Carrara or Blender?

Started by Upon Infinity, December 16, 2013, 02:01:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Upon Infinity

Hey all,

I'm considering expanding my 3D arsenal and the 2 programs I'm looking at right now are Carrara and Blender.  Has anyone used either of these significantly or can recommend or caution against one or the other or otherwise point to a better program?  And yes, I know all about Maya and Modo and Cinema 4d, but my budget is only a couple hundred bucks.

yossam

Blender is free.......................

Upon Infinity

Quote from: yossam on December 16, 2013, 02:31:33 PM
Blender is free.......................

I know, but cost isn't the only factor.  If I can get something that's even better than Blender, and I've heard good things about Blender, and only for a small monetary investment, then I'll get that instead.  Obviously, I can just download Blender right now, but there is the additional investment of time to learn the program that is also considered.  I already had Blender before and deleted it, because I could tell right off the bat that learning it was going to take weeks, if not months.

yossam

Rumor has it the UI is going to get a major update in the near future.

dandelO

Carrara is brilliant, I've used it since v5, which you can probably find the complete Pro version still online, they released it freely a couple of years back. Of course, you wouldn't have all the newer features then, hard/soft body physics, new volumetric cloud/fire/fog engine, new ocean primitives, displacement(slowish but works very well on any surface) wind, etc. It's so easy to use, unlike Blender, which I have but never ever got used to, or even liked actually, I have heard and seen great things that others have done with it, though.
I would definitely go for Carrara, it does everything, is super-fast(both UI and the ray-tracer), the animation is fantastic to use. The only part that has never impressed me is the built in plant creator/editor, the realism just isn't there, a shame, there are tons of other plant softwares that I'd much rather use.

PabloMack

I got Bryce when they were giving it away but I haven't use it. I tried Blender a long time ago but its UI was stone age.

masonspappy

Blender is part of my work-stream in just about every image I post here. I liken Blender to a bare room that is covered floor to ceiling with knobs, switches, dials, readouts, indicators and displays.  It is capable of doing incredible things IF you can just figure out how all those things work with each other. Unfortunately, the documentation is sparse, often missing and more often than not it's out of date. ( frankly, the whole documentation thing is what separates a 'wannabe' professional  package from a true professional package. )
But you can do some damned amazing things with it if you are lucky enough to figure out how pieces of it work together. 

TheBadger

Maya/Max should be free for you for 3 years (and then available for a greatly reduced price after) if you ever went to school, at a school that is registered with autodesk, which is most schools. Or if you have kids.

Im inclined more to Carrara based on what I have seen. But one turn off for me is the gallery at their webpage. Blender looks a lot better in terms of what people do with it. On the other hand, I think they use the gallery to promote their other products so it may not be a good example of what can be done.
It has been eaten.

Kadri

#8

What is your goal ? Do you want a good modeler or renderer. Or both?

3dcoat does have a $101 discount for 15 days just now for example.
If you want Zbrush but can not afford it.That would be a good investment .
It is $278 now. I am really considering this . http://3d-coat.com/buy-now/
It does have its own drawbacks if you investigate it a little on the web.
Some are software related and some about this page " http://3d-coat.com/company/our-voice/ "
I hate that but others may like it. Anyway...

Together with Terragen that would cover many things.

If you want an all around package Lightwave does have a discount too:
https://www.lightwave3d.com/buy-lightwave/ it is from $1495  to $995 for now.
If you say that it is more then you want to buy it does have an educational discount too there down on that page for $195 .

Before i bought Lightwave i tried to like Blender.
But even that it was free i bought Lightwave in the end.
I will "try to like" Blender ones more next year. It is like a habit now.
Who knows maybe i get to that " Ahaaaa! " moment this year :)

Upon Infinity

Quote from: Kadri on December 17, 2013, 04:59:45 AM

What is your goal ? Do you want a good modeler or renderer. Or both?


Yeah, I should have stated that right away.  Right now, I'm looking for a good modeller.  I'm currently using Hexagon and have a love/hate relationship with it.  I would be willing to spend $100-200 just for a really good, less buggy modeller that is as intuitive as Hex.  But I also want to look towards the future.  I also wouldn't mind dabbling in animation and stuff, so if a program has that, as well, that's just more icing on the cake.  But they don't have to be the same program, there could be multiple programs.  Zbrush, 3dcoat.  I've heard the names before, but I don't know enough about them to know if I can use their features for my needs.

In any event you guys have given me actually more to think about, and I don't need it immediately, so if I need to save up some more money and buy something higher end, I can do that too.  I also was looking at upgrading to the animation version of Terragen 3, which I could probably put to use, as well.  Decisions, decisions...

j meyer

If you're looking for a good modeler you should definitely try Wings3D.It's free btw.

Upon Infinity

Quote from: j meyer on December 17, 2013, 12:56:06 PM
If you're looking for a good modeler you should definitely try Wings3D.It's free btw.

Yeah, I've downloaded Wings, too.  I think it has promise, but its so alien to what I'm used to.   And the tutorials on YT aren't the best.   :-\

j meyer

Anything - or at least most - you need is displayed in the bottom line
of wings3ds main window.
And here is a good source for learning some of the more complicated
things . http://www.wings3d.com/paulthepuzzles/aardvarks.html
Might take a while,but it's worth it.

Upon Infinity

Quote from: Kadri on December 17, 2013, 04:59:45 AM



Some are software related and some about this page " http://3d-coat.com/company/our-voice/ "
I hate that but others may like it. Anyway...


I took a minute to explore your links.  That is by far the weirdest thing I've come across on a 3D page.

Actually, now that I've had a second to look at it, I think 3D Coat might be what I'm looking for.  A combination of that, Hexagon, Wings 3D, Blender and Terragen should give me everything I need.  Looks like I have until the end of the month to decide.

Kadri


Yes strange indeed!

I am using the demo right now.
There are things that i don't like but every software does have them.
Looks like for the price it is OK!

It would be easier for me if that page wasn't there actually.