Dan Ablan - Inside LightWave 3D, Volume 10

Dan Ablan

Inside LightWave 3D v10

by Dan Ablan

New Riders
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Berkeley, CA 94710
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510/524-2221 (fax)

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New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education.

Copyright 2011 by Dan Ablan

Senior Editor: Karyn Johnson
Development Editor: Stephen Nathans-Kelly
Copy Editor: Scout Festa
Technical Reviewer: Jack Bennett II
Production Coordinator: Myrna Vladic
Compositor: David Van Ness
Proofreader: Bethany Stough
Indexer: James Minkin
Cover Design: Charlene Charles-Will
Front Cover Image: 2010 NewTek, Inc. Artist, Leigh Bamforth.
Back Cover Images: Dan Ablan

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor New Riders shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

LightWave, LightWave 3D, and LightWave 10 are registered trademarks of NewTek, Inc., in the United States and in other countries. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and New Riders was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-76661-8

ISBN-10: 0-321-76661-X

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

Ive said it before, and Ill say it again: I cannot express my gratitude to my friend Jack Deuce Bennett. He, in many ways, has made this book possible. Without his help and sincere friendship, this book would be nothing more than a paperweight. Thanks, Deuce, for all of your help and direction. But it goes further, maybe even more than Deuce (just kidding!)thank you so much, William Vaughan, for your insight, help, and models. Your expertise, years in the field, and general good nature have made working on these books a tolerable task. A big thank you also to Leigh Bamforth, who created the cover image. To an old friend, Michael Kornet at NewTek, thank you for your help not only getting this cover image together for us, but getting the book off the ground.

Of course, Id probably still be writing this tome at this very moment if it werent for Karyn Johnson at Peachpit Press, and Stephen Nathans-Kelly. You both really lit the fire under my you-know-what to get this book done. Thank you for your support and words of encouragement! Thank you to Myrna Vladic and David Van Ness, as well as copyeditor Scout Festa and the rest of the talented editorial and production team for putting the polish on this book.

To the entire team at NewTekyou guys have been a tremendous help with not just this book, but all the previous Inside LightWave books and others.

To my wonderful wife, Maria. Your support while writing this book, creating video training, traveling, creating 3D animations all while we run our portrait business has been amazing. I cant thank you enough for everything you do. Youre the best. And to not-so-little Amelia, thanks for being the best daughter anyone could ask for.

Finally, to all LightWave users around the globe who read my books and use my 3D Garage training materialsthanks. Your feedback, on all levels, is greatly appreciated. All of you are the reason I lose sleep writing these books, so keep in touch and let me know what youre doing with your newfound knowledge.

People often ask me how I juggle the many different things I do. Ive never been one for a typical 9 to 5 job. Even in grade school, I loved those days when class was interrupted because of a snowstorm, or a guest speaker, or perhaps a school assembly. I like to break the routine from time to time, but every once in a while its good to come back to something youre not just familiar with, but comfortable with as well. For me, its writing these Inside LightWave books. This is my sixth Inside book for New Riders Publishing (my 14th overall), and it feels like Im visiting an old friend. Our first Inside LightWave book for version 5.5 was in 1997!

My daily routine is composed of 3D animation, training, and photography. After graduating from Valparaiso University in 1989 with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Photojournalism, I boldly started my career at a tiny little CBS affiliate in the middle of Indiana. Without boring you with each step of the ladder Ive climbed over the past 20 years, Ill keep it brief. It was about a year after college that I discovered 3D animation, and I was hooked. My photography, which I began at the ripe old age of 13 and studied in college, was my side thing. Video production was my main thing, and 3D was quickly finding its way into the mix. By 1992, I was animating regularly as part of my job as a corporate video producer. By 1994, I had started my own fledgling animation business and was working for myselfmostly because I got fired from the Video Toaster/LightWave dealership I was working for. But I was on my way into the small, yet quickly growing world of 3D. My 3D business is AGA Digital Studios, Inc., and you can see more at www.agadigital.com. Ive created 3D animations for hundreds of clients over the years, most recently for United Airlines, NASA, the American Dental Association, and Johnson & Johnson.

In 1995, I started writing articles for LightWave Pro magazine, as well as Video Toaster User. I began teaching 3D at various trade shows and local user groups. By 1996, writing expanded to my first book, LightWave Power Guide, which was for version 5.0. My 3D animation business was building, with corporate work being the main focus, from animated logos, to odd robots, and the occasional medical animation and television commercial. My photography at this time was used for texturing work in 3D, and as a personal hobby.

Flash forward to today, and while the world is continually changing and 3D is everywhere, I still do all the same things Ive been doing for the past 20 years. I create 3D animations for product shots, architecture, and medical uses. I continue to create training material for 3D software through a site I founded in 1993 called 3D Garage. 3D Garage offers downloadable and DVD-based high-quality 3D and photography software training. You can visit www.3dgarage.com to see all of our training offerings. However, sometimes its good to spread things around, so youll also find training from me on LightWave v10 over at www.lynda.com.

But sometimes people want to ask questions, so Im on the road regularly, teaching people 3D or photography at trade shows, or often at companies such as Hallmark Cards, NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, APCO Worldwide, and many others over the past 12 years. I also give one-on-one photography workshops. We shoot one day, and then process the photos with Adobe Lightroom and then Photoshop the next. Its a busy and fun two days! And when Im not doing those things, my wife and I run a portrait photography studio in the Chicago area. In 2008, after 25 years of having a camera hanging around my neck, I felt it was time to add it to the professional mix. Much of my photography work over the years has been more photojournalistic in nature and for 3D work, but our new studio focuses on children, pets, high-school seniors, and families. You can visit www.ablangallery.com to see what its all about.