First Steps in Clarisse#
In this section we will go through all the essential elements to help you understand how to use Clarisse. You may be in a hurry to explore the software by yourself or start Clarisse's tutorials, but we strongly encourage you to do so only after you read this page and you've got familiar with the next two sections: Understanding the workflow and User Interface Basics.
In this section, we will try to keep this guide as simple as possible.
And remember, at anytime you can access to this documentation by hitting F1 function key while running Clarisse or by clicking directly on Clarisse menu bar Help > Clarisse Help...
Command-Line Options#
Clarisse supports several command-line options and the most common usage is to launch Clarisse while specifying the project or build to load.
clarisse my_project.project
clarisse my_build.build
Clarisse Command-Line Help#
It is possible to display the list of all Clarisse arguments by launching clarisse with -help argument:
clarisse -help
Specifying Python Version#
Since Python 2.7.x has been discontinued, Clarisse automatically runs using the new Python 3.7.x engine. However it is still possible to run Clarisse using Python 2.7.x by specifying the command line argument -python_version 2.
clarisse -python_version 2
To run properly, you need to make sure that both IX_PYTHON2HOME and IX_PYTHON2PATH are properly set to the right location. For more information, please refer to Clarisse Environment Variables.
For convenience, Clarisse and CNode both offers command line launchers (on Linux and macOS) for each version of Python you which to use. You'll find these launchers in the directory where Clarisse binaries have been installed.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
clarisse-py2 |
Run Clarisse using Python 2.7.x engine |
clarisse-py3 |
Run Clarisse using Python 3.7.x engine |
cnode-py2 |
Run CNode using Python 2.7.x engine |
cnode-py3 |
Run CNode using Python 3.7.x engine |
Clarisse Common Arguments#
Clarisse provides other useful command-line options.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-flavor license_flavor |
Specify the flavor of the application iFX or BUiLDER (ex: -flavor BUiLDER). See below for more information. |
-config_file config_file |
Specify an alternate configuration file (ex: -config_file clarisse.cfg) |
-license_server SERVER:PORT |
Specify the license server location (ex: -license_server LOCALHOST:40500) |
-script script_file |
Specify the path of a script to execute at startup. Note the script is executed after the specified project is loaded. |
-search_path path ... |
Specify an ordered list of path used when looking for includes for example. |
-module_path path ... |
Specify the path of Clarisse's module. This argument is really helpful if you wish to specify custom or third party modules. This argument supports an argument list. Path order defines look-up priority. |
-recent |
Clarisse will automatically load the last recent opened file. |
Differences between Clarisse iFX and Clarisse BUiLDER#
Clarisse BUiLDER is a superset of Clarisse iFX which introduces a high-level nodal workflow that streamlines scene assembly, look management, lighting, layering and pre-compositing.
It has been designed to address the very complex challenges Lighting TDs and Lighting Artists are facing when working on large volume of shots.
Below is an overview of the differences between Clarisse iFX and Clarisse BUiLDER:
| Features | Clarisse iFX | Clarisse BUiLDER |
|---|---|---|
| Read/Save Clarisse project files | ⦿ | ⦿ |
| Set Dressing | ⦿ | ⦿ |
| Lookdev | ⦿ | ⦿ |
| Lighting | ⦿ | ⦿ |
| Rendering | ⦿ | ⦿ |
| Node Based Scene Assembly | ⦿ | |
| Node Based Compositing | ⦿ | |
| Read/Save Clarisse build files | ⦿ |
While Clarisse BUiLDER can read Clarisse iFX files, Clarisse iFX can’t read files created with Clarisse BUiLDER.
However, it is still possible to export a context as a project file from Clarisse BUiLDER to Clarisse iFX by using File > Export Context As Project…
Note
When you export a context as a project from Clarisse BUiLDER, scene assembly nodes are baked. In other words, resulting projects will lose the procedurality of the build.
Clarisse License Flavor#
When you run Clarisse without specifying the license flavor from the command line, Clarisse will try to pick up a BUiLDER license from the license server.
Indeed, Clarisse automatically tries to get the highest license flavor available from the license server. In other words, if a Clarisse BUiLDER license token is available and no license flavor as been specified then Clarisse will automatically run as Clarisse BUiLDER.
When no license of Clarisse BUiLDER is available, it will run as Clarisse iFX if Clarisse iFX licenses are available.
Running as Clarisse iFX#
To explicitly run Clarisse as Clarisse iFX from the command line, add the argument -flavor iFX:
./clarisse -flavor iFX
Note
If no Clarisse iFX license is available and you explicitly specified -flavor iFX, Clarisse returns a licensing error.
Running as Clarisse BUiLDER#
To explicitly run Clarisse as Clarisse BUiLDER from the command line add the argument -flavor BUiLDER:
./clarisse -flavor BUiLDER
Note
If no Clarisse BUiLDER license is available and you explicitly specified -flavor BUiLDER, Clarisse returns a licensing error.
Overriding Application Preferences#
It is possible to override any of Clarisse's application preferences directly via a command line argument. If you add:
-general.temp_folder /home/user/tmp
This sets the Temp Folder option in Edit > Preferences... > General to /home/user/tmp
It is also possible to override multiple preferences using the command line by typing something like this:
clarisse myproject.project -general.temp_folder /home/user/tmp -animation.frames_per_second 24.0
Configuration and Environment#
Clarisse stores many settings in a configuration file called clarisse.cfg, which can be specified by command-line with config_file path or by the environment variable CLARISSE_CONFIG_FILE.
Clarisse also uses an environment file clarisse.env used to declare environment variables such as Python path, license server location (ILISE_SERVER) or custom environment variables.
The syntax of this file is really straight forward:
VARIABLE_NAME=VALUE
For example:
IX_PYTHON3HOME=C:\Python27
ILISE_SERVER=jupiter:40500
Note
Values of environment variables are platform dependent. Those variables are automatically imported to Clarisse as system variables. Please also note that environment variables defined in clarisse.env are overridden by variables with the same name if already declared in the shell environment. For more information on variables please refer to Global Variables section. |
By default, those files are located in the home directory of the current user. The path to the home directory depends on on the platform running Clarisse.
File Locations#
You will find those files in:
Windows#
%APPDATA%/Isotropix/Clarisse
macOS#
/Users/$USER/Library/Preferences/Isotropix/Clarisse
Linux#
~/.isotropix/clarisse
Python#
You'll also need to make sure Python libraries are reachable by Clarisse binaries. Typically this can be done by extending the PATH on Windows, LD_LIBRARY_PATH on linux and DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH on macOS.
For more information on how to customize Clarisse please refer to Customizing Clarisse.