NewTek Lightwave 3D: Learning the Layout

Lightwave 3D

The Interface:Having a look around

3D Animation I

Let’s Get Started Start Lightwave

Layout

Select File > Clear Scene Command N This allows you to

start with a fresh scene at any time

The Interface What you see

Tabs on top Selectable items on

left Based on tab

selection Timeline on bottom

Play controls

Viewport

Tabs

Menu Items

Timeline

The Interface What you see

Every new scene starts with a light and a camera

The wireframe you see in the viewport is called the grid Used to help you

line up objects, but is not seen by the camera

Light

Navigation Controls

Camera

Let’s Look at Something

Make sure the Items tab is selected

On the left, select Load More and then select Object… Notice that the

shortcut to loading an object is (+)

Let’s Look at Something

In the Objects directory, open the Animals folder and select Triceratops.lwo Note that all

objects are .lwo

Looking Around Different views

Displaying 3 dimensions on a 2D screen

Top, Bottom, Back, Front, Right, Left, Perspective, Light, Camera views

Shortcuts 1 - 6

Have a Look Around Click on the View

pop-up menu and choose Top Shortcut (2)

Looking Around Changing your point

of view Selected item always

center Click on this will

keep whatever you have selected in the center of your view

Looking Around Changing your point

of view Dolly & Truck

Moves your view forward, backward, side to side

Looking Around Changing your point

of view Rotate

Allows you to swing around the current view up, down, left or right Not available in

the top view

Looking Around Changing your point

of view Zoom

Allows you to zoom in and out on your current view Shortcut (,) (.)

Have a Look Around Click & hold on

the Dolly button and drag your cursor Keyboard shortcut

(Shift, Option)

Click & hold on the Zoom button and drag your cursor Keyboard shortcut

(,)(.)

Have a Look Around In the View pop-

up menu choose Perspective Keyboard shortcut

(4)

Click and hold on the Rotate button and drag your cursor Keyboard shortcut

(Option)

Have a Look Around In the View pop-

up menu choose Light Keyboard shortcut

(5) This shows you

what the light is seeing Helpful when

aiming lights at certain things

Have a Look Around In the View pop-

up menu choose Camera Keyboard shortcut

(6) This shows you

what the camera is seeing The most

important view When you render

a frame or your scene this is what you get

Manipulating Objects Use the Modify tab

Allows you to move, rotate, scale and stretch your object

You can also move and rotate your camera or lights as well

A Better View of Our Dino

Select the Modify tab

Select Rotate Shortcut (y)

Click on the Red circle and rotate the dino so you have a better view

Manipulating Objects Numerics

Bottom left Allows you to set specific

settings to the type of manipulation you are doing

Rotation Horizontal, Pitch, Bank

Note the colors red, green & blue match the control rings on our dino

Tweak the Settings Using the Numerics,

click on the <> button and change the horizontal setting

Change the pitch and bank settings, then select inside the setting window, type 0 and press Enter to reset the pitch and bank

Timeline – Left Side Timeline Slider

Drag this slider to the desired frame in your animation Current frame is displayed on the left side of the

timeline

Timeline – Left Side Item Type

Allows you to choose the kind of item in your scene you would like to modify Object, Bones (things you add inside an object),

Lights, and Camera

Timeline – Left Side Current Item pop-up menu

Once you have chosen the kind of item you would like, then you can choose which of those items you wish to modify Since we only have one object in our scene, our

Triceratops is the only object we can select

Timeline – Left Side Item Properties

This allows you to change features of the selected element Object properties allow you to

change its opacity, morph into something and other tricks

Timeline – Right Side Total frames in scene

This is how long the scene is Measured in frames 30 frames per second this scene is 4 seconds

long Type in any value you need to set the duration

Change the Scene Duration

Select inside the Scene Duration window and type 300 and press Enter Scene is now 300

frames long = 10 seconds

Timeline – Right Side Auto Key

When checked, every time you change an item at any frame, LW will make a key frame to remember that change

Handy feature, but sometimes you need to turn this off

Leave it on for now

Timeline – Right Side Create Key

Allows you to manually create a key frame when Auto Key is turned off

Shortcut (Enter)

Let’s Make a Simple Animation

Make sure the Timeline slider is at frame 0

Using the Modify tab in Camera view, select Move, then move the dino back away from the camera and to the right With Auto Key on, the

new position is memorized

Let’s Make a Simple Animation

Move the slider to frame 300

While Move is still selected, move the dino closer to the camera and to the left

Let’s Make a Simple Animation

Move the slider to frame 150

While Move is still selected, move the dino to the left or right of its current location You now have 3 key

frames

Timeline – Right Side Navigation Controls

Allows you to move your slider to specific frames in your scene Go to the beginning, go to previous key frame of

selected item, go back 1 frame, go forward 1 frame, go to next key frame of selected item, go to end of scene

Timeline – Right Side Navigation Controls

Handy keyboard shortcuts Go forward or backward 1 frame = Go to previous or next key frame = Shift

Zip to Your Key Frames

Use the navigation controls to go to the beginning and end of your scene

Use the navigation controls to go to your key frames

Try out the shortcuts

Timeline – Right Side Preview pop-up menu

Allows you to make a preview of your animation without rendering out a movie Much faster – allows you to find problem areas in

your scene without wasting too much time

Make a Preview Click on the

Preview button and select Make Preview 1st frame = 0 Last frame = 300 Frame Step = 1 Viewport = Camera

View

Press OK

Play the Preview Click the play

button to play your preview You can scrub,

step, go to beginning, end, set the frame rate

When done, click End Preview

Timeline – Right Side Viewport playback

Plays the scene forward or backward Playback speed depends on the complexity of the scene

Step Plays back each frame (1) or any interval of frames you choose

2 = every other frame 10 = every 10th frame

Rendering Render tab

Render the current frame F9

Render the scene F10 Can render a

selected range of frames or the whole thing

Render a Frame Using the

timeline slider, select a frame you would like to render out

Select the Render tab, then click Render Frame Or just press F9

Rendering Render Status

Window Shows you what

Lightwave is doing when rendering your frame Watch Lightwave

build your frame Slows down rendering

time & can be turned off

Rendering Render Frame

In its own window Allows you to save the

image if you like

Save a Frame On the Render

Window, select Save RGBA > LW_JPEG (.jpg) and save your frame to the desktop

Save Your Scene Select File > Save

Scene As…

Select the Scenes folder (if necessary) and create a new folder ‘My Scenes’

Title your animation and Save

Lightwave 3D

The Interface:Having a look around

3D Animation I