LightWave 6.5 Magic with CDROM (Magic (New Riders)) [Paperback]

Dan Ablan (Author), Julian Kain (Contributor), Stuart Penn (Contributor), Graham McKenna (Author), Phil South (Author), Gary Whiteley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Magic (New Riders) | Publication Date: December 2000

In LightWave 6 Effects Magic, the contributors present two dozen effects created with New Tek's LightWave 6, all designed to show off the considerable power and flexibility of the program. Effects are categorized logically and cross-referenced to make finding particular components of any effect easy to access later ("where did I see how to do X?"). Each effect is from 5 to 12 pages in length, and consists of a 2-column layout, with step-by-step instructions to the left, and corresponding graphics (or coded) to the right. Any effect, tip or technique in this book can be extrapolated and customized to suit the student's own project needs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Dan Ablan + all-star-talent contributors + a slew of must-know techniques and must-have effects secrets = the first must-have book on Lightwave 6.5. New Riders is proud to have been publishing on Lightwave since the mid-1990s. And we’re very lucky to have Dan Ablan as our associate in these endeavors; Dan has established himself as the #1 creator of Lightwave learning resources because: He’s a leader in the user community, an endlessly creative digital content creator, and one of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet. Dan brings all of those qualities to bear in his two most recent books, Inside Lightwave [6], released at SIGGRAPH 2000, and now, with Lightwave 6.5 Magic. Where the Inside book is a comprehensive, hands-on tutorial of how to get the best out of Lightwave’s feature set, Lightwave 6.5 Magic is non-linear (pick it up and start using it anywhere); it’s a cookbook with recipes for great techniques, best-practices, and head-turning effects, all written for the intermediate-through-advanced user group. Judging from the response we’ve seen in some of the Lightwave forums once they heard Dan was working on this! book, there are a LOT of people who are going to thank Dan and his co-authors for missing sleep for two months in order to finish Lightwave 6.5 Magic ASAP. Keep a copy of Lightwave 6.5 Magic at hand (next to your copy of Inside Lightwave, we’d hope); learn lots, do good work, keep talking to the rest of the Lightwave community, and let us know what you’d like to see in the future New Riders Lightwave books.

From the Back Cover

LightWave is one of the leaders in the 3D graphics and design industry. LightWave has set the standard in the industry with its modeling interface and capabilities, and is considered a must-have tool by the major movie and effect houses in the industry. In LightWave 6 Effects Magic, the contributors present two dozen effects (minimum) created with New Tek's LightWave 6, all designed to show off the considerable power and flexibility of the program. Effects are categorized logically and cross-referenced to make finding particular components of any effect easy to access later ("where did I see how to do X?"). Each effect is from 5 to 12 pages in length, and consists of a 2-column layout, with step-by-step instructions to the left, and corresponding graphics (or coded) to the right. Any effect, tip or technique in this book can be extrapolated and customized to suit the your own project needs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735709963
• ISBN-13: 978-0735709966
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,237,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Ablan is president of AGA Digital Studios, Inc., a 3D animation, photography, and training company in the Chicago area. AGA Digital has produced 3D visuals for broadcast, corporate, and architectural clients since 1994, as well as post-production services in conjunction with Post Meridian, LLC. AGA Digital Studios, Inc. also provides lifestyle photography services with Dan.
Dan is the author of 13 books from New Riders Publishing, Thomson Course Technology, and Sybex. They are: LightWave Power Guide (v5.0), Inside LightWave 3D (v5.5), Inside LightWave [6], LightWave 6.5 Effects Magic, Inside LightWave 7, Inside LightWave 8, and co-author of LightWave 8 Killer Tips. His latest books are Digital Photography for 3D Imaging & Animation, Inside LightWave v9, and The Official Luxology modo Guide. He also is the author of [digital] Cinematography & Directing, and served as technical editor for [digital] Lighting & Rendering. Dan was also a contributor to After Effects 5.5 Magic, from New Riders Publishing. His 12th book is just out this month - The Official Luxology modo 301 Guide. Book #13 is now available, also from New Riders Publishing and Adobe Press -
Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques. Dan has written the revision to this popular series from Ben Willmore.

Dan is also the founder of 3D Garage.com, a website dedicated to computer software based video training. 3D Garage is owned and operated by AGA Digital Studios, Inc. and offers high quality DVD-ROM based LightWave 3D, modo 3D, Mac and Photoshop training courseware. Dan offers a two day, one on one digital photography workshop through 3D Garage.com as well. AGA Digital Studios, Inc. is a NewTek authorized LightWave training facility and reseller. Dan Ablan has written columns and articles for LightWave Pro magazine, Video Toaster User magazine, 3D Design magazine, 3D World magazine, and NewTek Pro magazine. Dan has been teaching LightWave seminars since 1995 across the country, and at AGA Digital Studios, Inc. Some of the companies Dan has trained include Fox Television, ABC-TV New York City, CBS-TV Indianapolis, WTTW-TV PBS Chicago, Lockheed Martin, and many others. Dan served as Editor-in-Chief of Keyframe Magazine (now HDRI 3D magazine) for two years.

In addition to his daily duties at AGA Digital Studios, Inc., Dan Ablan is also an accomplished photographer having photographed since 1980. Coming from the days of film and darkrooms, he has studied photojournalism in college, and has made the full transition to digital. He and his wife have a portrait studio in the Chicago area (www.AblanGallery.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lightwave Buffet, January 17, 2001

By 

pauland (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LightWave 6.5 Magic with CDROM (Magic (New Riders)) (Paperback)

This is a book that presents 21 different lightwave 6.5 techniques to acheive a particular effect or animation. The approach is a snappy, no-nonsense presentation of how to acheive the aim of each chapter - lean and mean presented in a glossy designer page layout.

The book will be very comfortable for those with a reasonable grasp of lightwave, less so for those that expect to be led by the hand in drawn out tutorial style (as some people might expect from Dan's other books).

The book was in production when Newtek restyled some of the lightwave user interface, some have commented that this invalidates the book. It doesn't. A technique is a technique - if you are put off because a button has moved on a menu, you are wasting your time with lightwave anyway.

The 21 techniques vary from texturing effects, animation techniques, explosions and composting - too many to mention individually. It's a snappy shortcut reference to getting a particular job done.

If you are a competent hobbyist, then this is a great leg up. If you are paid for your work and can use any of these techniques, you've saved yourself time and money.

A great resource at just over $2 a chapter. The author provides great support via the web for all his books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing new drug spurs the imagination!!!, April 24, 2001

By 

Tristan McMannis (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LightWave 6.5 Magic with CDROM (Magic (New Riders)) (Paperback)

Catchy title eh? I bought this book recently and even though I am new to both the world of 3D art and animation as well as Lightwave, I found it to be an easy/enjoyable read. The tutorials, while simple gave me an excellent grasp of some techniques I can now employ in other ideas which working through the book has spurred. I highly recommend this book to users of Lightwave at any skill level!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just educational, its inspirational!, January 18, 2001

By 

K. Phillips (Auckland New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LightWave 6.5 Magic with CDROM (Magic (New Riders)) (Paperback)

I finally received my copy of this book just this week. Although I haven't had a chance to really get into the tutorials, I've read it all week on the bus while going into work and only have 2 things really to make points on:

(a) Educational! Its great to get insight into plugins and features of Lightwave that I would otherwise never have realised were there unless someone showed me them! A bit of everything, including a nice overview of Expressions!

(b) Inspirational! This book really does inspire you to take what each tutorial covers and expand upon it. Each tutorial gives some pointers where to go next, and point out some good ideas how to use the tutorial techniques.

After reading the tutorials on Fixed Front Projection Mapping, I wanted to take the next bus home to have a play! The Expressions section got me thinking about how I could automate some of my projects (and make simple ones even better!) and the texture motion being used on the zoom and focus of a camera to get that 'amateur' handycam look were great ideas that sparked the imagination!

Great book! Thanks again to all authors! :)