ISBN:1556220820Book Description
Provides an comprehensive tutorial to this popular 3D animation and modeling software popular not only in animation, cartoons, but television and computer games./p>
Reviews From AMAZON.COM
Informative, Indepth, but...
I have been working on Lightwave for about a year. I have prior experience with 3DS Max. In fact, I have also received formal training, at the expense of my employer, on Lightwave 3D 8, but nonetheless I still felt the need to run out and buy several titles on the subject. One of them happened to be this book.
First off, the book is loaded with a ton of -- yes! -- essential information! Likewise, the basics are covered quite thoroughly and in such a way that the reader does not become too overwhelmed. Basic concepts relating to the world of 3D are covered along with Lightwave specific terminology. The author receives high praise from me in this particular area. Spanning 20 chapters, an epilogue, three appendices, and a reasonable index, the book introduces the user to Lightwave.
The tutorials are laid out in a linear and numbered fashion. The reader who is comfortable enough with the program will have no problem with this; however, there are many parts in the book where steps are missing or the illustrations don't seem to match up with what is being presented. Take, for instance, chapter six, step 15 -- the user is instructed to drag a selection box around the top of their model and press the delete key. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? Well, everything is not always as it seems, because the authors seem to have forgotten to instruct the user to change Grid Snap to None under the Display Options | Units window. This is just one example of several in which steps were left out or utterly confusing. Enough of the bad points about the book however, because there are MANY more good ones.
The CD-ROM that comes with the book is also particularly useful, and I've not come across an item that was referenced in the book and not on the disc. There are even points in the book where the user is able to load objects and work from that point to the objective. The appendices in the back of the book are loaded with VERY useful information on an assortment of subjects. Are you looking for plug-ins and programs suggested by the pros? This book has a comprehensive list of them that will get you headed in the right direction, if not to your destination! Are you looking for resources on Lightwave online, such as particular websites? Guess what! This book lists them along with descriptions and screen captures of the sites, such as: Newtek, Flay, CGTalk, and many more!
I would suggest that you pick up this book with the for-knowledge that you need to have the Lightwave [8] interactive PDF help-file loaded. This is definitely a title that will get you started on the right path to conquering Lightwave and with diligence mastering it.
A thorough guide
I just burned through this book in 2 days... after struggling with Lightwave for weeks, this book made all the fundamental building blocks of the program make sense for me in a way they hadn't before. The book is soft on the animation and dynamics end of things, but with a firmer grasp of all the basic tools, I'm so much more comfortable with the software. It was fun to read and the authors have lots of personal tips and philosophical advice that makes the tutorials more intriguing.