Essential LightWave 3D- P1 pdf

165 Chapter 6 Architectural Modeling Exercise: Interior Set.. 205 Chapter 8 Organic Modeling Exercise 1: “One-Minute” Spaceship... Chapter 9 Organic Modeling Exercise 2: Character Body..

Essential LightWave â

3D [8]

The Fastest and Easiest Way to Master LightWave

Timothy Albee and Steve Warner

with Robin Wood

Wordware Publishing, Inc.

Essential lightwave 3D 8 / by Timothy 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

CIP

© 2005, Wordware Publishing, Inc

All Rights Reserved

2320 Los Rios BoulevardPlano, Texas 75074

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or byany means without permission in writing from

Wordware Publishing, Inc

Printed in the United States of America

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

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

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

The Hub 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

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

· · · · C o n t e n t s

vii

Chapter 9 Organic Modeling Exercise 2: Character Body 214

Torso 214

Arms and Hands 216

Legs and Feet 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

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

· · · · C o n t e n t s

ix

Chapter 20 Simulations 3: Fur and Hair 510

An Introduction to SasLite 510

Beyond the Basics 514

Creating a Rug 514

There’s Nothing Plain about This Grassy Plain 521

Hair’s Where It’s At! 523

Refining the Beard and Mustache 528

Creating Hair with Long Hair Guides 531

Splitting Hairs to Work with SasLite’s Limits 543

Rendering the Hair 544

Long Hair Guides, the Sequel! 545

Eyelash Settings and Refinements 552

Making Eyebrows 553

Tips for SasLite Eyebrow Settings 555

SasLite vs Sasquatch 556

Time-Saving Features 556

Sasquatch’s Valuable Extra Features 559

Epilogue 565

Appendix A Plug-ins and Programs 567

Appendix B Resources 590

Appendix C LightWave’s Default Hot Keys 602

Index 607

x

What you have in your hands is, quite

sim-ply, 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

creat-ing the caliber of imagery that you see on

film and television and in print and video

games

While this book contains no “secrets,”

per se, it does strip away the techno-babble

that plagues so many technical documents

and reveals easy-to-follow, industry-proven

techniques These are techniques that you

would eventually pick up on your own, as

did the rest of us However, the average

learning curve for “discovering” them on

your own is estimated at between five and

eight years (much less if you find yourself

hired into a studio where you are working

on actual productions)

The information in this book is designed

to get you up and running with the software

as quickly as possible The first few

chap-ters will orient you to LightWave’s unique

interface The next several chapters focus

on lighting and surfacing techniques

Sub-sequent chapters develop your modeling

skills and teach you the basics of animation

The final chapters show you how to add

“pizzazz” to your work with special effects

and dynamics simulations The files for the

tutorials discussed in this book can be found

on the companion CD-ROM When

available, both PC and Mac versions havebeen included

Obviously, the information contained inthis book may seem overwhelming, espe-cially if this is your first foray into 3D Inthe immortal words of Douglas Adams,

“Don’t panic!” This book will provide youwith a solid foundation in LightWave Itcomes from those with many years of expe-rience who still have the passion of thosenewly introduced to the art form!

From this foundation you will discovernew things, find better solutions, and gen-erally raise the bar for us all Show us thedreams you’ve got in your head, the thingsthat you wished you could always see butdidn’t know quite how to bring to life Sharethose dreams that were so exciting theykept you awake at night Share these thingswith the rest of us, post them on forums,feature them on web sites, and show them

in film festivals Help to inspire the rest of

us by sharing what moves you in wayswords can never relay!

Welcome to the path! May your journey

be one that fills you with wonder andexcitement, far exceeding what you barelydare to dream possible

—Timothy Albeehttp://Timothy.ArtistNation.com

—Steve Warnerhttp://stevewarner.com

xi

Chapter 1

Playing in Three

Dimensions

Before we get really deep into the nuts and

bolts of the major LightWave tools, we’ve

got to make sure everyone is on the same

page about understanding the core concepts

of 3D Math and geometry figure heavily in

these core concepts, but they come into

play in such a way that they’re fun (This is

probably because when working in 3D,

math no longer represents abstract, almost

arcane, concepts In 3D, math and geometry

are almost tangible They give you

immedi-ate gratification with imagery that looks

awesome when you solve whatever

prob-lem you’re working on.)

Note

If kids were taught math and geometry with 3D (making movies or exporting animations into a public domain game engine), you couldn’t keep them away from it.

Using 3D, you not only see an immediateuse for all that nifty trigonometry, geome-try, tensor calculus, and algebra, but you

also have a lot of fun playing with it (yes,

playing)! So, as you explore this, keep in

mind that the whole objective is to havefun, explore, and play If you keep that focus

in mind, the nuts and bolts will be almosteffortless

3D “Space”

To measure any three-dimensional object,

whether it be in “real” space or the “virtual

world” of a computer, you need to attribute

to that object three dimensions In the real

world, these three dimensions are most

commonly thought of in terms of length,

width, and depth

So, a “dimension” is really just a vector (a

line that extends infinitely in each direction

from its origin, never turning and never

stopping) laid along a specific axis (the

angles that define the vector’s orientation)

Height is a dimension, just as width and

depth are But the labels “height,” width,”

and “depth” are too subjective to be used

with any certainty within the precise areas

of mathematics, drafting, or computer-aided

design Certain conventions (agreements

that, to make things easier for everyone, a

certain symbol will always represent a tain concept) were brought into play for the

cer-defining of these three dimensions as theyexist within the conceptual space of acomputer

In three-dimensional space, up and downare defined as parts of the Y axis The area

above the ground plane (defined where Y=0) is measured with positive values (like

Y=5) Below the ground plane, the Y axis is

measured with negative values (like Y=–5).

Left and right are measured along the Xaxis Space to the left of X=0 is measured

1

with negative values, and space to the right

of X=0 is measured with positive values

Space “away from you” is measured with

positive values of the Z axis, and space

“toward you” is measured with negative

values of the Z axis

Bear in mind that like the image in

Fig-ure 1-1, your viewport (your window into

this “virtual world,” of which you may have

more than one open) may be offset from

what the computer considers

“world-space.” World-space is easy to think of as

LightWave’s “handle” on its reality No

mat-ter how you spin an object, no matmat-ter 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

handle on where +X becomes –X willnever vary

For keeping track of how an object isrotated within three-dimensional space,LightWave has taken its labels for the rota-tion axes from what you’d think of while

flying a plane: Heading, Pitch, and Bank.

Figure 1-2 is probably confusing Let metake a different angle on the concept

If you think of your hand like an airplane(I know it’s simplistic, but bear with me),heading is the axis that would change yourcompass direction, pitch is the axis thatwould raise and lower the nose of the air-plane, and bank is the axis that would getthe plane to roll on its side It may seemsilly, but for the first couple of years that Iworked in 3D, I still did the “my-hand-is-an-airplane” thing to figure out rotationaxes (Hey, if it works, don’t knock it!)