Starry Sky for Carrara
A note about downloading: The download links will take you to the landing page for the file, showing its (zip) contents. You want the zip file if you're using DIM because it has the proper name, manifest, etc., so look in the upper right corner of the page and click the Download button.
Cheers!
Drop into DIM download folder to install via DIM
or
Install to a location of your choosing manually
Starry Sky for Carrara
No more struggling with static background images for nighttime and space scenes. With Starry Sky, simply drag the star set of your choosing into any scene and render!
You'll amaze at how easy it is to use and how quickly and realistic it renders!
Brilliant 3d stars surround the scene the entire 360 degrees on four, progressive invisible globes - making animations truly superb!
As stars, they don't require any light, themselves. For space scenes, you're already done! Just open a star set to find yourself completely surrounded in constellations and thousands of distant stars! They render remarkably well with Carrara's realistic skies too!
For most uses, just load and render. If you have something specific in mind, there are many ways to quickly adjust how the stars are arranged, how they shine and how many are used. Optional Sets contain custom lens flares on the brightest stars for a truly spectacular night sky effect.
As an added bonus you get four individual star models with lens flare effects to add to your scene anywhere that suits your needs! You also get a 30 page, Fully Illustrated Instructions and Tutorial manual that illustrates how to utilize every aspect of this set to its fullest!
What's Included
Four Complete 360 Degree Starry Sky Scenes (Carrara Only)
Two Complete Star Sets scaled for wrapping around Medium Sized Scenes
Two Complete Star Sets scaled for wrapping around Large Sized Scenes
Each loads and renders remarkably fast!
Choose between Earth-Bound & Outer Space style Constellations - or BOTH!
Choose between Standard Aura or Star-like Lens Flare Effects
Each set includes four starfields to turn off or on
Thousands of 3d stars replicated around your scene with each set
Add a Second Set for Even More Stars - the Sky is the Limit!
Each Star Set Includes the following (Four Full, Progressive Starfields):
Earth-Like Constellation shapes map-replicated using the brightest stars
On by Default
Off Option
Outer Space Pattern shapes map-replicated using the brightest stars
On by Default
Off Option
Foreground Starfield (Smaller Stars)
On by Default
Off Option
Distant Background Starfield (Smaller Stars)
On by Default
Off Option
Several sizes of Star for each Field and Five Color Variations
Bright Glowing White
Bright Glowing Blue
Bright Glowing Yellow
Bright Glowing Red
Less Bright Glowing White
Bonus: Individual Star models with lens flare effects for precise placement
Bright Glowing White
Bright Glowing Blue
Bright Glowing Yellow
Bright Glowing Red
Lens Fare Effect Easily Removed
Low Poly-count stars render remarkably fast with thousands replicated onto invisible globes in 360 degrees
Easily adjust the number of stars in your scene
Lens Flare versions use carefully crafted Star and Lens Flare Effects to match their Glow Setting
Three Cameras included specifically to assist in manipulating your Celestial Tapestry
Detailed, fully illustrated instructions guide (30 Page pdf)
Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Set-Up
Two full tutorials on creating new scenes from the ground up
Build a scene using default Carrara Landscapes with realistic sky
Build a Starship Fly-by Animation
For space scenes, also check out
These things are really cool in Carrara! Since I have been using Starry Sky so much, I would just skip right on past products like this. Then I bought his Sci Fi Cruiser space ship, which comes with a bonus Stardome, and it looks Great! So I bought the set.
I drop the color shader into the glow channel and, since I'm using Gamma Correction = 2.2, I then multiply (operations > Multiply) it by itself (Ctrl-drag the map into source 2) and set the dome to not cast or receive shadows, and we've got a wonderful space scene. I've even had a lot of fun dropping the texture map into Transparency Intensity and clicking Invert on the texture (so white turns black - making the stars opaque in the center) - Fun!!!
The DigiVault's Stardomes comes with a whole slew of great texture maps to work with - all mapped to their sphere taking the fuss out of setup. Nebulae, vortex, gas clouds, star clusters...
I load in the main Stardome, optimize the shader and store that shader into a Stardomes category in my Custom Browser. Then I go back to that shader and load in the next set of maps, and save that shader. I went through the whole collection like that, naming them for what I might be looking for in a space phenomenon. So now I have my one Stardome in my Objects browser, and I simply drag whatever shader I want onto it.
But it doesn't end there! Some of these maps look really cool blended together and, in Carrara there are so many ways to do it. For example, using a Mixer operation, using fractal noise as the blender shader, or just a value slider, or an image map, or....
...and even multiplying them together gets interesting results. It's fun to get creative.
I've even used them with Starry Sky - and it Rocks!!!
Image - The DigiVault's Sci Fi Cruiser kitbashed with Ravnheart's Sci Fi Ship Building Blocks soaring through the Stardome that comes with the Sci Fi Cruiser
Download Starry Sky for Carrara (24.7mb)
A note about downloading: The download links will take you to the landing page for the file, showing its (zip) contents. You want the zip file if you're using DIM because it has the proper name, manifest, etc., so look in the upper right corner of the page and click the Download button.
Cheers!
User's Guide
StarrySkyForCarrara.pdfHave a Question? Just Ask!
I love to help others as best I can. This is a rather broad topic: CG Filmmaking, so my articles on any particular topic may not answer your specific question.
Most of the questions directed to me are regarding Carrara or How did I do this?
For these sorts of things, post your question at the Carrara Discussion Forum (or another appropriate category) at Daz 3D.com forums, and if I don't see it right away, someone else might. They are such a friendly and helpful bunch! I've learned so much from that forum over the years!
For a more immediate question directed to me, log into those forums and Send me a PM!
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