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By Mr Frodo - 15 Years Ago
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Hi everyone! I'm new user (guest/potential customer) here so let me tell you how I get on this forum and what my main goal is...
So far, I wanted to bulid my own 3D story (I got some ideas, already scenario and whole plan in my head)and I thought that DAZ STUDIO is the best
option to do that - this software wasn't designed only for high advanced users or profesional graphics - so new beginners also should deal with it...but there are some
things that canno't be done so easily no matter what kind of hlep I recived from technical support. Long time ago when I was tried to find an alternative software for DAZ
I saw some toturials of iCLONE on the web and than I thought: maybe this is a good solution for my problems.
At first: I would like to know what are the differences between DAZ products (including Carrara Pro 7) and REALLUSION - iClone 4?
I tested a demo version, but I can't be sure can I do exactly that same things, which can be done in DAZ (similar or maybe work with iCLONE is much simpler and given more fun?)??
I be greatfull for any replies for this post and if I get full answers (or just links, which show me all differences)I will cancel my future work with DAZ and I will concentrate only
get to know with iCLONE better...:)
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By Dreamcube017 - 15 Years Ago
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Hey Mr. Frodo. Welcome to the forums.
I must say I kind of took the same road as you.
DAZ and iClone kind of come from two different worlds... well the same one, but different ends.
One of the things that makes DAZ and RL different is taht DAZ items have to be rendered in order for you to see the final result. If you worked with Studio, then you may be aware of this. You set up your scene, then hit render, and once you hit render, you'll realize that things turn out a lot nicer than they appear in the view port. This is because software such as Studio and Carrara are nonrealtime applications while software like iClone is a realtime application.
Since iClone is a realtime application, there are very little to no waiting periods to see how your final output will appear because it's pretty much shown to you in the viewport... kind of a "what you see is what you get" aspect.
Now the thing about nonrealtime graphics is that they usually have MUUUCH better quality (even more so than the LATEST gaming technology) because the computer can take its time and calculate everything such as lighting and shadows and it can calculate much higher textures and things like taht. This is something that Carrara and DAZ Studio can do. It takes longer, but the results are pretty nice as you may have seen from screenshots of Studio and Carrara.
Now the cons of that are that you have to WAAAAAAIIIIT... unless you have a render farm, it could take a LOOOONG time to render an HD animation... I'm talking about maybe a few days, straight.
Now for software like iClone, everything, the lights, shadows, textures, everything is calculated in realtime or very near realtime so because of this, some sacrifices have to be made. Sacrifices such as the objects having a lower polygon count (I don't know how muchyou know about 3D, but a polygon is each one of those little shapes that you see in wireframe mode), lower quality textures, and not as good lighting.
Now that being said, realtime 3D graphics are quickly improving and iClone can currently put out some NICE quality images, you just have to do things a bit differently.
As for the differences in use:
Carrara Pro is a full 3D package. You model, rig, light, texture, and render. In iClone, half of hat is already done. So all you have to do is set up lights, texture (in some cases, not even that) and render.
In terms of ease of use, I think iClone is a lot easier and less complicated and you can work faster in iClone... plus iClone has less bugs than Carrara... WAY less.
I think you would be better off with iClone and 3DXChange because you would most likely get thigns done faster. And as I said, there are ways to get a very nice looking output.
Before you buy it though, use the free version and try to go through some of the tutorials and set up a scene of one of the stories you are trying to make. If you can set it up to a satsifacoty look and you're happy with it, then I'd suggest getting iClone Pro and making it in iClone.
I myself like to ues real and nonreal time applications for different reasons, but when I want to make some quick 3D stories, then iClone is most likely where I'll go.
Oh, one other thing though about iClone is that you don't have AS MUCH control over some things. There are some light limits and although you can put in custom characters, they cannot have facial animations unless you do some things in 3DS Max. So if you want to make something using a lot of nonhuman characters with detailed facial expersions, then I'm ntot sure what to tell you, but for stories with mainly human characters or nice set designs, you're going to do pretty well with iClone.
Well that's my take on it, please feel free to ask more questions if you want.
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By warlord720 - 15 Years Ago
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Dreamcube017 has summed this up in an excellent manner. I came from Poser to iClone and was sold for the realtime vs non realtime as Dream mentioned. I also use Max and Vue with a network rendering setup... I have more FUN using iClone and get to spend more time making the scene like I want it without having to factor in render times if I'm on a schedule or deadline.
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By Dreamcube017 - 15 Years Ago
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Right. There are some near realtime programs that do this, (lightwave 10) but for now, I'm happy with iClone for set creation and things like taht.
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