Another 3d app - Eovia Carrara

[Qasim]

Hi,

I found this 3d application, called Carrara, from Eovia (www.eovia.com), and was wondering how well it measures to swift3d.

There's this demonstration video they have, available at:

http://www.eovia.com/demos/carrara/m...endu_video.asp

I just wanted to know whether something similar can be done in S3d as well... it'd be great to hear from someone who has used both Carrara and Swift3d.

[azz_kicker]

Swift 3D won't get as good of effects and realism with the raster rendering. You could get close to the same effect if you were to combine Swift 3D with After Effects.

I can tell you that the vector comparision will be exactly the same. Eovia lisenses Electric Rain's Ravix rendering engine and uses it in their program.

I've never used Eovia before myself but it looks like a great program. Swift 3D is also a great program and you definetely get your moneys worth out of it!

[gerbick]

I've used Eovia Carrara in the past... version 2.0 and 3.0 to be exact.

It has a rather strange user interface - it's still using the user interface inspired from the days when MetaCreations still owned it and it has a very "Bryce-like" interface. To me, that was a bad thing for me, initially, but after a while, it becomes rather intuitive. I do see that they've added a lot of features since version 3.0, some that are rather nice in 4.0.

The raster renderer was always pretty good, that's a carry over from the Ray Dream days - which is Carrara's predecessor - but as stated above, Eovia licenses Erain's Ravix renderer for vector output. Which means that it'll be great.

Swift3D, even with the addition to the Advanced Modeler, still means that you'll have some problems with some organic shapes. Problems as in it'll take some time to get used to Advanced Modeler if you've ever used it before. But once you get used to it, that part of the program is about where you'll spend 100% of your time. It's a great addition to the Swift3D series.

Now, between the two, comparing the workflows will prove to be a bit difficult. I remember that Carrara seemed to be a bit better at organic modelling - think NURBS - and it's interface allowed for creation of "blobby" items that could be manipulated to make... like say a hand easily. I think they added control vertices that have control over weight and what not in version 3.0, if not 2.0. That assists in organic modelling big time.

With Swift3D, it sorta fits my method of buidling quite a bit better since I've adopted a more plane and vertex method of building - more like add plane or box, sub-divide, push/pull vertices, repeat... - so I've become more of a polygonal builder since my 3ds max introduction.

As it boils down to preference of building, I've just never gotten the handle of most organic building programs out there, with the exception of Rhino and Shade (well, that one is more spline based, actually).

Think about how you've done 3D in the past, and look at your tendencies. Most 3D packages, after you get the basics down, are largely the same. It's just the workflow that will differ mostly. And now, with Swift3D v4, you can basically build most anything you'd like.

And from the Eovia website, I think that the Carrara has a downloadable demo. Swift3D does not, but you do get a 30 day money back guarantee.

I hope that helps a little bit

[Qasim]

Thanks dude, that does help alot .