Ahead of its time...
wikitime
Posts: 36
Hello fellow Raydreamers!
I've been using Carrara/Ray Dream since the late 90's. From the Days of Fractal Design, Eovia, and now Daz. The Carrara family of products was so ahead of it's time, that other applications like Blender are finally starting to incorporate functions that Carrara had 10+ years ago. It makes me sad to think about where Carara would be right now if the developers kept working on it. Oh well, it will always be my go-to tool for 3d.
Cheers,
Ben Martin
Perpetual 3D apprentice
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Comments
So true
Easiest +1 ever.
even easier +2
Interesting post, but what sort of features is Blender catching up with that Carrara had ten years ago ? Funnily enough, I just got Ray Dream 5 from Ebay, plus that version with the funny duck on the cover and was looking it over. It did seem to have some sort of workplane function, which is usuallly associated with Modo, but I'm not sure how a back to back comparison would be of that. The one thing I do like about Carrara is that they seemed to give a certain consideration of the user's intention as if the user is an independent filmmaker who is wowed by the movies, so tried to make it quite user friendly. I think the ocean primitive or the terrain generator are examples of that type of thinking...
An ad promo from the first release of Carrara under a company (Eovia) that was formed to save this and other great programs from becoming extinct.
Beyond that, they had a dream to make it The Best 3D solution for Anyone, avid pro or otherwise!
Carrara 1.1 is at the heart of the Studio package, an intensively beta-tested and rock-stable revision of the popular original release. With the inclusion of several additional features, Carrara Studio renews the promise of "3D for All" as the matured offspring of the highly successful Ray Dream Studio and Infini-D. The latest release culminates 10 years of 3D software research and development.
Eovia is offering substantial upgrade discounts to owners of both legacy programs, as well as an upgrade path from Carrara 1 to Carrara Studio. For current registered Carrara 1 users, the 1.1 updater alone is available as a free download.
Eovia Corporation was founded by 3D enthusiasts devoted to furthering the "Ray Dream way of life." Eovia acquired Carrara when the previous owner, Metacreations, divested all its graphic design applications. Eovia subsequently merged with TGS and took over distribution of the TGS award winning 3D NURBS modeling application, Amapi 3D™. As a limited-time offer, a free, fully working Amapi 3D version 5 is included on the Carrara Studio CD.
"We listen carefully to the 3D community and work closely with users," said Antoine Clappier, CEO of Eovia. "Carrara Studio, with Amapi3D v.5 included, is by far the most accessible, comprehensive and productive 3D package available today."
As the bold successor to the very popular Ray Dream and Infini-D, Carrara Studio defies the "userhostile" conventions of high-priced 3D applications by combining an elegant, intuitive user interface with commonsense workflow, along with a full suite of professional-level tools for modeling, shading, scene building, animation, rendering, and special effects.
"The Eovia team is committed to the principle that the creative craft of 3D should be a productive pleasure rather than a confusing chore," said Antoine Clappier. "Carrara Studio is designed to be equally accessible and professional for all potential users of 3D regardless of their 3D experience, including digital artists, web designers, multimedia producers, advertising illustrators, game makers, product designers, and anyone else who needs 3D imagery."
Most important over the long term, Carrara Studio is an application with an exciting future, continuously evolving to meet user requirements. Instead of succumbing to unsupported legacy programs dumped at a "discount," 3D enthusiasts have with Carrara Studio an affordable opportunity to continue "Shaping the Future of 3D."
KEY FEATURES:
QuickTour
Eovia well appreciates that learning a new graphics application is always the first hurdle, and that "showing" is better than "telling." In addition to a thoroughly documented manual, Carrara Studio includes eight interactive orientation tours of its extensive features in order to boost users up an already easy learning curve.
SmartFlow
In Carrara Studio, workflow forms an inherent part of the interface design by dividing major functions into logical, distinct "rooms." This way, users can conduct multiple operations without sorting through a confusing clutter of options.
Fast Rendering
Carrara Studio provides instant 3D visualization of modeling, texturing and scene work, plus exceptionally fast, high-quality Hybrid Ray Tracing algorithms for rapid spot-check and final renders.
Smart Pack
Carrara Studio includes 25 of the most popular and useful third-party plug-ins developed exclusively for Carrara Studio. Render in cartoon styles, apply advanced procedural shaders like Slope, Brick, Lumber Yard and Noise Factory, or apply Global Environment Lighting to illuminate a scene. All of this, and more, become possible with the Smart Pack extensions.
Fantastic Free Support
Carrara Studio includes free unlimited support via the web, email and phone for both Carrara and Amapi 3D v5, an extraordinarily high level of customer service for software these days. Additionally, the Carrara user community is one of the most active and helpful in the 3D application universe.
Animation Control
Laying out a sequence of multiple actions requires comprehensive master control of animation. In Carrara Studio, every function can be animated using powerful timeline and storyboard editing tools.
MultiModeling
Versatility is the key to shaping 3D surfaces. Carrara Studio provides five distinct modelers, enabling users to fit the tool to the job.
NURBS, courtesy of Amapi 3D version 5
Yes, the Carrara Studio package has NURBS (Non Uniform Rational B-Splines)-for a limited time! Included on the inaugural Carrara Studio CD is a completely functional, fully supported version of Amapi 3D, a gift in commemoration of Amapi's 10th anniversary and the merger of Eovia and TGS, signaling exciting things to come as Carrara Studio and Amapi 3D continue to evolve. NURBS models constructed in Amapi 3D v.5 can be exported to Carrara Studio via the .rds format. (Amapi 3D v.6, the latest version, exports the Carrara format.) WARNING! Amapi 3D use is highly addictive, likely leading to an Amapi 3D v.6 upgrade at the attractive discount price offered to Carrara Studio owners!
Goodies Galore!
One of the best ways to learn from professionals is to examine their work in detail. With hundreds of high quality, professionally produced models and textures in Carrara Studio, users can learn advanced techniques from masters of the craft.
Web 3D and the Future… Post 3D creations on the Web for the whole world to admire! Early this summer, Eovia will release an extension for converting models to the rich media platform, Viewpoint Experience Technology (VET). Lars Olson, Product Manager of VET at Viewpoint, put it this way: "When Metacreations became Viewpoint and moved to web 3D, we wanted to be sure Carrara was in good hands. Now that Carrara Studio is shipping, Eovia obviously was the right choice. The upcoming VET extension will level the playing field, because VET models made with Carrara Studio are every bit as good as VET models made with high-end programs."
Carrara Studio System Requirements
Windows
Macintosh
Pricing and Availability
Carrara Studio for Macintosh and Windows will begin shipping worldwide today and is available at the suggested retail price of US $399. For more information and direct purchase, visit the Eovia website at www.eovia.com or call Eovia in the US at (888) 394-2307 or Eovia in Europe at +33 (0) 556 13 37 77.
Special offers: (in US$)
Patch for Carrara 1 to version 1.1: free download
• Upgrade from Carrara to Carrara Studio: $99.00
• Upgrade from Infini-D or Ray Dream (any version) to Carrara Studio: $149.00
• Sidegrade from Amapi 3D (any version) to Carrara Studio: $199.00
Additional Eovia offers: (in US$)
• Upgrade from Amapi 3D version 5 to version 6: $199.00
• Sidegrade from Carrara, Carrara Studio, Infini-D and Ray Dream to Amapi 3D version 6: $199.00
About Eovia
Eovia, a TGS company, was founded in November 2000 with headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA and offices in San Diego, CA. Eovia is a young company with strong assets and benefits from both the savoir-faire of its founders and the legacy of more than ten years of Research & Development and Marketing conducted by MetaCreations, Fractal Design, Ray Dream and TGS. Formerly the home of Amapi 3D, TGS has been in the graphics software business for over 15 years.
Eovia's mission:
• Pursue Ray Dream's founding vision: create affordable yet powerful 3D software for everyone.
• Invent new technologies that enable our customers to work faster with better results.
• Reintroduce simple concepts, forgotten by the industry: true customer care and quality service.
I was just watching "Light & Magic" on Disney +, which is a really good documentary on the life of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) from before it began to today.
Fascinating! Absolutely Fascinating!
So much of what we can truly take for granted on our computers today are available to us because George Lucas had a vision - a vision he was willing to invest his own money into. Taking that tour through time from 1975 to 2023 is a real eye-opener. I was already aware of this stuff (exception - I had no clue it was because George Lucas funded it all) but it hits pretty hard today, seeing it played back before my eyes like this.
Catmull and Blinn - two HUGE names in the industry knowing that they could push further to solve multitudes of problems the computer world was facing - but who would fund the incredible amount of time it takes to solve these questions? When Mr. Lucas contacted Ed Catmull offering a job to head up (and pretty much begin) the Lucas Arts Computer Division, well... I think his jaw may have hit the floor! :)
That computer division pushed much of the PC/Mac technology that we're so accustomed to today - but it didn't come overnight.
Seeing the years pass as the show progresses, it's fun and sad at the same time. Miniature Modelmakers were offered chances for education in the computer world due to the fact that it was looking like their work might eventually be replaced by computer imagery in a few years. At that time, computer graphics for feature films was still pretty elementary when compared to what we have today. Think "Wrath of Khan" - the simulation they watched on the ship explaining the Genesis project. Even The Abyss, which wowed audiences world wide "Looks like CG" compared to todays transparent VFX, and they put an incredible amount of time, work and resources into making those 90 seconds of effects - the tentacle of water that evolves a face on the end.
In the end, it took a LOT LESS time than they had originally estimated and, modelmakers had to either move to CG VFX (ILM) or work part time - if at all. That was a very sad reality, especially since ILM was born thanks to the genius of miniature modelmakers as well as those bold enough to build computers that didn't yet exist.
I'm very glad that the world shifted back and opened up the need for these modelmakers again, but the harsh loss of them at the time... I just know in my gut that words cannot describe the nightmare of it all - for everyone.
They were using tools then that were truly rudimentary compared to today, yet they pushed on. They HAD to make it work!
George Lucas invited his Director friends to make use of the ILM facilities just so that none of the artists had to find jobs elsewhere between projects. That, of course, eventually led to opening up ILM to the world, employing thousands instead of the handful of artists they had then.
Anyway, I'll let them tell the story. But knowing this sort of stuff back when I started using Carrara in 2010 is why I never really complained if I couldn't do this easily or that. I would think about those early CG pioneers and the practical effects artists who had to do everything in front of a camera, and tell myself to think out the best way possible to do the things I want to do - and that's how I've been working over the years.
We didn't have a fluid simulator, so when I bought PD Howler, I wanted to try and make flowing water using an animated set of texture maps on a morphing mesh. Guess what? It works!
Thinking outside the box is often the best way to pull things off.
ILM is absolutely famous for the fact that nearly every job they get forces them to figure out ways to produce pictures that nobody has done before - and they love the challenge!
BTW - Willow needed ILM to do something that has been done before many times, but never using a computer to do it. It's the process that takes a man and turns him into a werewolf. A process called Morfing.
Yes... Morfing!
Dennis Murin, one of the very first ILM employees, says that Morfing is spelled Morfing, and that the rest of the world has it wrong! ;)
I'm so happy to share that with everybody :)
Wow. Light & Magic alone is worth paying for Disney + for a few months!
...if only they had Carrara!!!