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Lightwave Article in 3D world mag


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not read the article but I used Lightwave a while ago. Yes it handled tones of geometry, far better than Max, but I just couldn't get the hang of modeling in to. It was too freeform and loose for architectural work. Not to say you cant do it, but its harder.

 

The GI render was robust and gave pretty good results for the time. This was long before mentalray and vray were the norm.

 

If I was to switch I'd take a look at Modo.

 

jhv

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h

not read the article but I used Lightwave a while ago. Yes it handled tones of geometry, far better than Max, but I just couldn't get the hang of modeling in to. It was too freeform and loose for architectural work. Not to say you cant do it, but its harder.

 

The GI render was robust and gave pretty good results for the time. This was long before mentalray and vray were the norm.

 

If I was to switch I'd take a look at Modo.

 

 

so what do you use now?

 

phil

 

 

 

jhv

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Yes its origins are lightwave, or more specifically past ligthwave developers breaking away and creating modo. Alot of the commands are the same.

What excited me with modo is the direction it is going and the way it is being developed, get one thing right at a time.

 

jhv

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It is a very capable modeler, however not being geared towards architectural it can seem a little too loose. The sub-D modeling is excellent.

 

There are a few scripts available to help with architectural modelling, like window generators. The render might not be as good as say vray but is still very good and fast. Microstation has adopted their render. Which makes microstation a viable alternative to max. A very robust modeler and an excellent render. Although I have heard mixed results about the integration.

 

Cost wise I think you are getting alot for your money.

 

jhv

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I have used Lightwave almost exclusively in the last 10 years.

 

It is a very capable all rounder but with quirky workflow. When I first moved from Microstation many years ago, it took me months to get the hang of it but when I did, there was no turning back. Unlike semi-pro softwares such as Poser, Lightwave workflow is different because it works and loved by many professionals. Just do not expect it to work anything like Max or Microstation.

 

The renderer is good enough to use on its own without having to resort to third parties such as Maxwell or Vray. I prefer the native renderer because it makes integration with particles, character animations, deformations etc a breeze. You also get the up to 1000 node render farm for free - although I do shell out for the Butterfly Net Render as the controller.

 

If you are using it for archvis, it is mandatory to add this 3 plugins - LWCAD, HD Instance and Fprime. You might as well add their cost to the total you are going to spend.

 

In conclusion, I still feel the renderer is a bit behind the Vray for archvis but it would cost me so much more in term of software and effort to set up such an all rounded and advanced system on any other platform.

 

Check out my website for some of the work that I did exclusively on Lightwave.

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