Modeling in LightWave (With CD-ROM) (Graphics Series) [Paperback]

Shamms Mortier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1584500344 | ISBN-13: 978-1584500346 | Edition: 1st

This book focuses on one of the most popular multi-platform 3D applications available - Lightwave. The book emphasizes Lightwave 6 features with a special focus on the modeling alternatives. It provides guidelines for selecting the right tools for specific tasks, details the Lightwave primitives and other internal options, and covers specific Lightwave modeling plug-ins. HyperVoxel modeling is detailed along with modeling necessities like light placement and configuration, and time is spent on Materials use and assignment. Additionally, material on handshaking with other programs (Amorphium, Organica, and more) is included. Through the tutorial-based approach, novice users will learn new skills and increase their mastery of this powerful program. Intermediate users will gain access to professional modeling ideas and insights, and the professional user will find a variety of useful new ideas.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shamms Mortier is a seasoned graphics professional who has written a number of successful books including 3D Studio Max: Building Complex Models, and The Amorphium Pro Handbook. All trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1st edition (December 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584500344
• ISBN-13: 978-1584500346
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,007,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't even waste your time..., May 11, 2002

By 

R. Scott Fegette "sfegette" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modeling in LightWave (With CD-ROM) (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

I'd waste time telling you all the reasons not to get this book, but apparently that would be redundant. Suffice it to say that this 'seasoned graphics professional' should SERIOUSLY consider throwing in the towel given the examples displayed- which have to represent the most god-awful modelling and renders I have seen to date. Sadly, this is not even close to an exaggeration. As with many other titles this author has written on Bryce, Poser, etc., it's impossible to take his writing seriously when his examples and sample art are so painfully and blatantly bad. Seasoned professional? Hah! Judging by what I see in this book, Mr. Mortier would do himself (not to mention anyone hoodwinked into buying ANY of his books) service by putting down the pen and actually learning his craft *as a professional* before referring to himself as such. I cannot believe he's ever been employed as a creative professional in this field outside of writing on topics he clearly has no mastery of whatsoever. Even a moderately experienced hobbyist could provide more insight and creative examples than are displayed in this 412 pages of nonsense that mostly echo the Lightwave manual and tool descriptions.

The 'tutorials' (if you can call them that) largely consist of editing existing models (questionably at that) with single-function tools with no real-world application whatsoever, and the best 'intro' work I could find in this book covered Amapi, not Lightwave Modeler. If your goal is randomly tweaking points and deforming the Lightwave example cow or models downloaded off Avalon or TurboSquid, you don't have a copy of the Lightwave manual, and you don't have to worry about clients actually paying you for creative results, you might find value in these pages outside of pressing flowers. If you expect to use this book to become a real professional at your craft and expand your mastery of the truly deep and powerful tool that is Lighwave Modeler, just move on now with a clear conscience. There's nothing for you here.

If you're truly insterested in learning Lightwave however, check out Dan Ablan's 'Inside Lightwave' book instead. You'll be incredibly glad you did, and not just for the excellent organic modelling chapter (courtesy of Lightwave god Stuart Aitken), but the incredibly deep and thick coverage of rendering, IK, animation, expressions, et al. It's everything this book is not.

Unfortunately Shamms Mortier's waste-of-paper 'Modeling in Lightwave' is a painful reminder of that often maligned quote: 'those who can't do- teach'. The publishers of this book should be ashamed at themselves for allowing this piece of trash to be published at all.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stay away from this insult to Lightwave., April 23, 2002

By 

Marco Maroni - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modeling in LightWave (With CD-ROM) (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

Not only is this book the worst ever written on Lightwave, but is one of the worst computer books I've ever seen. There are a total of only 264 pages of 'tutorials' (and I use this term generously) that consist of loading models into lightwave, then doing bizarre things to them using Modeler's modifiers - useful things like make a woolly, furry triceratops or a warped, corroded Beethoven bust.

Most of the remaining pages are devoted to selling other programs, such as Amorphium and Poser.

It appears, when looking through this horrible book, that Shamms Mortier has spent a few moments playing around with the controls in Lightwave, then writting a quick knock-up manual telling what he discovered during those few moments of play.

To buy this book would be a horrific waste of money, and an insult to one's intelligence.

Actually, the best and most useful part of this book is the last 10 pages - they are completely blank.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very misleading title, September 4, 2002

By 

Erik K (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modeling in LightWave (With CD-ROM) (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

Sadly, this book doesn't really give any help at all in modeling in Lightwave. Instead, it reads like a book written by a guy who simply opened the program and sat with the manual in his lap, writing down what he discovered. Nothing about modeling your own creations using the many tools available in the program.

The idea the Mortier doesn't actually know much about Lightwave is given credence by the amount of space given to programs that aren't Lightwave but that Mortier does know. Talking about Amapi and Poser doesn't give any information about Modeling in Lightwave, but it does fill space. We'll have to wait for a really good book specifically about Lightwave modeling. As for this one: AVOID!