Expanding on the production-proven workflow of LightWave 3D® software, LightWave 11 is a complete out-of-the-box pipeline that puts award-winning modeling, rigging, effects, dynamics, animation, and final rendering at the fingertips of 3D artists. LightWave 11 was unveiled to guests of the NewTek "VFX Minds" event held at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood on Thursday evening. Industry icon Ron Thornton ("Babylon 5" and "Star Trek: Voyager") attended the unveiling and sees many creative possibilities for artists working with LightWave 11 software.
"My career in television began by building physical models for the BBC's 'Doctor Who.' Thanks to LightWave's power and ease of use, I was able to quickly transition to the world of 3D for 'Babylon 5,'" said Ron Thornton of Red Earth VFX Studios. "LightWave is the one tool that allows artists to be artists instead of technicians. The advances in LightWave 11 are impressive and artists around the world have reason to celebrate."
About LightWave 11
LightWave offers groundbreaking technology, such as the Virtual Preview Renderer (VPR) for onscreen real-time rendering, Anaglyph Stereoscopic Preview for real-time interocular, 'red-blue' anaglyphic separations, and more. Some of the many new feature enhancements in LightWave 11 include:
Instancing
- Duplicate a vast number of objects in a scene with very little memory overhead
- Create huge polygon groups with great detail while retaining reasonable rendering times
- Scale, position, rotate, and surface randomly cloned objects for realistic detail
Flocking
- Animate realistic motion of grouped objects such as birds, fish, insects, animals, aircraft, spaceships, and more, using a new motion modifier
- Calculate crowd avoidance of neighboring objects, target alignment, and cohesive attractions with the motion modifier
Fracture
- Pre-fracture objects that are ready for destruction with a new Modeler tool that is designed to complement Bullet Dynamics in Layout
- Animate explosions with or without using dynamics
- Control the density of fractures by applying weight maps to objects
Bullet Dynamics
- Deliver physics-based animation with the Bullet Dynamics engine in Layout and the new Fracture tool in Modeler
- Collapse buildings, create explosions, or quickly place objects in a natural-looking random pattern
Virtual Studio and Interchange Tools
- Support for new controller types, including the Sony PlayStation® Move, allow users to easily control and record the item results with a LightWave channel
- Import and export model and texture data to Pixologic ZBrush software with GoZ™ technology
Additional LightWave 11 features include powerful new render buffer capabilities, robust Python® scripting functionality, FiberFX enhancements, user interface improvements, and more.
LightWave 11 Pricing and Availability
LightWave 11 is expected to ship Q4 2011 for a suggested retail price of US$1495. Upgrade pricing from earlier versions of LightWave will be US$695. Educational pricing is also available. For more information, please visit
www.newtek.com.
About LightWave
With a state-of-the-art renderer and powerful, intuitive modeling and animation tools, NewTek LightWave 3D® is VFX and animation software with a proven, award-winning track record. LightWave is designed to support the creative process, providing the artist with the ability to interact in real time with 3D content, to work seamlessly with the full range of software applications in production pipelines and to render on unlimited render nodes. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide, as a complete 3D production solution for visual effects in film, television, broadcast graphics, print, games, visualization, and the Web, and is responsible for more artists winning Emmy® Awards than any other 3D application.
About NewTek
Benefiting producers and artists with cost-effective and groundbreaking technologies, NewTek is a worldwide leader in 3D animation and special effects tools, portable live production and video editing including LightWave 3D®, the TriCaster™ product line and 3Play™. NewTek has won numerous industry accolades, including two Emmy® Awards. NewTek products have been used in feature films and television shows, including "Avatar," "TinTin," "Repo Men," "V," "Fringe," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "The Fairly OddParents," and more.
NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio. For more information, please visit www.newtek.com.
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