Daz 3D Plugins for Carrara
DAZ 3D makes several additional plugins for Carrara that you can get at the DAZ 3D Store.
DAZ 3D has numerous YouTube videos showing of the software and models they make, plus many tutorial videos.
DAZ 3D's YouTube videos are at:
DAZ Plugins General FAQ
Q: How do I get the latest version of one of those plugins.
A: Reset the product in you DAZ Account and re-download it.
FAQ About Carrara Importer for Adobe After Effects
(I don't know of this to exist anymore? Dartanbeck)
Q: I can't find the PC .exe file to install it.
A: It doesn't have a .exe installer. It is a manually installed. See the Read Me in the .zip file on how to install and use it. Do be aware that the PC .and Mac each have a separate zip with a version for them.
Q: Do any tutorials exist on how to use it?
A: The The Carrara 5 Pro Handbook, by Mike de la Flour has a chapter written by David Bell and Lisa Yimm on using it with After Effect 6.5.
Luxus enables you to create photo realistic 3D rendering using LuxRender. Luxus tightly integrates LuxRender materials and textures as shaders in Carrara.
LuxRender is an unbiased 3D rendering engine based on what 3D lighting does in real life. Images generated are defined by a simulation of the laws of physics.
LuxRender is available for free from LuxRender.net
What's Included and Features
Luxus Plugin for Carrara:
19 LuxRender Textures as Shader Nodes
17 LuxRender Materials as Shader Nodes
01 Top Level Lux Surface Shader Node
Support for Carrara's Spot, Bulb, and Distant lights
05 LuxRender Specifc Lights:
Infinite(HDRI/IBL)
Projection
Sun
Sky 2
Sun Sky 2
All of these files are only understood by Luxus
*** Also see PhilW's
Luxus for Carrara is an innovative product that allows users of Carrara to render extremely realistic images with the free Luxrender. Many existing Carrara shaders are automatically converted to Lux shaders, but Luxus also allows users to use Lux's native shader definitions. As these are different from those that Carrara users are used to, this can be confusing. Luxrender also works best with its own lighting system.
As I was using Luxus for Carrara, I found that I was developing a library of handy lights and materials that I could quickly apply to any scene - so I thought that I would develop and share this with other Luxus users.
This set comprises area lights, spot lights and bulb lights ready to be dropped into your scene in place of Carrara's equivalent lighting. Some quick background lighting is also included.
On top of this, there are 65 seamless Lux-based shaders for common materials that you can just drag and drop onto your objects and surfaces. Particularly for materials such as metals, which do not tend to convert that well, this can be a real time saver and you are assured of quality results each time.
In addition to using these shaders as they are, they can act as great templates for developing your own - simply change the maps in a map-based shader (such as the Rock and Wood shaders) to use your existing image maps. Fabric, Rock and Wood are set up to tile seamlessly if you need a finer texture density, and change the color of lights or create your own metallic shaders with ease by editing these examples.
I have also included a couple of simple background props and left and right reflector screens to add bounce light to your main lighting, without needing to add extra lights to your scene.
I hope this collection saves you time and helps you get the best from your renders using Luxus for Carrara!
What's Included and Features
9 Clear Shaders:
Clear Water, Crystal, Diamond, Eye Surface, Glass, Glass Pale Cyan, Glass Pale Red, Glass with Dispersion (produces spectral colours), Lux Null (to make objects invisible)
6 Fabric Shaders:
Cloth-Blue, Cloth-Green, Cloth-Neutral, Cloth-Red, Cloth-Tweed, Leather
7 Glossy and 7 Matte Shaders:
Black, Blue, Green, Grey, Red, White, Yellow
6 Emission Shaders to turn objects or surfaces into lights:
Blue, Green, Orange, Red, White, Yellow
10 Metal Shaders:
Aluminium, Black Metal, Brass, Copper, Copper-Old, Gold, GunMetal, Mirror, Silver, Steel
8 Rock Shaders:
Marble-Blue, Marble-Pink, Stone-Brown, Stone-Dark, Stone-Grey, Stone-Light, Stone-Pink, Stone-Yellow
7 Wood Shaders:
Dark Wood, Medium Wood, Light Wood, Red Wood, Light Flooring, Medium Flooring, Dark Flooring
5 Volume Shaders, apply to box surrounding area of render:
Distance (slight haze effect)
Dusty Interior (very subtle haze, suitable lighting will produce visible rays)
Fog (thicker version of Distance, but still not that thick)
Smoke (Black volume effect)
Smoke-Dense (thicker version of smoke)
4 Bonus Objects:
Open Room (simple background with floor and 2 walls
Backdrop Screen (like a studio background)
2 Reflectors to add bounce light from your main lighting
This product requires Luxus for Carrara
Makes the aniMate aniBlock Importer for Carrara that is sold in the DAZ Store.
The aniMate aniBlock Importer for Carrara is included in several different bundles. Please check carefully what each bundle has before purchasing one and comparing the price of the bundle and things in it if you already have AniBlocks. It may be cheaper to just buy the importer and AniBlocks you don't have separately or it may not be.
GoFigure web site is at:
GoFigure does have a forum dedicated to its product, but you need to register and log in for it to show all the current threads.
They also have info on new products, tutorials, and FAQ about the products they make too on the site.
It is strongly recommended that you check out the AniMating in Carrara part of the Information Manual, since Dartanbeck has given an extensive information with links to tutorial videos on using it.
FAQ About aniMate aniBlock Importer for Carrara
Q: Can I import my aniBlocks I made using Animate 2 in DAZ Studio into Carrara with this?
A: Yes
Q: Does it work with Genesis?
A: Genesis is supported in the Carrara 8.5 version.
FAQ About
Q: Z-Brush and now the plugin isn't working. What do I do?
A: GoZ for Carrara can not be working for several reasons. In most cases it isn't working as something isn't set up correctly or something got messed up if it was working before and isn't now. in cases of the later this is because Z-Brush was just updated and needs to be st up again or something was deleted during the update.
1.) In Z-brush do this first.
a.) Go to Preferences
b.) Select GoZ and make sure that for Carrara it is pointing at your Carrara program. Manually tell Z-Brush were to go as having Z-bush automatically find where to point may result in X-Brush not pointing at it for some reason. Even if Z-Brush is showing that it is pointing at the right place for Carrara do this as the set up can fix things even when the location is showing to be correct..
2.) Try using GoZ while in Carrara if you can't get it to work in Z-Brush.
3.) Reinstall the plugin and try doing 1 & 2 again.
You may have deleted one or more files or folders. This tends to be the case if you just updated Z-Brush as it is advised by Pixologoic to delete certain folders before you run the nw full installer or patch for Z-Brush.
Q: where is the GoZ for Carrara Manual and Read Me located?
A: They are in the folder titled GoZDocs in your Carrara 8 program folder.
FAQ About
Q: Does it work with Genesis.
A: Genesis is supported in the 8.5 version of the plugin. If you need the dmc file for Genesis you can get it from DAZ Studio 4.0 or 4.5 by going to your program (application) folder for it and looking in DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins\dzmimic\Configuration_Files DAZ Studio 4.0 or 4.5 and making a copy of it for your Carrara Mimic Configuration Files. (VERY IMPORTANT: Do not remove the Genesis dmc from the DAZ Studio. Make a copy of it so Carrara will have its own one and so will DAZ Studio.:
Q: Where is the instruction manual for the plugin?
A: It can be found in the program (application) folder you installed Carrara into in the folder MimicProDocs.
Q: I have a figure that in DAZ Studio, Mimic Lite, or the stand alone version of Mimic Pro that I can lip-synch or have talk with a recording, but it doesn't work when I use Mimic Pro for Carrara. What do I do need to do so it will work Mimic Pro for Carrara?
A: You most likely need to put a copy of the dmc (DAZ Mimic Configuration) file for the model into your the Configuration Files folder in the Mimic Content folder, that can be found in the program (application) folder you installed Carrara or you have to direct Mimic to the where the file is. It is strongly recommended that you put a copy of the dmc files for any figures you own in the Configuration Files folder that doesn't have them.
Q: Where can I get a dmc file for a certain figure?
A: Not all figures have dmc files available for them. For those that do you can get them from in most cases at:
1.) The product page on the DAZ Store for the figure will have a link to download it. (Note: If a dmc link isn't working please contact support to have it fixed. A few got messed up during the transition to the new store last year.
2.) Some are included with your instillation files for a product.
3.) Some came be gotten by going to the figure creator's website. 3D Universe's website, for example, has a section dedicated to Mimic files for the figures they sell at DAZ.
4.) Additionally, some fans have created dmc files for figures that don't have any that can be gotten on ShareCG and other sites if you do a search.
For those that don't you can make your own using Mimic Pro.
Q: I never purchase Mimic Po, but only purchased Mimic Pro for Carrara why is the store saying I own Mimic Pro?
A: At some point DAZ decided to included Mimic Pro with the purchase Carrara plugin version. The files for it show up in your Products Library under Mimic Pro and not under Mimic Pro for Carrara.
Speed Up Your Workflow With A Grid Render Farm
You've done the work. It's inspired, inventive and ingenious. Now comes the most tedious part of the process - rendering. Click the button and walk away while your computer turns your visions into reality. But what if there was a way to see those results faster, without the downtime on your creative workstation?
With GridTM, you can eliminate all that creative downtime by taking advantage of the power of network rendering. The Grid site license enables you to build a render farm of up to 50 nodes with up to 100 CPU's, freeing you to continue working on your next piece while the tedious rendering is handled seamlessly in the background. What's more, this render farm can be utilized by every Carrara Pro seat in your office, so all of your creative workstations can remain productive.
The Grid license is priced to fit within every creative team's budget and runs on standard off-the-shelf computers, so you can easily add this powerful tool without breaking the bank.
What's Included and Features
Speed Up Your Workflow With A Grid Render Farm
You've done the work. It's inspired, inventive and ingenious. Now comes the most tedious part of the process - rendering. Click the button and walk away while your computer turns your visions into reality. But what if there was a way to see those results faster, without the downtime on your creative workstation?
With GridTM, you can eliminate all that creative downtime by taking advantage of the power of network rendering. The Grid site license enables you to build a render farm of up to 50 nodes with up to 100 CPU's, freeing you to continue working on your next piece while the tedious rendering is handled seamlessly in the background. What's more, this render farm can be utilized by every Carrara Pro seat in your office, so all of your creative workstations can remain productive.
The Grid license is priced to fit within every creative team's budget and runs on standard off-the-shelf computers, so you can easily add this powerful tool without breaking the bank.
FAQ About
Q: Where is the Documentation for this plugin?
A: You can find HTML documentation files after you install the plugin in the folder VectorStyleDocs located in the Carrara program (application) folder. The Documentation can't be accessed via Help Menu in Carrara contrary to what the Read Me for the plugin states.
Q: Does it come with any examples files?
A: Yes, it comes with several Carrara scene files and swf (Shock Wave Flash) files of the scenes exported in that format they can be found in the Examples folder located in the VectorStyleDocs folder that you can find in the Carrara program (application) folder after you install the plugin.
Q: Do any additional tutorials and information exist on using Vector Style 2? The Documentation is very bare bones and I head that some book had some stuff on using it.
A: The book The Carrara 5 Pro Handbook, by Mike de la Flour, dedicates an entire chapter to Vector Style 2.
Q: Are Vector Style 2 swf files and a native Flash swf file the same?
A: No, Vector Style 2 swf files are not as highly optimized and not as compact as native Flash swf files. It is recommended to keep export of Vector Style 2 files at 12 frames per second and export options simple if you plan to work with them in Flash after export.
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