The NewTek Lightwave 3D is a cross-platform full-featured graphics editor designed primarily for professional 3D editors and supported by the NewTek studio. It has been produced since 1991 and used in the film industry. It stands out against many competitors with its developed animation system, flexible, customizable scenes, built-in surface editor, and multithreading support. The program has a version for Windows, and we will tell you about it.

Purposes and features

NewTek LightWave 3D for Windows is designed to prepare, edit, and then animate 3D objects or scenes. It allows the use of built-in polygonal modeling technology and facilitates the routine its competitors have to deal with from time to time.

Interface

The NewTek LightWave 3D has no navigation menu. You can call the usual settings panel neither from the upper left corner nor the right. The interface is implemented differently: everything is hidden behind the thematic tabs, signed, and especially "nested" to save space on the screen. As a result, almost 90% of the free space is allocated for the preview menu and 3D graphics scenes.

Where is this program used?

Developers from NewTek work with professionals from the film industry using polygonal modeling. The NewTek LightWave 3D has been used in "Jurassic Park," "Titanic," "Babylon 5", "Dune," "Stargate," and other films. Each of these Hollywood blockbusters has been nominated or won several times in categories related to visual effects.

In addition to the film industry, this tool is used to prepare commercials for television or online publications. Professionals often use the NewTek LightWave 3D when drawing splash screens, pop-up 3D messages on the screen, or titles with effects. Amateurs use this tool rarely, and beginners often don't consider it something useful or easy to master in a short time.

Primary functions

The utility has the following functions:

• Support for volumetric lighting and realistic shaders;

• Redesigned and updated the system of capturing movements and objects. The NewTek LightWave 3D automatically tells you how to interact with objects in the scene, collecting information about moving points instantly;

• The ability to assemble objects or polygons and to adjust parameters to the entire set at once;

• Flexible adjustment of color and details on the screen. The tool allows you to set thousands of shades for each element;

• A built-in section with additional extensions or plugins that change the appearance of the interface, a list of supported formats, and the number of starting templates;

• The surface editor allows you to customize the properties of the added materials, including the glare from lighting or the way other details are rendered;

• Multithreading, ray tracing, and a particular VIPER preview system can help you solve even complex tasks several times faster.

Features of the use

NewTek LightWave 3D for Windows is organized differently than other three-dimensional graphics editors. Special categories with tabs are placed on the screen, keyboard shortcuts are available to recall specific actions easily, and modeling/animation processes are separated.

You can recreate three-dimensional objects and scenes using the Modeler. Setting up transitions, actions, or other details can be done in Layout. Each of the modes looks different and is organized differently. That's why it is difficult to understand all the details when you're not used to them. But after 3-4 days, such versatility will bring just benefits: no unnecessary information on the screen, logical structure, and automatic calculation of surfaces for capturing and further work.

What's great about this program?

The developers of NewTek LightWave 3D have done their best to create a user-friendly program. The interface is not overloaded with buttons or messages, the Modeler and Layout software modules divide the processes of modeling and animation into parts, and there is support for third-party plugins, extensions, templates with settings, and textures. New content is added in semi-automatic mode and deployed to the scale of the tool with no need for a user's participation. You just need to observe the result and choose what should be run and is worth getting rid of in a particular editor.

What are the disadvantages?

Despite the functional versatility, the well-thought-out structure of the program modules, and the presence of parameters affecting the way materials and textures are displayed, it is impossible to consider NewTek LightWave 3D an uncompromising tool. A small amount of professional literature (detailed instructions) for beginners and an unusual interface with not too straightforward navigation are the primary disadvantages of this program. The developers recommend using hotkeys rather than buttons on quick-access panels or contextual menu items.