Project Dogwaffle Pro - Howler (PD Howler, for short)
Project Dogwaffle Pro - Howler (PD Howler, for short)
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I started a thread in the Carrara forum at Daz 3D back when I was first investigating the software. I found myself getting more and more excited about it the more I learned. When that thread was full, I started a new one:
Project Dogwaffle Howler (original thread in the forum)
Howler - Project Dogwaffle Pro (new continuation thread)
I was always into art of many different types of medium. Sketching, painting, building models from wood and paper, sculpting paper mache, clay and then stone. The art room in school was a blast! Having a nice big room filled with all manner of things to create with is like a fantasy.
That's exactly how I felt when I started working with Project Dogwaffle!
Notice that I didn't say Howler that time? Well Howler is the one that I truly need because it's the one with the Animation tools - I really gravitate to those. But there's an Artist version as well which is the same amazing Art Room studio, but without the Animation tools. Project Dogwaffle also offers a really cool separate PD Particles program - all of them have the ability to paint with particles - this one actually centers around it.
Check out the Project Dogwaffle Comparison Chart toward the bottom of this page.
Brief interruption: I use Howler to create an animated Gel filter in this tutorial > Volumetric Lighting - Basic Interior
Looking into Project Dogwaffle led me to one of the parent sites: The Best 3D.com
I absolutely Love this site! It's crazy and packed full of so many things. Even things that some folks might consider legacy that should be swept off somewhere... to me these things are important. I like to see evolution of art and the software - where their minds were at. Plus, all of those cool tests and tutorials and such can still very much apply to what we want to do today or tomorrow. Things happen in trends, so it can be incredibly refreshing to break the mold and look at other eras and have some fun!
The Best 3D is also the host of the wonderful Dogwaffle Newsletter. Author of the software, Dan Ritchie, is constantly developing the software further - It's amazing how far it's come in the few short years I've been using it.
About Philip and Dan at The Best 3D.com
And here's Dan's new site: pdhowler.com
...continued after this short article
Some friends of mine are conducting a PD Howler course at the time of this writing, and I'm in the class. What a Blast!!!
Tiffanie conducted the first two weeks, which we've just finished. Philip will take over for the remaining two weeks. What a great way to do it. Both of them use Howler in entirely different ways and both are excellent at teaching the software.
I actually look forward to getting homework, doing it, and then doing a bunch more stuff.
We didn't even get to the animation part yet, but I couldn't resist. Tiffanie has a way of teaching me new features and tools that get me excited to add to my workflow - which is usually doing visual effects on my animations.
Let it Snow!
Let it Snow!
Philip took us on a journey through many of the incredible animation and 3D capabilities of PD Howler 2023, and gave us a glimpse of the soon to be released PD Howler 2024.
He showed some really cool techniques for adding falling snow to an animation along with animating filters and filters that are designed specifically for animations.
PD Howler is packed with both options, plus a timeline editor with nearly every filter available, my pal - the Brush Keyframer, 3D Designer, PuppyRay render engine, and a whole lot more.
This little short was a lot of fun to create - all compositing and effects are done in Project Dogwaffle Howler 2023. The editing and titling was done, this time, using Corel's wonderful VideoStudio Pro, which also automated the music per my selections to the length of the project. Really cool! VideoStudio Pro also has a really nice separate Screen Capture app that I use for my tutorials and demonstrations.
For one of our weeks of homework, we had to (1) color grade an image and also (2) fix an image. I did both to the same project, but they can be separate too. Here's an older render that I always liked. I wanted to update it with the Rosie character the way she is today. Well there's a removal tool in Project Dogwaffle that really works slick! I remember when it was first introduced, but never took the time to try it.
Wow! It's really cool!
Original Finished Render
WIP - Removal Tool in Progress
Finished homework image
...continued from top
Project Dogwaffle is not a Photoshop clone at all - and that was by design right from the start. Instead, we get a very artistic and unique means of making or editing art (even animation with the Pro edition, which is Howler) with more of a feel for conventional art tools than I've experienced in any other software. So Carrara was the perfect fit for me to create 3D animations, and Howler turned out to be my go-to app for painting in motion and almost all of my 2D art work.
Any time we add something that is truly unique, it can take a bit of an adjustment period to get up to speed. Philip Staiger created an amazing series of fun videos on YouTube which he calls: The Daily Dose. Crazy and fun, I watched these videos over and over even before I actually bought the software! Back then, I was looking hard at TheBest3D.com, perusing all of the wonderful information and history - which is how I found out about the Daily Dose. The order of the videos on the web site was different than they were on the YouTube channel, so I made a custom playlist of the list in order from TheBest3D.com, which is this right here:
The Daily Dose custom playlist - the custom playlist I created. There's a full Daily Dose on the pdhowler channel with a LOT more videos!
Within that playlist, Dan Ritchie (developer) himself entertains us with the painting of a still life (right) - and he's excellent!!!
Hint: Philip uses PowerDirector, by Cyberlink to create these entertaining videos!
I made two more playlists at that time around the last major release of Howler, and the new one that was coming out just as I bought the software:
PD Artist at Daz 3D
PD Howler at Daz 3D
Images made entirely within Project Dogwaffle
Images made entirely within Project Dogwaffle
Have a Question? Just Ask!
Have 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!
Much (MUCH!) more to come!
Protect your hard work!
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Project Dogwaffle Comparison Chart (pdf)
Project Dogwaffle Comparison Chart (pdf)
Project Dogwaffle - Compare Programs.pdfPage updated
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