Inside LightWave 6 [With CDROM]

Over the last decade, I have seen Lightwave grow from a mysterious program attached to the Video Toaster system, to a full-blown Ferrari that takes no prisoners. Most of us were intimidated by the new fangled concepts and modus operandi of this secretive beast. The manuals were detailed, the learning curve steep, but, if you just jumped in, you could actually create a box, or a building, and with supplied objects, voyage into space - all this on an Amiga computer with 16 megs of ram.Then Lightwave grew into an enormous tool of the Hollywood young guns. They went ballistic - took Lightwave into Quantum Leap, Babylon V, Star Trek, games and MTV. So the learning curve got steeper as new tools were demanded by the trade to do cooler tricks. It was easy to get lost in Lightwave, on many levels.Dan Ablan loves to teach - I took a seminar with him years ago in California next to Universal Studios at the Newtek Convention. Thankfully, he has written down many words of wisdom in various books. I think this one really takes the cake. I can honestly say I take instructions and suggestions to heart from the in-depth chapters and throw them into commercials and my show on Fox Sports Net [MuscleSport USA]. This is serious training with an honest teacher who knows whereof he speaketh.He is a Lightwave prophet, and has many friends in the business that collaborate with him to bring the best to the forefront of his writings. Don't know how the book ends yet, as I am savoring every page every chance I get, to learn the details and techniques and remember them as I work with Lightwave on my own projects.

Dan Ablan is an extraordinary teacher, and 'Inside Lightwave6' an astonishing achievement. Well laid out, well-organized, intelligent, insightful, and interesting. Dan presents and addresses a range of problems in a matter-of-fact manner with thoughtful, detailed guidance, and there is a good dynamic among degrees of difficulty. One of Dan's much appreciated qualities is his global outlook - he gives a specific answer to a problem but also explains how this method/solution can be applied toward other situations. He consistently explains the 'why' along with the 'how to'. His books seem to read my mind and anticipate questions, responding with clear and logical answers. I am self-taught, having started with Dan's 'Inside Lightwave 3D' (5.6). For anybody just starting out, the 6.0 manuals stink, don't bother with them. Pick up Dan's Inside Lightwave 3D (5.6) for starters, then continue with his 6.0 book. That tangled darkness of confusion and I can't be this dumb, can I? feeling evaporates with Chapter One of either book. Dan is 100% there all the way, and hardworking (VERY hardworking, it's a huge in-depth book), and will teach you the joy of LW knowledge.

My company Click Grafix www.clickgrafix.com is NewTek distributor in Malaysia. We are passionate about what we do from selling to animating. Two weeks ago I bought two copies of Inside LW6. I took one home to read it. The last time I used LW when it was version 5.0. I then concentrated in selling it, and I let the younger generation have all the fun. I know that LW6.0 is a major re-write and redesign. The manuals that came with LW 6 do very little justice to otherwise a wonderful demonstration of art and science. After reading the first few chapters in Inside LW6, I felt the urge to do what I used to do before, animating when I have to. It is almost like being young again. Needless to say when I knew that our local book store have stock, I rushed and bought every copy. The total is 30 copies of Inside LW6. What will I do with 30 copies? I passed it to every customer who bought LW6 from us for FREE. And I sold it for almost half the price for those who upgraded from 5.6 to 6.0. Why, the book does a very good job at explaining what SIX can do for you, or what you can do with SIX. My background, I spent the best years of my life teaching animation, graphics and multimedia, since 1986. Needless to say, we buy every book that is relevant to NewTek products, which means that I bought both books, Inside LW and LW Power Guide. But I must admit, Inside LW 6 is way above anything that has been written about LW. As an ex-teacher (although still teach sometimes), I found this book so well written that it should be bundled with every LW6. I did it here in Malaysia, and I hope other dealers around the world do it. I hope that whoever going to write another book about LW should follow your formula.I am 38 years, old to be an animator, but Inside LW6 is my Viagra for SIX.

Lightwave 6 could very well be the most signficant upgrade in the history of the program, so it's hard to imagine that one book could do such a comprehensive job of introducing/explaining this new package. With two previous Lightwave books to his credit, Dan was definitely the author to take on this task. He writes in an interesting and informative manner, injecting personality in to the material and making it so much more than a traditional "how to" book, but a really great read. The human head modeling/mapping/lighting tutorials alone are worth the price of the book. This book is the bread and butter for Lightwave enthusiasts!

I have to say this is the most useful book I've ever seen for Lightwave, and I too have been using LW since the Toaster days. I've learned more in the first 100 pages than I learned in - when did the Toaster come out? - 85? This one takes the confusion out of learning the new interface, and guides you to an understanding of WHY things things are different now. I have overcome my fear of 6!