Inside
LightWave 7 is designed for the intermediate to
advanced 3D artist/animator who is looking to improve his
or her skills and efficiency using LightWave.
Inside LightWave 7 takes the reader beyond their basic
knowledge of the features of LW to learn how to apply their
knowledge to create professional-level scenes and
animations. Inspirational graphics combined with real-world
tutorials and insider tips make Inside LightWave 7 a
must-have for every LightWave user.
Inside LightWave 7 is my best book yet. It's 1200 pages
of LightWave knowledge - and then some. After hundreds of
emails from readers of Inside LightWave 6, I've put
together a very comprehensive tome of knowledge for any
LightWave 7 user. Basic info as been updated and enhanced
for version 7, and due to popular demand, we've kept Stu
Aitken's head modeling tutorial, but updated and clarified
it even more for 7. You'll find all new tutorials
throughout the book covering architectural animation,
expressions, broadcast design and animation, bones &
skelegons, weights, inverse kinematics, radiosity,
caustics, baking radiosity with uv's, two chapters
dedicated to particles, motion mixer for nonlinear
animation, motion designer for cloth, sasquatch lite for
fur and grass, and much much more. Randy Sharp of Digital
Domain and Jarrod Davis of Foundation Imaging have added
some chapters and shared their expertise and hollywood
knowledge. I specifically added a Macintosh G4 to our
render farm to write this book - we wanted to make sure
both Mac and PC users are in tune with the book's projects.
Other benefits of this book include a 70 page plug-in list.
Have you ever wondered what the SubDivLOD Tool did? Or how
about the Router Tool? This chapter lists every Modeler and
Layout plug-in, their locations, and a brief description of
what they do. I've also added a chapter on Motion Capture.
Programs like Life Forms from Credo Interactive make it
very easy for you to generate motion capture files for
LightWave. But where do you go from there? This chapter
shows you how to take your favorite character and add it to
an imported mocap scene. The CD that comes with the book is
filled to the brim with textures from Marlin Studios, Demos
from Curious Labs, as well as additional textures and
compositing images. Every screen grab from the book is on
the CD in full color. Add to that a full working demo of
LightWave 7 for both the Mac and PC, and you're! ready to
go.
Contents
I. GETTING STARTED WITH
LIGHTWAVE.
1. Introducing
LightWave 7. A Brief Look at the
History of LightWave. A Brief Look at Layout and Modeler. A
Brief Look at the Architecture of LightWave. Notable
Enhancements to Layout. LightWave 7 Groups in Layout.
Notable Enhancements to Modeler. The Next Step.
2. LightWave 7 Surface Editor. Using the Surface Editor.
Applying Image Maps to Surfaces. The Next Step.
3. LightWave 7 Modeler. Understanding Modeler 7.
Modeling Methods. Notable Functions. The Next Step.
4. LightWave 7 Layout. Understanding the
Animation Environment. Understanding Keyframing.
Constructing Scenes. Using the Scene Editor. Spreadsheet
Scene Manager. The Next Step.
5. LightWave 7 Graph Editor. Navigating the Graph
Editor. Working with the Graph Editor. Navigating the Curve
Window. Exploring Additional Commands in the Graph Editor.
Using the Curves Tab. Editing Color Channels. The Next
Step.
6. LightWave 7 Cameras. Setting Up Cameras in
LightWave. Camera Concepts. The Next Step.
II. A PROJECT-BASED APPROACH
TO CREATING AND BUILDING 3D SCENES.
7. Lighting and
Atmospheres. Project
Overview. Adding
Lights. Global Illumination. Lens Flares. Volumetric
Lights. ApplyingLights in LightWave. Area Lights. Adding
Atmospheres. The Next Step.
Project Overview. Building
an Architectural Scene in Layout. The Next Step.
9. Realistic Lighting Environments. Project Overview. Interior
Daylight. Volumetric Lighting. Environmental Radiosity.
Adding Caustics. The Next Step.
10. Organic Modeling. Project Overview. Using
SubPatch Surfaces to Model the Head. Building the Eyes.
Building the Eye Area. Building the Mouth. Building the
Jaw. Building the Nose. Completing the Face. Building the
Rest of the Head. Finishing Touches. Modeling Summary.
Rendering the Head. Surfacing and Lighting the Model. Post
Processing: Finishing Touches. Rendering Summary. Further
Reading. The Next Step.
11. Character Construction. Project Overview. Bones.
Bone Weights. Skelegons. Bone Up Tags. The Next Step.
III. A PROJECT-BASED APPROACH
TO ANIMATING SCENES.
12. Deformations and
Movement. Project Overview.
Preparing for Facial Animation. Endomorphs in Layout.
Endomorphs and the Graph Editor. Additional Lip-Sync Tools.
Using SockMonkey. Setting Up Skelegons for Facial
Deformation. Animating a Bat with Bones. The Next
Step.
13. Inverse Kinematics. Understanding Kinematics.
Basic IK Usage. Introduction to Character Setup. Rigging a
Real Character for Full Inverse Kinematics. Configuring the
IK Chains. The Next Step.
14. Expression Applications. An Introduction to
Expressions. The Next Step.
15. Animation with Expressions. Using Expressions to
Enhance and Simplify Animation. The Next Step.
16. Nonlinear Animation. Project Overview. Motion
Mixer. The Next Step.
17. Broadcast-Style Animation. Project Overview.
Broadcast-Style Graphics. Lighting Broadcast Animations.
Movement and Timing. Rendering for Broadcast. The Next
Step.
IV. ANIMATION POST AND
EFFECTS.
18. Compositing and
Rendering. Understanding Compositing.
Rendering. The Next Step.
19. Particle and Fur Animation. Project Overview.
Particles in LightWave. The Next Step.
20. Advanced Particle Animation. Project Overview.
Particles for Animation Control. Multiple Objects Using
FX_Linker. The Next Step.
21. Motion Designer Creations. Project Overview. Motion
Designer. The Next Step.
V. APPENDIXES.
Appendix A. Motion
Capture and LightWave. Overview. Motion Capture
Technology. Using Motion Capture in LightWave.
Appendix B. LightWave 7 Plug-in, Tool, and Technical
List. Overview. LightWave
Plug-ins. The Complete Plug-in List. Reference
Charts.
Appendix C. Reference Materials and Tools. Third-Party Plug-ins.
Internet Resources.
Appendix D. What's on the CD. System Requirements.
Loading the CD Files. Exercise Files. Third-Party
Materials.
Index.