Artist Feature: Eliane CK

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Jim Willey

Penny Diver

Eliane Camargo (aka Eliane CK) is undoubtedly one of the best known, and influential artists of the Carrara community (as well as the broader DAZ/Poser community). Her works are instantly recognisable and inspire everything from revulsion to awe and everything in between. Eliane is a master of lighting and shaders and moves easily from one render engine to another.

Eliane’s images are a punctuation of colour and light amid low-key environments. Often characters are composed of or wrapped (and/or embedded) in elements as unassuming as the surrounding environments, but it is the splash of colour, the contrast of matt, reflective and flesh surfaces, and clean, realistic lighting that draws us into the artist’s imagination. We ponder these images.

What we are met with at face value, is a mish-mash of eroticism, transhumanism, and fashion parade presented through a science fiction lens. We see wonder, exploration, joy, pain, suffering, beautify and the repulsive. We are invited to let out mind wander to questions about what it is to be human, the nature of consciousness, and the relationship between humans and technology. At least this is what comes to me when viewing Eliane’s works. The artist, herself, is reluctant to comment on what these images are about, instead encouraging the responder to explore at will.

Think

Jim: In all your interviews I read, I have never found how or when you started with 3D. What was your first experience with 3D? Was it something you instantly knew you wanted explore?

Eliane CK: I started in 2006 with Poser, just for fun, after that, DAZ 3D and finally Carrara.

Jim: You can see the beginnings of your unique and very recognisable style with your early renders, but looking at your Renderosity gallery you can really see it significantly in the last quarter of 2008 and fully formed by mid-2009. Was the rapid development of your signature style a conscious effort, or is it more about mastery of Carrara? Continue reading →

DAZ 3D Halloween – 500 Items 50% Off

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Jim Willey

As is often the case, there are some fantastic sales going on over at DAZ 3D. At the moment there are 500 items in the Halloween sale. There is a bit of everything in there, and while some have a very Halloween feel to them, there are many more that have a general sci-fi, fantasy or even modern contemporary feel to them. So, there’s lots of character/texture packages, morph sets, hair, outfits, monster figures, IBL sets, shaders, environment props etc – a bit of everything.

I’ve picked out a selection of some of my favourites as well as some that have been sitting on my wishlist.

I won’t talk much about the products, they speak for themselves, but I do have a bit to say about a couple of these. Right at the top of the list is Age of Armour’s Atmosphere Effects Camera (DAZ Studio only). This handy tool is great for rendering volumetric lighting effects, depth masks (great for adding depth related post work effects like DOF and haze), haz and fog.One reason I always hung back on buying this one was because DS comes with Ubervolume, which does volumetric effects, but I have found the Uber plugin somewhat buggy nad lacking in features.

Next we have Skeleton Dungeon. This bundle is pure value right now at 70% off. In this bundle you get the M4 skeleton, the M/V4 skeleton textures, and Dreamlight’s environment prop, The Dark Corner of the Dungeon. This package is shipping for less than the standalone M4 skeleton, which is itself on special for 40% off.

Here’s one of my own early Reality 2/Lux experiments done with M4 Skeleton.

The Super-Physicality Bundle is another great value package. If you are just starting out with DAZ Studio or Poser or just looking for some good character content, but aren’t interested in Genesis 1/2 then this is for you. It’s even great for those that have a few of the included products in their inventory as the saving are still significant. This bundle includes the base Michael and Victoria 4 figures as well as their morphs++, muscle morphs, elite body morphs, and creature morphs packages. Also included is She Freak 4 and Freak 4 base figures.

And the others

Click image to visit item store page at DAZ 3D.

Other Happenings in DAZ 3D’s Store

Stonemason’s Sci-Fi Corridor 2013

There have been many notable releases of the last few weeks. Stonemason’s Sci-Fi Corridor 2013 is, as usual for a Stonemason product, highly detailed with great attention taken in the construction of materials and texturing. Included are movable walls, stairs, doors, med beds, and all manner of fixed details we have come to expect from one of DAZ 3D’s most trusted and well known content creators.

Age of Armour’s Advanced Ambient Light

The last item I will mention is Age Of Armour’s Advanced Ambient Light. This particular product has been causing a lot of excitement among the DAZ Studio crowd. Here’s part of the product blurb:

“This custom coded light casts pleasing, super-soft ambient light and occlusion based shadows. Use the light by itself to produce a fashion shoot style lighting or even overcast skies. The Advanced Ambient light also works great as a soft-box fill light used in conjunction with spotlights, and it also provides a beautiful bounce light look when used with distant lights.”

The light set is highly customisable with features like radius and falloff control, and light only certain objects. The product also comes with an in-depth user guide, something that is very much appreciated and something that Age of Armour’s products are known for. This is one item I have been intending to do a full review of since I picked it up, so hopefully that will be up very… ermmm… soon (hopefully soon, soon).

Oh, and Carrara 8.5 Sales Chugging Along

So I lied, I have another item I want to talk about – just quickly draw you’re attention to Carrara 8.5 (Pro and standard). There is no doubt about it Carrara has been selling well. Ever since I started paying attention to the top 30 sellers at DAZ 3D, Carrara has held in there at position 25 – 30. Right now, standard is sitting at position 18, and Pro at 19. The current positions are no doubt related to the recent 8.5 release promotions, but Carrara is and has been doing rather well.

I’ve been saying it for some time now, but I’ll say it again, hopefully Carrara’s sales performance will spur DAZ 3D on to giving the budget 3D suit some TLC. Maybe they have been? With Carrara 9 due in the first quarter of 2014 let’s hope DAZ give us all a nice big surprise. With no feature list out in public we’ll just have to wait and watch and hope that Carrara 9 will be a big fat, juicy update.

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Carrara 8.5: The Carrara We’ve Been Waiting For?

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Jim Willey

The long-awaited Carrara 8.5 hit the digital streets on the 26th of August. The point release comes packed with a beefy list of updates. As with any such release, some are super happy, some are dismissive, some others are firmly on the fence. Taking a look at just what is on offer gives us a good hint as to reasons for the mixed response.

What’s in the box?

The overwhelming bulk of the update relates to incorporating Genesis in to Carrara. This means that TriAx weight maps, the new DSON file format, smart content (plus CMS), and AutoFit have come to Carrara. Perhaps cynically, this can be viewed as paying for the privilege to purchase and use Gen 5 and 6 content.

On top of these new features are improvements to keyframe and animation tools, and new viewport representations for lights. According to some users that took part in the beta there are additional improvements not included in the new features list, such as improved stability, and faster viewport response.

For some, the hands-down best part about Carrara 8.5 is it finally offers support for Mac OSX 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8. The final cherry on top is the inclusion of Genesis content. Carrara 8.5 Pro buyers will get access to Victoria 5 and Michael 5 pro bundles. Carrara 8.5 (standard) users will receive starter bundles for the same figures. See the product page on the Carrara at DAZ’s store for full list of features.

Never been a better time to get Carrara?

If you are a long-time DAZ Studio or Poser (or even Bryce) user who has wondered if Carrara would be a good next step, then with Carrara being ready for Genesis 1 and 2 there really hasn’t been a better time. Carrara can do just about anything these other programs can, and then a whole lot more. Carrara has solid modelling and UV mapping tools, texture and weight painting, terrain and vegetation generation, volumetrics, rigid and soft body dynamics (which anecdotally have, or are being improved), and a fast and flexible render engine with many great features (multipass, SSS, global illumination etc). See tech specs for full mouth watering features gravy (currently only lists Carrara 8 features).

If you are already a Carrara user then the price of upgrading might seem a little steep, especially if you already own the included Genesis figures. If you couldn’t care a fig for TriAx, Genesis, and smart content then the upgrade might seem like an insult. Of course, if you’re a Mac user with a newer OS, then you’re probably just happy (or less angry) to finally have access to a version of the program that’s going to work with little hassle.

Pricing

If you are a platinum club member you receive 50% off the current $285 ($171) for Carrara Pro. 40% off standard Carrara, usually $149.95. If you are an owner of a previous Carrara version (purchased through DAZ 3D), you can pick up Carrara Pro for $85, and standard for $44.98.

Carrara 8.5 Verdict

Regardless of what you think about Genesis and TriAx, 8.5 is a solid point release and a good base for Carrara 9, which is forecast for a Q1 2014 release. Getting full implementation for Genesis in Carrara was always going to be high on DAZ 3D’s list of priorities, so it is good that it is done and more-or-less out of the way – get that AutoFit with G2 working! With this done, DAZ will be able to spend more time getting a stellar 9 finalised and polished.

It would have been great to see some little hints for 9 dropped into the 8.5 release, and perhaps they are there for a closer inspection. Sure would be good to see a features list, but I’m getting away from the topic at hand.

Carrara 8.5 probably has the most to offer to new users that are only just picking up Carrara. For current users there is still a lot here, but paying for what is essentially a content delivery pipeline might not sit too easily, especially for those that already own the included Genesis content.

Luxus For Carrara Hits DAZ 3D

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Jim Willey

Eliane CK showing off the power of LuxRender and Luxus with one of her unmistakeable signature images

LuxRender comes to Carrara with GPU unbiased rendering power

For those of you that have been waiting for an easy way to configure and export your Carrara scenes to an unbiased render engine then your day has finally arrived. Not only do you finally have relatively quick and easy access to unbiased rendering, but it comes at just the price of one very affordable plugin. No hundreds of dollars for licensing fees and possible hardware upgrade to CUDA compliant technology, just Luxus for Carrara and LuxRender (free). funnily enough I’ve been working on a beginners guide to Luxus for DAZ Studio (which will be posted here and available as a PDF when done) and was about to set to work on completing it just as I stumbled upon this new Carrara version.

This is great news for Carrara users. I remember when I was just starting to use the software there was talk of Reality for Carrara, and that was very exciting, but whatever the reasons, it didn’t go ahead. I doubt I was the only one that was disappointed by this turn of events. There was a lot of talk about how developing content and plugins just wasn’t financially viable for Carrara, but more than a year later here we are. Recently I’ve been modelling a lot in LightWave and exporting these models to DAZ Studio to use Luxus and then onto LuxRender.

If my experience of Luxus for DS is anything to go by then Luxus for Carrara will be a very flexible and reliable tool indeed. It is very possible that I may even consider changing my workflow. Some grumble at the current speed with which it Lux renders, but with it being rapidly developed (huge speed increases and GPU breakthroughs in just the last year) the future is looking very bright, and then again there is price. At zero dollars you just can’t beat Lux.

Myth Busted

DP Carrara Master Collection Shaders

And then as if to put paid to the argument that content development for Carrara is not viable, on the very same day another (unrelated) product is released. DP Carrara Master Collection Shaders from well known Carrara vendor, RingoMonfort. This new set of shaders, according to the product’s description “will bring stunning realism to your Carrara scenes using the most powerful texture room features: Anisotropic, sub-surface scattering, transparency absorption, fresnel, translucency and much more. From Faux Finish paints, corrosion, beautiful woods, crystals, metals, paints and much more.” Of course the claim is backed up with simple but effective demonstration images.

Carrara Pro 69% off

Carrara 8 and Pro are once again on heavy discount For Platinum club members the current price for Pro is $171 (69% off), so if you’re not a PC club member it is worth signing up just for the saving, even if you didn’t want to fork out for an annual subscription. Carrara is the perfect tool for the upstart 3D artist that wants a taste of everything – modelling, animation, rigging, special effects, rigid and soft body dynamics, 3D render engine that punches well above its weight, landscapes and foliage, support for DAZ/Poser content and figures, and now access to cheap unbiased rendering – everything! With Carrara 8.5 and 9 just around the corner it is indeed, once again, exciting times to be a Carrara user.

iClone5 Sales and promotions

iClone still topping DAZ 3D top 30 sales chart.

Also on offer at the store is a bunch of training material for MyClone, currently 100% off with the purchase of iClone Animation Pipeline (3 in 1). Of course the material is free for PC club members – just one of those perks 😉 iClone5 Facial Pipeline Power Bundle is still placed high on the DAZ 3D top 30 chart since it was first released, and currently 50% off. I can’t say I know much about it but it is one of those things that seems to be on the wish list of every small/solo animation teams wish list, and with great integration for Genesis.

New Bryce Freebie by David Brinnen and Horo

…And of course there is a cool new freebie by David Brinnen and Horo, Golden Rules Composition Helpers for Bryce. Anyone who has done any elementary visual arts course has heard all about the golden rules, but with this neat little set of tools you can easily put them into practice. On top of this David and Horo’s stores are on special with handy training material like Bryce Mentoring DVD – Videos, Scenes and Resources currently 40% off. If you happened to miss the DigiSprawl series of Bryce Artist Features then you might be labouring under the false assumption that it is an out-dated and irrelevant program. Now is as good a time as any to find out about the quirky elegance of the program and witness some of the beautiful art being made with it on a daily basis.

Ok, back to work for me 😉 Happy renderings!

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