LightWave 3D 7.5 Windows/Mac Duo-Dongle

by NEWTEK INC.

Product Features

• Feature-rich 3D animation, modeling, and rendering application
• Soft-body dynamics, particles, unlimited render nodes, and more
• New animation tools; new file formats; workflow enhancements
• Optimized speed; improved visual feedback and rendering flexibility
• More powerful modeling; includes Motion Mixer 2.0

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000069LH6
• Item model number: LW040000-0751
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 12, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,541 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #73 in Software > Graphics > 3-D
  • #97 in Software > Graphics > Animation

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Introducing LightWave 7.5, the latest feature-rich new version of NewTek's award-winning 3D animation, modeling, and rendering application. Off the shelf, LightWave 3D is the most complete and flexible software solution for 3D graphics and animation.

LightWave 3D is versatile enough to make the transition to and from all kinds of projects. Proven for years in television, film, and games, LightWave 3D is also being used to create graphics for print, Web, industrial design, architecture, medical imaging, and anywhere else a 3D package is needed. A full, robust program, LightWave 3D includes many of the tools that other packages require to be purchased separately. Soft-body dynamics, particles, hair and fur, plus unlimited render nodes, to name a few; LightWave 3D ships with all the tools an artist needs to create.

Features:

Speed Optimizations

• OpenGL performance
• Bone deformations
• Deformation plug-ins
• Subdivision surfaces
• Inverse Kinematics

Improved Visual Feedback

• X-ray mode shows bones through solid items
• Visible rotation limits on item handles
• Frame ticks on motion paths in the Layout viewports
• OpenGL display of user comments on objects
• OpenGL motion blur and depth of field previews

Workflow / Usability Enhancements

• Per-light object exclusion list
• Larger viewing areas for master plug-ins and light exclusion lists
• Render progress window can now be displayed at 320x240 or 640x480
• Print Assistant sets the camera resolution from DPI (inches or picas)
• Select Layout items by object edge or lasso

New Animation Tools

• OpenGL sliders for quick access to any animated parameters
• Edit 3D motion path keyframes in all Layout viewports
• Dynamic parenting
• Simple constraints
• Keyframer tool for numeric editing of multiple keyframes simultaneously
• Expression builder for easy creation of complex expressions
• Biovision Motion capture support

More Powerful Modeling

• Powergons embed commands into polygons which execute in Layout
• Luxigons attach oriented light to polygon normals
• Interactive BandSaw and BandGlue tools
• Magic Bevel tool for interactive bevels along splines
• UV Spider for BandSaw-like UV creation and selection
• Scriptable batch export of .obj, .dxf, and .3ds
• Improved .obj I/O support
• Vertex Paint

New File Formats

• PSD saver will save selected buffers out to different image layers
• Aura DEEP format image saver with buffer support
• 64-bit SGI support
• .flx Flexible Format animation I/O in HDR and integer mode
• RPF support

Motion Mixer 2.0

• Time Warp curves
• Blending between motion mixer data and keyframe data
• Motion Weighting
• Can now utilize any channel in the system
• New, improved interface

Improved Rendering Flexibility

• Shadow Color option
• Camera Cutting preview tool
• Ability to exclude objects from a light's effect in the light properties panel
• Ability to set an entire object to 'Unseen by Alpha'
• Matte Object option will render an item in a pure, user-specified color
• Hypervoxels rendered to depth buffer
• Multiple bounce radiosity
• Sprite render filter for crisp antialiased game and Web graphics over arbitrary colors
• Added filmstock presets to Virtual Darkroom plug-in

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who should buy this, September 20, 2003

By 

Richard Peterson (Summerville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LightWave 3D 7.5 Windows/Mac Duo-Dongle (CD-ROM)

Research this purchase! Know what you are getting. There is hardly enough room in a review like this to give you the info you really need. This program is a serious, hard-core 3D modeling/animation/rendering package. There is an enormous community of users that (for some reason) seems to stick together. To learn about this product, start at http://www.newtek.com . Check out www.newtekpro.com and www.keyframemag.com . These are two magazines dedicated to the software. There are also many other options out there, apart from LighWave. Depending on your needs, you may want to research Maya, Softimage|XSI, Cinema 4D, 3ds max, World Construction Set, Bryce, Poser, Truespace, Electric Image, Strata, or Vue d'espirit. Each of these software packages has its advantages and disadvantages. Most people would probably tell you that the biggest advantages of LightWave are the polygonal modeling tools, and the rendering engine. I use LightWave all the time, and the areas which I find lacking are the complete absence of procedural modeling tools like those of 3ds max -of course, 3ds max lacks great polygonal modeling-, and its lack of more sophisticated particle and texturing features, such as in Maya paint effects. But LightWave is really built on the concept of providing a powerful core piece of software, to which you can add what functionality you wish, via plugins and other 3rd party extensions. All that said, LighWave really is a reletively straightforeward, easy-to-use program, and you can get things done a lot more quickly in LightWave than in most other packages. By the way, "duo-dongle" in the product title refers to the USB hardware key that comes with LighWave, which works for Macs and PCs.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overrated and Ugly, October 30, 2004

By 

Stuart Murdoch "everything in photography is ... (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LightWave 3D 7.5 Windows/Mac Duo-Dongle (CD-ROM)

Are you a novice planning on learning 3d software? Are you used to consistency in interfaces? Then don't buy this software. The interface is illogical, difficult and slow to learn. It breaks many common sense ideas/rules about software generally, (why put several functions at the bottom of the screen for example?). Be prepared for a huge learning curve here, even if this is the top end of 3d software it still is in my opinion poorly designed.