Hi all, just wondering does Carrara 5.1 Pro have soft body dynamics or is that something we might see in the next version? I’m one frustrated animator at the moment; I bought Carrara when it first came out many years ago but I was new to 3D then, found things a little difficult to understand and the program didn’t have bones.

I’ve been animating with Poser for years, I’m starting to get pretty good using it. However Poser models have always had problems with their shoulders and lips (could never get a good oooo shape). And I was always stuck with the realistic models to animate – I really wanted a sophisticated cartoon character to work with (Poser built in cartoon characters weren’t articulate enough for me). I could never figure out how to make my own characters in Poser, it seems to be some dark secret – no useful information on the subject.

So when XSI dropped in price I jumped at the chance to build my own characters - this program was used in some big feature films – wow! Some of you might guess were this is going. Yip you’re right, I’ve had this program for about two years now and I’ve created nothing. I’ve got a very demanding full-time job and XSI is just far too complex. I feel that by now I should be fairly proficient with a 3D program and be producing my own characters and animations (when did Carrara first come out).

I’m thinking of buying Carrara 5 Pro but I’m concerned that I might be throwing away money again. I know more about 3D concepts now and Carrara’s new features and interface look great but I still don’t know how easy it is to create my own characters and animate them.

How often do new versions of Carrara come out?

Is this the program that I should stick with, and will it satisfy my future needs: soft body dynamics, non linear animation editor etc (the demands of the industry).

Cheers