Inside LightWave 6
NewTek's LightWave has been a dominant player in the 3-D animation tools  genre since its origin on the Amiga platform, and the latest version really  shows its developers' commitment to keeping it at the head of the pack.Inside LightWave 6sheds light on the many new features for the  experienced LightWave user, and it's also a solid learning tool for new  users.The author is an experienced LightWave user and author--he's written two widely  respected books (LightWave Power  GuideandInside  LightWave 3D). His savvy is evident in the construction, layout, and  content of this guide.An introduction to LightWave--along with workflow and style--makes up the first  part of the book. This section also covers features that are new to version 6,  but because there is so much that is new (NewTek rewrote the program from the  ground up) you won't find a simple list of what's been changed. Instead, the  book approaches the program from the beginning, describing in detail how the two  separate modules--Modeler and Layout--work together to form a powerful animation  system.Experienced users might find themselves skipping this section, but they might  miss out on something important if they do. After all, this section gives a  solid background of features that are particular to LightWave 6--the Surface  Editor, Modeler, Layout, Graph Editor, and LightWave 6 Cameras.The next two sections speak to those with some experience. Part II discusses  modeling and the features of the Modeler, using lights, creating environments,  and methods of character construction. Part III covers features of Layout, the  part of LightWave in which scenes are constructed, including models, lights,  cameras, render options, skeletal structures, kinematics, and compositing.Appendices A and B wrap up the book with discussions, explanations, and examples  of LightWave's Expressions and LScript features. Expressions are mathematical  formulas bound to a section of a model that can be used to free the animator  from the mundane task of key-framing every last element. LScripts are used for  automating and repeating a given set of LightWave actions.For new LightWave users, and for experienced users who are upgrading to  LightWave 6, this book is a handy resource and clear guide to most, if not all,  of LightWave's features--a must-have reference.--Mike Caputo