A bunch of newbie questions - really - there's alot!

[JJF]

Hey there,

I'm teaching myself LW and am running into some basic issues - I've used trueSpace on PC for a long time & Animation:Master & Carrara on both mac & pc. I'm great at modeling in these programs, but when I try to get around the LW interface, I get nowhere fast. I'm currently using the LW manual and "Inside Lightwave 7" for guidance. Are there any other good books or tutorials dedicated to LW modeling?

Do you pros out there model exclusively in LW or do you use separate modeling programs & then import? If you do import, what steps do you take for u/v mapping?

My ultimate goal is to create short animations with LW - specifically, character animations with lipsync. Are there pre-made IK character setup programs out there that are easy for someone trying to do everything by himself? Being a one-man pixar wannabe is a rather daunting job! :)

Another question I have is how much ram should I put in my machine? My current setup is as follows:

PowerMac G4 2x1.4ghz w/512mb ram, Superdrive, Radeon 9000 Pro 64mb.

Hope these questions aren't too basic. Thanks for your time!
-James

[Beamtracer]

Training: If you want in-depth modeling and character animation training, Larry "SplineGod" Shultz is recommended. He sends out CDs in addition to online questions, answers and critique.
http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/

Modeling: Lightwave has a first class modeler. You don't need to model in anything else. Professionals everywhere are modeling with Lightwave.

Character set-ups: Word is that Lightwave 8 will come with auto-character setup. SplineGod's tutes are also useful for learning manual set-ups.

RAM: I use 2 gigs of RAM. I really think that 1 gig of RAM is needed to be comfortable. If you already have 500MB of RAM, try it out. See how it goes for yourself. If you're not using lots of huge image maps you may be able to get away with a small amount of RAM.

Tip: Use OS X version 10.2.4. As you may have read in other threads, there is a bug with some ATI drivers with OS 10.2.5 and 10.2.6.

[SplineGod]

Originally posted by JJF
Hey there,

I'm teaching myself LW and am running into some basic issues - I've used trueSpace on PC for a long time & Animation:Master & Carrara on both mac & pc. I'm great at modeling in these programs, but when I try to get around the LW interface, I get nowhere fast. I'm currently using the LW manual and "Inside Lightwave 7" for guidance. Are there any other good books or tutorials dedicated to LW modeling?

Do you pros out there model exclusively in LW or do you use separate modeling programs & then import? If you do import, what steps do you take for u/v mapping?

My ultimate goal is to create short animations with LW - specifically, character animations with lipsync. Are there pre-made IK character setup programs out there that are easy for someone trying to do everything by himself? Being a one-man pixar wannabe is a rather daunting job! :)

Another question I have is how much ram should I put in my machine? My current setup is as follows:

PowerMac G4 2x1.4ghz w/512mb ram, Superdrive, Radeon 9000 Pro 64mb.

Hope these questions aren't too basic. Thanks for your time!
-James
Hey Beam, thanks for the comments.
James, I have an online course that covers all alspects of character modeling , texturing, rigging and animating in far more depth then anything out there. It comes with unlimited online support so you get a great deal of help every step of the way. Support is handled thru my online forms which have been up and running for close to 2 years.
Ive worked in the business for many years with a great deal of experience in character work.
You can get more information about my course HERE (http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/professionalcharacterseries.htm) .
You can see examples of my work HERE (http://www.splinegod.com) and I have free tutorials online which do give a good idea of my teaching style and the sorts of things I cover. I even have 3 quicktime movies that cover the basics of UV mapping as well. Check out the FREE TUTORIALS (http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/support).

[JJF]

Hey Beam & Larry,

Thanks for taking the time to respond - I will evaluate my finances & see how much of this I can afford :) The tutorials look really great, Larry, thanks for making them available.

Have a great weekend!
-James

[Beamtracer]

Sometimes the cost of learning can be worth it if it fasttracks you to making money from your 3D work.

There are other free tutorials around the web, including on Newtek's site. The free tutes are very useful, but don't take you through a comprehensive 'course' like the paid ones do.

[quatermain]

Timothy Albee's book "Essential LW 7.5" is, in my opinion, the best beginner book. It has many modeling exercises. Check it out. It is really edited well - no superfluous info.

[The_Flag]

hi guys...i need some help too if you can...I'm quite good at modelling in gmax and so so in XSI exp...I recently got a version of Lightwave discovery edition in order to ascess if lightwave is for me... I have already purchased a getting started book by Timothy Albee and Steve Warner. but there are still some things I need to know....

- How do I connect too vertices together with an edge?
- How do add edges easily to an poly?(in max i used the cut tool)
- Some basic texturing info on the surface editor(i know nothing on this really need help plz...all tuts i've found are very vague)
- Rendering (i've seen some models that looks spectacular without even using a single texture..that really interests me because i'm bad at drawing textures)

any in depth tutorials? or better yet a "Moving from Max to Lightwave " tut or something like that.....

I know I've asked alot and I'm going to keep searching for more tuts and practice like crazy....I also saw a couple of books for lightwave covering....texturing, essential lightwave, lighting cgi, and more they'er always usually advertised together are they any good?

p.s. major newbie! :o

[SplineGod]

- How do I connect too vertices together with an edge?
- How do add edges easily to an poly?(in max i used the cut tool)
- Some basic texturing info on the surface editor(i know nothing on this really need help plz...all tuts i've found are very vague)
- Rendering (i've seen some models that looks spectacular without even using a single texture..that really interests me because i'm bad at drawing textures)

any in depth tutorials? or better yet a "Moving from Max to Lightwave " tut or something like that.....

I know I've asked alot and I'm going to keep searching for more tuts and practice like crazy....I also saw a couple of books for lightwave covering....texturing, essential lightwave, lighting cgi, and more they'er always usually advertised together are they any good?

p.s. major newbie! :o

If you have two points and no other geometry you can select both of them and hit the p key (make poly). That will create a polyline between the two points.
If you have a polygon and you want to you can add a point on that edge by using the add point tool.

You can add edges in LW in a lot of ways:
1. The polygon split tool
2. The knife tool
3. Add edge tool
4. The cut tool
5. The bandsaw tool

You dont have to be good at drawing to create good textures. You can scan textures, digitize them off a web cam, use a digital camera or find some on the web. Many times you just need to manipulate existing images. The thing to remember in LW is that a surface is a way of designating a poly or polygons to have certain attributes such as color, luminosity, diffuse, specular and so on.
The smallest surface can be one polygon and the largest surface can be every polygon on an object. As with most other apps you can then use textures to affect those attributes.

Getting a good render will depend on how good you are at surfacing and how good you are at lighting. Wordware (www.wordware.com) has some great books on texturing, lighting and so forth.

My suggestion would be to pick a project that you have to model, texture and light and then figure out what you specifically need to do to make that work. Sometimes all you need to do is find something in your house. Many simple things end up teaching you a great deal because of everything that needs to be done.
Heres an example of a $25.00 video tutorial that will be available on the KURV site soon. http://www.kurvstudios.com
http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/examples/gumout.jpg

[colkai]

My suggestion would be to pick a project that you have to model, texture and light and then figure out what you specifically need to do to make that work. Sometimes all you need to do is find something in your house. Many simple things end up teaching you a great deal because of everything that needs to be done.
Heres an example of a $25.00 video tutorial that will be available on the KURV site soon.

I could agree with Larry more on this, (btw, that tut looks like another sweet one! :) ).
When I started with LW, I picked a specific task, back then I didn't have any "online" help as it were so lots of mistakes were made. Now, there are so many people happy to help and provide modelling insights, that it is a far less daunting thing.

By modelling something you are familiar with, you give yourself an advantage straight away. Then look at it, think about how it is made, can it be broken down into sections?
As Larry says, you learn so much doing this, plus, when you've finished, you get a real sense of accomplishment.

One thing I would say, don't go for modelling something complex initially, start with the more basic stuff. Then, by the time you move onto more complex work, you are familiar enough with th etools and where they are that you don't feel you are "fighting on two fronts".

Welcome aboard and good luck!

[SplineGod]

Thanks Colkai!
One of the things Ive learned is that sometimes objects that look simple at the outset end up having some part that is more difficult then I anticipated and vice versa. You learn after awhile to better predict how you will model certain types of things or even when to switch from one method to another.
The nice thing is being able to ask focused questions as you go because your project is focused.
BTW I have an article in the Sept issue of 3DW magazine talking about common mistakes novices tend to me when starting into 3D. :)

[colkai]

One of the things Ive learned is that sometimes objects that look simple at the outset end up having some part that is more difficult then I anticipated and vice versa.

Hehe, I totally relate to that one. I also found, coming as I did from Povray, that your previous "mind-set" has an impact on your modelling. In this respect, being completely new to 3D can have it's advantages.

Povray had to boolean everything, so I tohught all things had to be joined/subtractedd etc.. I also had this thing about everything needing to be triangles. I think I've learned a little since then, but there is always new stuff to keep the ole grey matter active. ;)