Extraordinary Visions : Lightwave rolls out new features and enhancements

We never cease to be amazed by what they’re doing in the 3D and rendering world of illustration. NewTek’s Lightwave continues to take huge strides toward the ultimate capabilities, and this new upgrade puts fur on it . . .

Fred Showker's favorite Wall Calendars are FREE The LightWave 3D® Group, a division of NewTek, Inc., announced today LightWave 11.5, the newest version of its award-winning 3D modeling, animation and rendering software for artists and designers, is now available for purchase at www.lightwave3d.com. A no-charge upgrade to LightWave 11.5 is available to all registered LightWave 11 customers via the LightWave 3D website.

Genoma_character_rigging
The Genoma character rigging system in LightWave 11.5 is a modular instant-rigging system that can be used to quickly rig a simple biped or quadruped for animation in Modeler without the need for specialized rigging tools.

LightWave 11.5 includes new features and functionality that enhance creativity and streamline productivity for everyone—from individual artists and designers to large animation or visual effects studios.

Genoma_character_rigging
this interior generated completely in LightWave

Some of the many new features in LightWave 11.5 include the Genoma character rigging system with modular presets, predator and prey Flocking capabilities, per-object Instancing control, and soft-body Bullet Dynamics with support for FiberFX. Also included are Interchange Tools supporting Adobe After Effects cameras and Pixologic’s Zbrush, stereoscopic and depth-of-field motion blur in the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR), major workflow enhancements, and more.

Genoma_character_rigging
The Genoma character rigging system in LightWave 11.5 is a modular instant-rigging system that can be used to quickly rig a simple biped or quadruped for animation in Modeler without the need for specialized rigging tools.

Scott Wheeler, visual effects supervisor at Rogue State and LightWave beta team member said

Quoting  begins Leveraging the rich collection of new tools in LightWave 11.5 allows us to continue to deliver movies on time and on budget . . . No other software gives us the scalability to do small team projects while still being capable of handling major studio effects movies quite like LightWave. It’s a must have in our CG arsenal. Quoting  ends

Genoma_character_rigging
The new FiberFX enhancements in LightWave 11.5 allows for bundling around guide chains to create advanced fiber braiding and twisting effects.

NEXT: New features and enhancements in LightWave 11.5

Some of the new features and enhancements in LightWave 11.5 include:

Soft Body Bullet Dynamics: BEST Soft Body Bullet Dynamics: Includes soft body dynamics for effects such as cloth, rubber, jelly or other deforming properties. Bullet meshes are now also reactive to bone deformations and wind forces can be added for rippling effects.

After Effects and ZBrush Interchange Tools
After Effects and ZBrush Interchange Tools: Offers a new LWtoAE button that allows you to select elements in a scene and see them in Adobe After Effects, including animation, lights and camera settings. The After Effects Camera can also be exported to LightWave to take advantage of the Camera Tracker in After Effects and to provide pixel-perfect matching between the two programs. GoZ technology for Pixologic’s ZBrush allows you to send models to and from LightWave with automatic node flows for textures and normal maps. ZBrush styling tools can also be imported into LightWave and attached to objects for interactive creativity.

New Interactive Modeling Tools New Interactive Modeling Tools: Provides new functionality and architectural advancements in Modeler for faster interactivity, performance, and tool development. LightWave 11.5 introduces many new tools like UV Unwrap, Edit Edges, Place Mesh, Slice, Thicken, and Heat Shrink which emphasize the system’s power and lay the groundwork for future third-party modeling tool development.

Genoma_character_rigging
create visions of unknown civilizations

New Interactive Modeling Tools Fiber FX: Respects soft bodies, offers improved Z-buffer support, and adds bundling around guide chains to create advanced fiber braiding and twisting effects. FiberFX now also supports curve poly types, the sketching of curves in Modeler, and rendering directly in FiberFX without using the Strand Maker conversion.

Genoma Character Rigging System Genoma Character Rigging System: Introduces a new modular instant-rigging system that can be used to quickly rig a simple biped or quadruped for animation in Modeler without the need for specialized rigging tools. It offers modular rig presets that consist of skeletal parts such as spines, wings, arms, legs, hands, and feet. Complete rigs for biped and quadrupeds can easily be customized using Genoma.

Genoma_character_rigging
create unique, articulate, wonderous new characters

LightWave 11.5 also expands its suite of Virtual Studio Tools for virtual production and adds support in the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR) for depth-of-field (DOF) motion blur, node-edge rendering, and stereoscopic 3D. It also provides new functionality for Flocking and Instancing and offers many new workflow enhancements throughout the software.

Genoma_character_rigging
develop visions of unknown places in space and time

LightWave 11.5 now available and priced at $1495 (USD). LightWave 11 customers can upgrade to LightWave 11.5 free of charge; upgrade pricing from LightWave 10 or earlier versions is $695 (USD). Educational pricing is also available. Visit www.lightwave3d.com/buy to purchase or locate an authorized LightWave reseller.

GO

Download a free 60-day full-feature trial of LightWave 11.5

See also :
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Evolving Artist(ry): One Man, One Tool Artist Chris O’Riley experience
GO Unfolding the World of “Bunraku” Creative LightWave 3D CG, stunning VFX, and true artistry blend to deliver an onscreen
GO

Popular 3D Design App for iPad Now on Mac LightWave (.lwo),
GO Surface Deformation Software for 3D Artists


LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful and intuitive modeling and animation tools. LightWave includes hundreds of cross-platform render nodes for near limitless rendering, support for Windows and Mac UB 64- and 32-bit operating systems, free technical support and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, architectural visualization, game development, and more. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy® Awards than any other 3D application.
      LightWave has been used in the creation of CG and visual effects for leading feature films and television shows, including Skyfall, The Hunger Games, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Adventures of Tintin, Avatar, The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Fringe, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and more.
      NewTek is transforming the way people create network-style television content and share it with the world. From sporting events, Web-based talk shows, live entertainment, classrooms, and corporate communications—to virtually any venue where people want to capture and publish live video, we give our customers the power to grow their audiences, brands and businesses, faster than ever before.
      NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas. * LightWave 3D is a registered trademark of NewTek. * NewTek, TriCaster, 3Play and LightWave are trademarks of NewTek. * All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

And, thanks for reading

Fred Showker

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