LightWave® v9 is the perfect combination of power, speed and value. Long considered one of the

easiest 3D animation systems to learn and use, LightWave 3D® is versatile enough for any application

from award-winning visual effects to stunning hi-res print graphics, dynamic video games, powerful

motion graphics and more. LightWave offers modeling, animation, dynamics, volumetric rendering, particle

effects and a motion picture quality rendering engine with unlimited render nodes making LightWave the

centerpiece of the most cost effective 3D production pipelines in the world.



LightWave v9 introduces new interface paradigms, such as a Node Editor for materials and surfaces,

volumetric lights, and displacements. Exciting new physically correct cameras have been added, allowing

artists to recreate any real world camera lens, and have footage rendered in LightWave match real world

photography (a must for compositing CGI and real footage together). These cameras can also be extended

into the hyper-real, or even bizarre, as any mesh object can itself be made into a camera and record a

scene. The possibilities are limitless.

New techniques for displacement mapping, and support for ZBrush® displacements have been added. New

shading models, such as Blinn, Oren- Nayar, and Ambient Occlusion now allow for a tremendous versatility

for artists no longer bound by the original shading model in previous versions of LightWave. Of

particular note are the new shaders for sub-surface scattering, anisotropic specular and refl ection

shaders (which allow for hromatic aberration), easy to use and offering a spectacular visual impact.

Artists and technicians have more power to access, with the inclusion of the popular Relativity 2

expression system in LightWave v9. This system uses easy “expression wizards” to create associations

between almost any scene component or animation channel, and has been used for some incredibly complex

effects that were a snap to set up. All these changes and more make LightWave v9 the best solution for

all 3D artwork needs. Whether you are modeling or animating, working in fi lm and broadcast or for

print, dealing with organic or inorganic objects - LightWave 3D is the tool for the job.


LightWave 3D v9 Feature Highlights

Layout:

Rendering
Major Core Changes to the LightWave Rendering Engine

* Adaptive Subdivision
* Node Editor
* Node based Displacement
* Advanced Camera Tools
* Timewarp
* CCTV
* HV Deformer
* Stress Map
* Sketch
* Dissolve Ray
* Z-buffer improvements
* Realistic Fog
* “Unaffected by Object” Alpha Channel mode
* Dynamics Improvements
* ParticleFX Improvements
* Hypervoxels Improvements
* IK Booster
* Pixie Dust

Animation/ Character Animation

* Relativity 2
* Sticky
* Proximity
* Quaternion Rotations
* Align to Path

User Interface/ Workflow Improvement

* Mesh Editing
* List Manager
* OpenGL Improvements
* UI Configuration
* Visor
* File Format Support: Tiff importer
* Configuration Files
* Layout General and Display Options Redesigned
* New Render Status Panel
* Render Globals
* Deformation Evaluation Order Controls
* Load-From-Scene System Redesigned
* Scene Loading



Modeler:

* Redesigned Subdivision Surface Core Engine
* Implementation of Catmull-Clark Subdivision Surfaces in Modeler
* Edge Selection (throughout Modeler)
* Edge Weights
* Multishift now operates across multiple layers

New Modeler Tools

* Center Pivot
* G-Toggle
* Set Sharpness
* Multishift