Essential LightWave 3D- P1 pdf

www.dbebooks.com - Free Books & magazines Essential LightWave â 3D [8] The Fastest and Easiest Way to Master LightWave Timothy Albee and Steve Warner with R obin Wood Wordware Publishing , Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Albee, Timothy. Essential lightwave 3D8/byTimothy Albee and Steve Warner with Robin Wood. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-55622-082-0 (pbk., companion CD-ROM) 1. Computer animation. 2. Computer graphics. 3. LightWave 3D. I. Warner, Steve, 1970- II. Wood, Robin, 1953- III. Title. TR897.7.A4215 2005 006.6'96 dc22 2004029130 CIP © 2005, Wordware Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2320 Los Rios Boulevard Plano, Texas 75074 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from Wordware Publishing, Inc. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 1-55622-082-0 10987654321 0412 LightWave ® , LightWave 3D ® , HyperVoxels™, Particle FX™, and Video Toaster ® are trademarks or registered trademarks of NewTek, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All brand names and product names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. Any omission or misuse (of any kind) of service marks or trademarks should not be regarded as intent to infringe on the prop - erty of others. The publisher recognizes and respects all marks used by companies, manufacturers, and developers as a means to distinguish their products. This book is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, respecting the contents of this book and any disks or programs that may accompany it, including but not limited to implied warranties for the book’s quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Neither Wordware Publishing, Inc. nor its dealers or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book. All inquiries for volume purchases of this book should be addressed to Wordware Publishing, Inc., at the above address. Telephone inquiries may be made by calling: (972) 423-0090 Dedication To the memory of my grandfather, Winston Hudson: automotive designer, actor, director, singer, violinist, and luthier. His life was a continuous example that all things are possible for the dedi - cated heart and the creative mind. Timothy Albee To my parents, Charles and Dorothy, who didn’t flinch when I told them I wanted to be an artist. The greatest gift a child can receive is the unwavering love and support of his parents. You provided that in spades. Thank you. Steve Warner iii This page intentionally left blank. Contents Introduction xi Chapter 1 Playing in Three Dimensions 1 3D “Space” 1 Objects 3 Virtual Lights 4 Virtual Camera 6 Chapter 2 LightWave Dissected 8 Modeler 9 Viewports and Viewport Controls 10 Current Object 13 Layers 13 Linking to Layout 15 Vertex Mapping 15 Adjustment Windows 16 Selection/Action Modes 17 Quick-Info Display 19 Modeler Toolsets 19 Modeler General Options 22 Modeler Display Options 22 The File Menu 25 The Edit Menu 25 The Window Menu 25 The Help Menu 26 Modeler Quick Menus 26 Hot Key Customization 27 Menu Layout Customization 27 Layout 31 Viewport Styles 32 Viewport Controls 33 Linking to Modeler 34 The Frame Slider 35 Frame Controls 35 Key Creation/Deletion 36 Item Selection 37 Quick-Info Display 38 The Dope Track 38 v Layout Menu Tabs 39 The File Menu 41 The Edit Menu 42 The Window and Help Menus 42 Layout Quick Menus 42 Layout General Options 43 Layout Display Options 44 Plug-ins 46 TheHub 46 LightWave ScreamerNet 48 Chapter 3 Modeling 1: Foundation Material 49 Points (Vertices) 49 Polygons 52 Normals 53 Planar vs. Non-Planar 54 Statistics Windows 55 Grouping Polygons (Parts) and Point Selection Sets 59 Selection “Tricks” 60 Select Connected 61 Invert Selection 61 Expand/Contract Selection 61 Select Loop 62 Select Points/Polygons 62 Show/Hide Selection 63 Primitives 65 Text 66 Surfacing 67 Move, Rotate, and Scale 72 Extrude 77 Extender Plus 79 Booleans and Solid Drilling 82 Bevel and Smooth Shift 88 Edge Bevel and Super Shift 89 Chapter 4 Layout 1: Foundation Material 93 LightWave’s Camera 94 Rendering 99 Lighting 102 Step 1: Load the Base Scene 103 Step 2: Global Intensity 103 Step 3: Spotlight 104 Step 4: Why Do Things Look “3D”? 106 Step 5: Ray-Traced Soft Shadows 109 Contents ························ vi Step 6: Falloff (Atmosphere) 110 Step 7: Radiosity 112 Advanced Surfacing 114 Step 1: Chrome Sphere 114 Step 2: “Realistic” Reflections 117 Step 3: Exploring a Surface Preset 119 Step 4: More Gradient Tricks — “Realistic” Metal 123 Step 5: VIPER 126 Step 6: “Building” a Surface — Rusted Steel 127 Step 7: “Found” Textures 131 Chapter 5 Modeling 2: Additional Tools 133 EPS Import 133 Bridge 136 Lathe 138 Taper 140 Twist 141 Bend 142 Smooth Scale/Move Plus 143 Rail Extrude — Single Rail 144 Rail Extrude — Multiple Rails 149 Rail Bevel 151 Edge Tools 153 Add Edges 153 Reduce Edges 155 Remove Edges 155 Rounder 156 UV Texturing 165 Chapter 6 Architectural Modeling Exercise: Interior Set 174 Floor Plan 174 Two-Point Polyline Work 175 Chapter 7 Modeling 3: Sub-Patch Organic Modeling 197 Smooth Shift 199 BandSaw 200 Magnet 203 Pole 204 Vortex 204 Subdivision Order 205 Chapter 8 Organic Modeling Exercise 1: “One-Minute” Spaceship 208 ························· Contents vii Chapter 9 Organic Modeling Exercise 2: Character Body 214 Torso 214 Arms and Hands 216 LegsandFeet 224 Finishing Touches 232 Chapter 10 Organic Modeling Exercise 3: Head Modeling 236 Reference 238 Chapter 11 Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head 259 Chapter 12 Modeling 4: Spline Modeling Basics 270 The “Rules of the Game” 270 Three-Curve Patches 271 Four-Curve Patches 275 Chapter 13 Spline Modeling Exercise: Kayak 278 Chapter 14 Spline Modeling Exercise 2: Modeling a Human Head 292 Poly Count and Flow 293 Poly Count 293 Poly Flow 294 Spline Modeling Pitfalls 296 Spline Modeling Tips and Tricks 297 Creating the Cage 298 Patching Tips and Tricks 335 Patching the Cage 337 Basic Detailing 344 Polygon Reduction 350 Advanced Detailing 358 Closing Thoughts 379 Chapter 15 Layout 2: Animation Basics 380 Keyframes (Keys) 380 “Motion” Graph Editor 385 Adjusting Timing 388 Previews 394 Rendering an Animation 395 Chapter 16 Layout 3: Character Animation 398 A Brief Introduction to Character Animation 398 Bones and Rigs 398 Inverse Kinematics, Forward Kinematics, and IK Booster . . 399 FK (Forward Kinematics) 399 Contents ························ viii IK (Inverse Kinematics) 400 What Is IK? 400 “Standard” IK Basics 400 “Standard” IK Hazards 407 “Standard” IK Rules 415 IK Booster 416 Applying IK Booster 416 Long Chain Dependability 418 IK Booster and Movement 419 IK Booster and Keyframes 419 Pose and Motion Saving and Loading 421 Quaternion Rotations 422 Keyframe Move Mode 423 Newbie Sensory Overload 424 Chapter 17 Layout 4: Special FX 425 Glow Effect 425 Glow Effect Basics 426 Fake “Volumetric Lights” 429 Lens Flares 434 Compositing 440 CG Elements onto a “Live-Action Plate” 440 Basic Explosions 449 Chapter 18 Simulations 1: HyperVoxels and Particles 459 HyperVoxels 459 HyperVoxel Explosion 459 HyperVoxel “Surfaces” 466 HyperVoxel “Sprites” 471 Particles 477 Conclusion 481 Chapter 19 Simulations 2: Dynamics 482 An Introduction to Dynamics 482 Personal Dynamics 483 Social Dynamics 483 Relational Dynamics 483 The Dynamics Community 484 Dynamic Decisions 485 Applied Dynamics 486 Collision Effects 486 HardFX 489 ClothFX 499 SoftFX 504 ························· Contents ix [...]... 1-8: Point light Without light, we would see nothing The same applies to the virtual world within LightWave In order to “see” anything in LightWave, you must (in essence) use one of LightWave s lights to send a “wavicle” (a wave/particle of light) scattering off the surface of an object and into the lens of LightWave s camera (When you think of your eyes as cameras, this is exactly the way things operate... easy to think of as LightWave s “handle” on its reality No matter how you spin an object, no matter how you rotate a viewport, LightWave will always keep X=0, Y=0, and Z=0 exactly where it always has been (and forever will be) So, like in Figure 1-1, the viewport can be rotated counterclockwise a bit and tilted up just a bit so you can see the axes all nicely laid out before you, but LightWave s 2 Figure... 590 Appendix C LightWave s Default Hot Keys 602 Index 607 x Introduction What you have in your hands is, quite simply, a collection of tools and techniques that many professional LightWave artists use every single day doing what we do in our various fields The tools and techniques explored in this book are essential to creating the caliber... Then think about the slight changes to the real-world lights that you’d have to make to get the same effect within LightWave Virtual Camera LightWave s “cameras” are the windows through which your audience will see your final product (you can have up to 100 cameras in a scene) All of LightWave s other windows are aids in constructing your work; the camera’s viewport is the one window where you will... begin to disappear into LightWave s fog When you tell LightWave to render, whatever the camera is “seeing” will be fair game for the renderer to draw The camera can be moved and rotated along all axes It 6 can track to items in the scene and inherit its motion directly from other items (it could be “parented” to the wingtip of a plane if you wanted) There are more settings on the LightWave camera than... darn good sense of humor 7 Chapter 2 LightWave Dissected I’d like to take a moment to point out that while this book may cover a great many things, it isn’t trying to be the LightWave manual Its focus is that of being a “kickbootie” introductory course that will be a bit like a “rail-gun” in getting you some serious momentum on your way to becoming one of the great LightWave jockeys There are quite a... over the years (A few of these are new discoveries I’ve put together over the past few weeks — LightWave is always showing you new things if you’re willing to see No matter how good you think you are, remember that you are always and only just scratching the surface of the power contained within LightWave. ) 8 LightWave makes use of the idea of “separation of power” better than any other 3D package I’ve... functions behind the scenes; you could spend an entire career with LightWave and never do more than add plug-ins you find freely available over the Internet (mondo thanks to the wonderful, supportive, and blisteringly intelligent LightWave user/support base out there) But should you want to “pop the hood” and “trick her out,” with LScript and LightWave s open-ended functionality, there is, quite literally,... wireframe structure That structure is what we would consider the object LightWave has very few limitations as to what it can “conceptualize” as an object If you wanted to have a single polygon (a closed plane bounded by straight sides) defined by 500 points, you could (Many other programs restrict the user to building only with triangles.) LightWave also allows you to build using splines (spatial-lines, originally... deformations, or the like) getting between you and the exact shape that you’re looking for When “dissecting” LightWave, it can first be separated into two major elements: Modeler and Layout • Modeler is where objects are “sculpted” using a set of comprehensive tools For almost anything you need, LightWave s Modeler seems to have a tool that does just that, as there are many tools to explore Play with . www.dbebooks.com - Free Books & magazines Essential LightWave â 3D [8] The Fastest and Easiest Way to Master LightWave Timothy Albee and Steve Warner with R obin Wood Wordware. Timothy. Essential lightwave 3D8/byTimothy Albee and Steve Warner with Robin Wood. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-55622-082-0 (pbk., companion CD-ROM) 1. Computer animation. 2. Computer graphics. 3. LightWave. nothing. The same applies to the virtual world within LightWave. In order to “see” anything in LightWave, you must (in essence) use one of LightWave s lights to send a “wavicle” (a wave/particle