphics related work, the G4 tower is the best choice. Ciao, Paul

Velarde, I am still a beginner with Carrara, but I know Macs and troubleshoot Macs and PC's as a business. Your iMacs configuration should be OK. Couple questions: 1. How much memory have you allocated to Carrara? You have 256MB ram, give as much as you can to Carrara, taking the systems needs into consideration. 2. Reboot your system and when the desktop appears, choose About this computer in the Apple Menu, how much memory is the Mac OS using, and how much is free? 3. What is your virtual memory setting? It should be 1MB over your RAM. This is the default setting in the memory control panel. If you changed this you may want to click the default button to reset it to the recommended specs. Some people will say that VM actually slows done your system. It does for some applications, but having it set to the default can actually increase performance, as the OS will use less memory and programs will require less to run. However when you add more ram to or above 1GB, the OS will disable VM. 4. What kinds of other hardware do you have installed that requires a system extension. Basically anything that you intall, softwarre or hardware that requires a system extension, will take performance away from your system. Take iTunes as an example, it installs several extensions that are not necessary to use the core program, but add bells and whistles like MP3 Player support or automatic lookup of track names. You can disable quite alot of extensions and still use the software without being penalized in system performance. Of you want, save your extension sets to a file, using the extensions manager and I will be happy to look at them and tell you which ones are not needed. I can also make notes on ones that are required for specific hardware to function. You can email them to paulg256@hotmail.com Wow, this is a long message. Bottom line is you should not have to disable regular system extensions to regain performance. A lot of times an extension conflicts with another one or a program and causes problems. I use the same extension set day in and day out with no problems. Regards, Paul

I bought a copy of Art Matic Pro. It is pretty cool and fun to use. It is a great compliment to any 3d app like Bryce or Carrara as it can be used to generate some impressive Abstract textures. PAG