The World of lightwave

[Lukemax]

Hi all, Im a 3DS MAX user and what i've used, But a friend of mine showed me some stuff on lightwave, of course very much the same.

However i did notice it didnt look so complicated where as he said 3DS max was to advanced, I had a go and found the Camera controls really bad and weird lol

I was wondering if anyone had expertise in both and tell me what about them?

I personnaly use my 3DS MAX for CGI scenes and image's, He said for what i wanted to do Lightwave was much better!

Im just looking around the internet for video footage of Lightwave, But if anyone comes across or knows a tutorials that are about making space battles for Lightwave, i would very much like to see, I found one that briefly touched upon it, Also it does seem that more models are for lightwave.

Thanks for any input
Lukemax

[Jack Skieczius]

well, having worked with lightwave for 4 years now and dabbled in 3ds max, i would say both programs have merit. i like lightwave as it is what i use but i wouldn't preach it, as many other programs are good as well if not better in areas.
i find lightwave to be very straight forward, the buttons are all named and not coded with a hieroglyph of what the function dose, for me i link this, it is what i learned on.

if you know 3ds max i would suggest staying with it, it has no flaws that would really impair you from doing anything that lightwave could do for you.

so in my opinion both programs have merit. and are great. with small diferences here and there. the greatest difference is Max is used a lot more in creating game assets for video games as its developers have developed it that way. lightwave on the other hand is marketed to broudcast companies more then note and is also good in movies and television, but that is not to say it is superior.
also, lightwave it two programs, one is the modeler and one is the actual animation program called layout. having the two separate definitely makes the interface less cluttered. the two programs communicate over a kind of modem link. so it is as if they are one and can sync as you go.

so that is my two cents. hope it helps ya.

[Guerrilla]

It makes very little difference which one you choose, as long as you take the time to learn the app properly.

[Optimus-Prime]

Almost all the Space shows on television are done in lightwave. Battlestar Galactica is a prime example. LW is very easy to pick up, the modeler is fantastic especially for hard surface modeling. The best part of LW is its render engine. You can take an out of the box copy and do things that look better then Vray.

Here is a great site for tutorials if your just starting out.
Main Menu - LightWave Tutorials on the Web

[shrox]

I have been using Lightwave for over 10 years since Amblin Studios loaned me a DEC Alpha. I was a beta tester for 3DMax V1 when they switched from 3D Studio. I dropped MAX and picked up Lightwave. LW is just much faster to work in and the files are easier for someone esle to come in and work with.

[Melak]

I tried LW several times, but that was when I was already using max for about 2 years so I'm biased.
There are only couple of buttons with images instead of labels, and most of them wont be used anyway because its a lot easier using the keyboard shortcuts.

Max might seem complicated because it has got so many buttons, but I personally prefer that to the bundling of functions to less buttons spread over more tabs in LW.

Anyway, just like it has been said so many times on this forum; if money is not a problem (student licenses?), use whichever you find easier to work in

[shrox]

Originally Posted by Melak

Anyway, just like it has been said so many times on this forum; if money is not a problem (student licenses?), use whichever you find easier to work in

If money is not a problem, hire someone use to do it! If money is a problem, I go get an intern from the local college.

I used both, Max does have character anim tools that LW might get soon, but Max does have it right now.

[Jedilaw]

To me, it boils down to this: what kind of chisel did Michaelangelo use? WHO CARES? What matters is that he was f'ing Michaelangelo. A CG program, like any other tool, is just a means to an end. One can't blame bad art on a bad app any more than one should credit good art to a good app. The artist is the thing.

In fact, the most important set of equipment that any artist will ever own is a little bit of built-in magic I like to call Eyeballs 2.0. If you can't see it, and understand what you're seeing, there isn't an artistic tool in the world that can help you.

Please note, I'm not suggesting that you're not talented, can't see your art, etc. I'm merely pointing out that in the long run of your artistic life, the least important aspect of things will be which program you happened to use for a given piece.

Just my .02.

[Andrew March]

There are no programmes with a 'make cool spaceship' button, it takes hard work regardless of which application.

You must be willing to devout large amounts of time to learning and frustration is part of that learning process.

I started in max back in 1998 and switched to Lightwave within six months, I only dabble with modelling being more tuned to lighting than anything else. Use whatever feels more comfortable but don't expect to feel comfortable straight away, you'll only end up disappointed.

[IRML]

Originally Posted by Lukemax

I personnaly use my 3DS MAX for CGI scenes and image's, He said for what i wanted to do Lightwave was much better!

your friend sounds like a bit of a wally to me

I use lightwave and I love it, but if you're already established in max then lightwave will not be "much better" for you - if you change to lightwave you'll just set yourself back however long it takes you to get to the stage you are in max at the moment, and your renders won't be magically improved in that time