LightWave 3D adds nonlinear animation.(now shipping Version 7b of LightWave)(Product Announcement)

NewTek is now shipping Version 7b of LightWave, its 3D modeling and animation program. The new LightWave 3D comes with nonlinear animation, a popular feature that Softimage and Alias|Wavefront have also added to their high-end modelers. LightWave's nonlinear animation system is called Motion Mixer, and with it, users can store, re-use, and adjust motions for entire hierarchies, and use transitions to blend different motions together. By defining "actors" within a LightWave scene, users can employ a timeline to extend, trim, move, and scale motions. They can also create complex animations using a library of relatively simple predefined moves.

Another important new addition is Sasquatch Lite for creating and rendering hair, fur, and grass. This feature is based on Worley Laboratories' Sasquatch for LightWave--"definitely the most popular hair and fur system among users," says LightWave third party manager David Tracy. Sasquatch Lite controls enable users to fine-tune the coarseness, frizziness, length, color, and glossiness of hair, and also to "comb" strands to fall or lean in a certain direction.

Additional features ...