I love the Poser and Vue forums, go there every day. It seesm like this forum is not very active though, like Photoshop is inactive, not the place to go for that. Is there a Much much more active forum for carerra elsewhere? Don't get me wrong, I think the moderator, MarkBremmer  is great, as are his tutorials (i'm working through the c7 one). I just learn more by being an active lurker, than my making my own mistakes and learning from them. Just asking.

John

If you ask a question here you will get an answer here, so although it might not seem active because people are not posting hundreds of threads a day, I've learned alot from people here by simply asking.

 Hi John,

No offense taken. ;-) Activity here is really a rollercoaster, usually based upon subject matter. The DAZ forum is probably the most active if the goal is quantity of posts. That said, the Renderosity forum is usually just right to the point with answers to posted questions and posted WIPs. We don't have a ton of whiners complaining that the program doesn't work the way they think it should. We're a pretty civil bunch over here. :-D 

Additionally, this forum is actually very heavily trafficked and has a lot of blended and professional users moving through. I've found that Carrara is kind of used as a secret weapon by many pro users because it does so much, so well. Yet it doesn't necessarily have the prestige of other name-brand software thanks to all of the T&A content that DAZ encourages. (Not that we don't see a ton of that here too)

All I can say is, if you have a question post it and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the speed and clarity of answers.

Mark 

I think the problem is the same in evrery forum: people need to post their WIPs, questions and everything else related to the software... not wait that that the moderators post all things. I run a forum for Carrara at CarraraLounge.com and its very hard to have news and things to post all the time... Mark know this very well too. But all forums are a good source to learn and share things.

Follow me at euQfiz Digital

Good point.  Maybe we should try and come up with a tip or trick of the week?  Or something to get the users more enthused.  I think one of the other reasons that the forum is not as active is that Carrara is much easier to understand and work with than just about any other 3D software out there, so more users can easily figure out more issues on their own.

Quote - I think the problem is the same in evrery forum: people need to post their WIPs, questions and everything else related to the software... not wait that that the moderators post all things. I run a forum for Carrara at CarraraLounge.com and its very hard to have news and things to post all the time... Mark know this very well too. But all forums are a good source to learn and share things.

I think right now there is a slight lull because everyone is playing with Carrara 8 to see what it can do. We'll have a flood of images soon I have a feeling. Also I think this forum talks with its gallery postings, because we have several new great ones every day. And like Mark said - we've got quite a few power users here who are happy to answer your questions, but in the meantime we are all busy creating new images.
 
btw Mark I had a great time watching and learning from your Dark Arts tutorial on homegrown HDRIs. That is a great technique and a real render time saver if the map is only used for reflections.

Scott

You are almost right... the problem is that a lot of users are so shy that dont post simple questions too. The same thing happen when is to show what they are working... a lot of people love to say badwords to people that is starting and showing your discoveries.
We need to lok at our past and see what we done too... who dont remeber that simple ball and the checkered ground??

Follow me at euQfiz Digital

You have all shown that this IS and active forum, and thanks. I just Picked up Carerra8 pro and am strating to learn it. Mark's C7 Tutorial has been a big help. for the past 2 years as I have taught myself Poser and Vue I have checked those rendo forums everyday. I read everypost that doesn't start with "OT" or "My new render". By reading these I not only have my questions answered but I find out about capabilities i never even considered. I guess lurking is easy, I'll just have to ask questions, learn then post when a newbie askes something I have already picked up.

thanks
HoBePaintball (John)

In order for a forum to thrive it also needs to be a positive experience, people lurk and are afraid to ask questions if they see someone elses question get negative feedback.

I've seen on other forums where someone else asks a questions and they are referred to reading the Manual, FAQ, or do a google search, which actually defeats the point of having forums.

I learn best by example, so Marks Tutorials or the helpful tips here is how I learn.

So for example I've now learned how to do a text scrolling effect that also does a sinewave animation. 

If someone had told me to go read the manual or search google, I wouldnt have learned it.  But people here guided me in the right direction and showed some examples, and I took those and ran off with them.

Together, the DAZ3D and Renderosity forums for Carrara will get any questions you have answered.

www.youtube.com/user/ShawnDriscollCG

To emphasize what Mark is saying, this forum is actually very useful for users to get answers and help.  There are enough people who patrol this forum that Carrara users at any level can basically get help (from newbs all the way to people I would consider to be Carrara major heavy power users).

Mark is a pretty massive heavy hitter and has been an excellent forum mod.  There are several heavyweights who stop by here on a pretty regular basis.

The flavor of the forum has changed since I wandered onto it about 9 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long).  We used to do some pretty cool stuff on top of just being help and support but help and support has always been probably been the biggest strength of the forum (just my opinion).

It's still a great forum and I come and go as my mood strikes me.  My life has been through a lot of changes in the last 5 years and I can't be here near as much as I would like.

One thing for certain, I think I've met some really great people here and I've learned a lot and that seems to be ongoing.  That's good for Carrara and I'm glad.  I don't really have any motivation to learn another package!

-Kix

Unlike some commercial forums, the Carrara forums don't seem too bad.  DAZ let people say plenty of mean things about them, yet still seem enthusiastic and patient when trying to help.  The users are great, most people seem to have an idea what they are talking about and the range of talent is great enough that you don't constantly feel inadequate looking at other people's work, yet see enough quality work to inspire using the program and respecting its community. 

I'm happy to see as much discussion here as there is, so I will have to remember to come back.