Computer Graphics World

4 October 2008 LightWave 9.5 Improves Hair, Animation, Rendering PRODUCT: MODELING•ANIMATION NewTek released LightWave 9.5 for Windows, which, with major improvements to the hair and fur, animation, lighting, rendering, and workfl ow, represent a major update to the 3D modeling and animation software. Among the new capabilities is FiberFX, a polygonal fi ber modeler for creating realistic hair, fur, and feathers. The complete hair and fur solution includes tools to model and style each fi ber, create volumetric shadows, render-in refl ection and refraction, and more. LightWave 9.5 also offers improved rendering quality and speed, with major upgrades to the radiosity sampling system and interpolated modes. The release contains disk-based caches for radiosity, including Static Cache (for animations where only the camera moves) and Animated Cache (where any element of the scene can move). Both allow the user to pre-render the cache and apply the result when doing a full- scene render either locally or across a renderfarm. Furthermore, the radiosity can now be rendered at a reduced resolution and applied to the full-size fi nal render for higher-quality output and faster render times. The software also sports improved character anima- tion controls to the IK and animation system, includ- ing the addition of joint-type bones for "stretchy bone" capabilities. Meanwhile, the lighting system is now a plug-in API, allowing third parties to create custom lights. And new IES lights enable a thumbnail preview of the luminaire with other information and controls. Finally, Version 9.5 allows the import and export of FBX and Collada scenes and objects, making the software more compatible with other 3D applications for seamlessly transfer- ring meshes, rigs, materials, and animation information. LightWave 9.5 for Windows is available now as a free upgrade to V9 owners (V9 is available for $895). Luxology Shows Off Nexus Rendering Technology PRODUCT: ANIMATION In recent years Luxology's Modo, a unique modeling program, has garnered a lot of attention. But at SIGGRAPH 2008, the focus was on the company's Nexus rendering technology, as the company demonstrated Nexus 4, the newest version of the underlying architecture that powers Modo. Nexus is Luxology's cross-platform, media-aware architecture that supports the rapid deployment of 2D and 3D authoring and visualization applications, and is the same technology used to develop Modo. Nexus includes a variety of modeling, sculpt- ing, rendering, painting, and animation capabilities, is multi-core aware, and is fully scriptable using Perl, Python, or LUA. A highlight of Nexus is its method for rendering large numbers of like objects. This entails the creation of Replicators, which can be done using a variety of methods (such as mesh paint and shaders). In turn, a large number of "copies" can be added quickly to a scene for creating grass, fur, fi bers, leaves, and other similar objects. To show the power of Nexus 4, Luxol- ogy provided a demonstration whereby a number of rhinos were replicated and rendered in seconds; in another, the audi- ence was asked to estimate the number of sculpted heads in a scene—the number was 1.1 trillion polygons, which rendered in less than six minutes. Luxology then announced that Dassault Systemes and Bent- ley have licensed the Nexus technology for their respective CAD/building design products. Dassault will utilize Nexus in its SolidWorks program, particularly for creating modern archi- tecture and rendering the crafted models. Bentley, meanwhile, plans to use Nexus for enhancements to its MicroStation prod- uct line and other applications in Bentley's product portfolio, particularly for visualization purposes. The licensing program enables partners to leverage the Nexus software architecture to build targeted 2D and 3D applications for the PC and Mac, or to add new 3D capabilities to existing software.

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