3D Arsenal is an integrated animation system for easy creation of 3D animation, designed specifically to meet the needs of a video editor. The 3D Arsenal collection includes a customized version of LightWave 3D®, interactive training materials and over 750 pre-made scenes for use as templates. With 3D Arsenal you’ll create incredible 3D video effects and logos in no time… no experience necessary!

LightWave 3D 7.5

LightWave 3D is the most complete and flexible software solution for 3D graphics and animation.
LightWave 3D is versatile enough to make the transition to and from all kinds of projects. Proven for years in television, film, and games, LightWave 3D is also being used to create graphics for print, web, industrial design, architecture, medical imaging, and anywhere else a 3D package is needed. A full, robust program, LightWave 3D includes many of the tools that other packages require to be purchased separately. Soft-body dynamics, particles, hair and fur, plus unlimited render nodes, to name a few; LightWave 3D ships with all the tools an artist needs to create.

LightWave [7.5] Feature Highlights

• Animation Tools
  • Sliders are a fast and easy way to control anything that LightWave can animate. Create your own custom slider banks to aid you in animating characters, lighting rigs, and more. Appearing directly in the 3D viewports, you can customize their size, color and range. You can see your work right through them, or minimize them.
  • The new Expression Builder makes it easy to create expressions without to memorizing a long list of commands. It’s three things in one - a collection of useful expressions that you can customize, an online technical reference for all of LightWave’s powerful expression commands, and a ‘wizard’ for helping you to create your own expressions.
  • Dynamic Parenting and Simple Constraints make complex interactions between objects easier to animate.
  • The Path Tool lets you drag all of an item’s motion key frames around directly in the 3D viewport.
  • Enhanced OpenGL feedback boosts interactivity, showing frame ticks on motion paths and joint limits on rotation handles. Previews of motion blur and depth of field effects reduces the need for test renders.
• Character Animation Tools
  • Motion Mixer 2.0 has an improved user interface as well as powerful new motion weighting and blending features.
  • X-Ray mode allows you see bones while working with your character in a solid shaded Open GL mode.
  • Numerous performance boosts for greater responsiveness in IK, bone deformation, OpenGL display and subdivision surface animation.
• Lighting
  • Colored Shadows allow you to not only tint shadows, but to also create less intense shadows. All options are adjustable on a per-light basis.
  • New Per-Light Object Exclusion options allow you to more easily set lights to effect only certain objects.
  • Luxigons attach lights to polygon normals in modeler, making models intelligent enough to carry their own lighting rigs.
• Rendering
  • New Multiple Bounce Radiosity solutions add realism to LightWave’s already powerful, built-in global illumination rendering features.
  • Matte Objects and alpha properties make special compositing passes a breeze, without altering object surface properties.
  • Virtual Darkroom 2.0 puts the "photo" back in photo-realism adding grain and realistic light response to your renders. This new version includes a simplified interface and over 20 presets, simulating a variety of black and white and color stocks.
• Multiple render buffers are saved in layered PhotoShop (.psd) format as well as the RPF format.

A few of the new features in LightWave [7.5] include:

• Single USB duo dongle offers one package for both Macintosh and Windows users
• Speed Optimizations for:
• OpenGL display
• Bone deformations
• Deformation Plug-ins
• Subdivision Surfaces
• Inverse Kinematics

Motion Mixer 2.0 improvements:

• Time Warp curves
• Blending between motion mixer data and keyframe data
• Motion Weighting
• Can now utilize any channel in the system
• Improved interface

Other:

• OpenGL Sliders for quick access to any animated parameters
• OpenGL motion blur and depth of field previews
• Multiple bounce radiosity
• Added filmstock presets to Virtual Darkroom plug-in
• DPI calculator sets camera resolution appropriately based on desired inches or picas
• X-Ray mode shows bones through solid items
• Powergons embed commands into polygons which execute in Layout
• Expression builder for easy creation of complex expressions
• Dynamic Parenting and constraints
• Interactive BandSaw and BandGlue Tools
• UV Spider for BandSaw-like UV creation and selection
• Magic Bevel tool for interactive bevels along splines
• Keyframer tool allows manipulation of multiple keyframes simultaneously
• New file formats including PSD, Aura DEEP, RPF, 64-bit SGI, and .flx, a floating point format
• Camera Cutting Preview Tool
• Ability to exclude objects from a light's effect in the light properties panel
• Ability to set an entire object to `Unseen by Alpha'
• Luxigons: a new polygon type that can be converted into Lights when loaded into Layout

System Requirements

Windows:

• Windows 98
• Windows Me
• Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2)
• Windows NT 4 (Service Pack 6a)
• TCP/IP Network Protocol Installed
• 128 MB of available RAM

Macintosh:

• Power Macintosh Processor (G3 or higher recommended)
• Mac OS 9
• Mac OS X (Highly recommended)
• 384 MB of available RAM for Mac OS 9
• 128 MB of available RAM for Mac OS X

All systems require 32 MB Available hard drive space, CD-ROM for installation, and a minimum screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels.