Mindseye Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Hi Everyone I'm new to the community. I saw this thread and thought I'd jump in the mix. I'm the owner of my own architectural illustration studio. I have been Using L.W. since version 5.5. It is my package of choice... It just works with the way my brain operates. Anyway I have found it to be a very effective and fast tool for architural work. Mind's Eye Multimedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingo Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Hi and welcome to the forum. I use Lightwave too and like it a lot, although it often doesn't work the way my brain operates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin3D Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 This is a timely thread for me. I'm getting very close to selecting a 3D app for my freelance work, and its coming down to between Lightwave & Cinema4D. I can't afford 3DS max, which is what I use at work...LW or C4D AND formZ together is still cheaper than max. In addition to arch viz I do your basic flying logos and a little character animation, so I need something all round. I know a few guys in town who use Lightwave so could collaborate if I go that route. I'm just concerned what I hear about the modeler. Seems to me though that LW rendering is good enough...the spots I've seen have been awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwright Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 hmmmm... between LW and C4D... though decision. I think C4D is easier to use, I had been using LW since V1.0 and grew with it... get a C4D demo and play with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin3D Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Originally posted by dwright: hmmmm... between LW and C4D... though decision. I think C4D is easier to use, I had been using LW since V1.0 and grew with it... get a C4D demo and play with it. yeah, i have played with the demo. I really, Really, REALLY like C4D. It fits very well into my "all purpose 3D" requirement. I'm just making one last sweep of thoughts and opinions before I have my final leap. I'm glad to hear you say its a tough choice...i thought it was just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingo Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 I had to make the decision two years ago, but it was an easy decision for me. Lightwave is easier to use, even for a Mac user like me. The main reasons were the excellent render quality and the much better and easier texturing/surfacing interface and options. For my modelling i still prefer FormZ, but if you want to do character modelling its better to use Lightwave's modeller for that. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 IMO Lightwave works fine for architecture, and has a clean interface. It also is a comparatively 'lightweight' app compared to other rendering programs. It loads fast, and is easy on the system resources. How many 3d apps can say that? Definetly not Max. The largest area I find lacking in Lightwave for Arch rendering is the lack of high 3rd party renderers (Vray, Brazil, and company). ...but Lightwave radiosity does a decent job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 IMO Lightwave works fine for architecture, and has a clean interface. It also is a comparatively 'lightweight' app compared to other rendering programs. It loads fast, and is easy on the system resources. How many 3d apps can say that? Definetly not Max. I only wish that more people could understand this simple statement, that Autodesk would pay more attention to this kind of requirement by graphic professionals like cg architectural visualisation artists - it would make the world an altogether better place to live in, i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwright Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 I agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I was introduced to LW first, when i bought a subscription to the 3D World magazine. It is exactly the kind of application that young guys hoping to get into archiviz for the first time should learn. Exactly the kind of guy, that cgworld mag was aimed at when it first came out - i remember that issue no.1. :winkgrin: That sweet stylish looking cover image, that became the hallmark. But inside the cover, there was always a couple of decent tutorials for a software like Lightwave, or a competition or something. For those young college kids like me who didn't have time/cash for much web access, the cgmag was a revelation. The VIZ and the rest have there advantages later on moreso,... but in the beginning the only way to be is to keep it simple, uncluttered and maximise upon producing some good creative portfolio work fast - getting used to thinking fast, designing fast and working/outputting fast. Lightwave will not break the bank either, which is not bad for the best modelling app out there. Especially when you have not made much money yet from cg. The best archiviz guys i know, cut their teeth using it way back. Almost all now, have gone on to use mainstream software in architects practices, but are the better for having learned, used and made portfolios using Lightwave. They were just quite unassuming pleasant chaps, with a real talent for design - all they needed was a simple program to bring that talent out, and show it to the rest of the world. When you cannot afford a blazing new workstation etc, Lightwave will not strap you down like you have no legs and no arms! VIZ does tend to restrict you, on older hardware alot. I don't have a huge problem with VIZ, and even purchased a copy of VIZ for myself (which i hardly ever use anymore, because i am a Bently Triforma J convert). But young guys, on the way up in life simply don't have the time to learn something as 'non-intuitive' as VIZ or MAX. When you buy VIZ, then you really do have to get AutoCAD too, or else suffer from lack of precision modelling ability. They just get the one chance to make or break it. They want and need the best tool to do the business in the meantime, until perhaps, they make good money and can afford to spend a weekend paying for top class Discreet training in VIZ and animation. I simply don't wish to spend my early twenties trying to wrestle with discreet 'over-complication' for the sake of it. Unfortunately, most architecture educational establishments have been targeted by autodesk for ages now. Or the 'mentors' in those places are still back in the dos days. None of the younger computer-oriented guys in architecture i knew who started with LW back in the mid ninties, use LW much anymore. Because they are mainly project architects now dealing with other matters. But what they all do have is a portfolio of very early, but very high quality design work to look back upon now. Just my thoughts on the matter. Gareth. [ May 27, 2003, 05:12 AM: Message edited by: garethace ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwright Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 well... I am using it since V1.0.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 On the Amiga? Cult sci-fi movies and all of that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwright Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 yup.. I had my first Amiga back in 85.. My first 3D app was called C-light, my second, Videoscape (Allen Hastings first 3d app.. then he did LW). I also used Sculpt 3D (beginning of C4D) and Turbo Silver / Imagine. Oh.. a chrome ball took hours and a simple scene with simple architecture? perhaps a day or two at 320x400 / 4096 colors. With today?s GI.. I kind of feel like those days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethace Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Well at least you still have a frontier to cross in computing. Most people on the hardware forums and web sites nowadays complain that games like Quake 3 and so on, are no longer adequate tests of what a computer can do. When 60 fps would do for playing most games, what is the point in having 150fps? Alot of hardware sites, like my buddies over at www.aceshardware.com are trying to find good benchmarks for tasks that could stretch a computers limits today. I.e. Tasks that could still be meaningful in everyones daily computing needs, and actually make some use the power of a 3GHZ system. Plasma Physics Performance Benchmarked http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=50000355 Johan De Gelas over there, uses a Lightwave benchmark that comes with the package, but does admit that the scene is not really complex enough to provide much meaningful indication of the systems performance. I think the LWO scene is just a simply chrome ball that raytraced at about 640x480. Maybe you should give him a tinkle here at: johan@aceshardware.com He asked the forum members, if anyone would have a complex enough scene in Lightwave format, which could become a relevant benchmark over the next couple of years. Johan does get his hands on all the latest and greatest chips from both Intel and AMD, so it would be interesting to see him benchmark Lightwave properly. :winkgrin: Athlon XP 3200+ Reviewed http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=55000278 3.06 GHz Pentium 4 and HyperThreading http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=50000326 Opteron: Pushing x86 to the Limit http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=55000263 [ May 28, 2003, 03:17 AM: Message edited by: garethace ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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