LightWave Ready- Now What?

[Signal to Noise]

Well I'm back from a sudden trip out of town. Last week I received my Lightwave bundle and have now got it properly installed (along w/ DFX+), authorized, and running. My only obstacle now is where to begin in learning the toolset?

[7.5] only comes with two manuals: one big one which covers everything and a thin one that is the Motion Mixer Reference Guide. I'm disappointed that LW doesn't include a separate dedicated Tutorials guide. I was reading that [6] did. The big manual does have exercises but they seem to be random and don't cover specific projects. I picked up a used Inside...[6] book and Character Animation...[6] book. Will these suffice for learning LW [7.5]? I will pick up the Inside book for [8] when it comes out and I get my free [8] upgrade. I may get the LW [7.5] Essentials book as well. I was browsing CGT for tutorials as well as the Lightwave Tutorials site and discovered there are so freaking many that my head is swimming on deciding where to begin.

Help!



:confused:

[Titus]

Start you own project and you will find what you need to learn.

[renderingfarmer]

Titus is absolutly right. Lightwave is far too vast to "learn everything and then apply it". It's a skill.
I am way new at this too. But by setting myself "projects" I learned along the way.
Decide to blow up your house on the compter. You get to lean to use HVs, Lights, and FrontProjection.
You wanna model your cat, you can get used to Sasquatch (lite... if you're poor like me). etc etc
anyway there's my two cents.

[cresshead]

tutorials???

go get the 100+ tutorials on this website from newtek!..
much better than a tutorial book..updated and some are video tutotials too....

also go over to 3dbuzz and register to dowload the intro to lightwave VTM....free

and on the community forum there's a whole bunch of video's on lightwave and digital fusion as well...all free....

make some room on your HD of your puter..n burn them to cdr's to keep!

[colkai]

.And get yer greedy little hands on any books by Dan Ablan and Dave Jerrard.
For really understanding LW, they are simply indispensable.

One thing, don't got for a massive project to start.
Build small things, get to grips with how it all works, don't try to run before you can walk.

I dove in with an ambitious project when I first got LW, when I look at what I did now - I cringe. What you store initially in your mind, will be all that harder to break later, of course, I didn't know about Dans books back then - would have made all the difference ;)

[KillMe]

ah haaaaaa so there is motion mixer docs - i was looking in teh main manual for them and while i foudn them in the index no sign of them in the pages =( but alas i never thought to look in the little supliment

will have to give it a try now - hopefully the 2 pages or so gives me enough info to get it to work