Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

32
GRAPHICS
At first glance. life on the main layout screen
seems almost identical to its predecessor. In fact
the only obvious difference is the change from XY,
XZ and ZY view buttons to a far more
comprehensible Front, Top and Side selection.
However, look a little closer and you'll notice
what has to be the most important new arrival in
the entire package. namely the mysterious Goal
button. Believe it or not, this insignificant little gadget
is the key to Inverse Kinematics_ Its new, it's
cool, and best of all it's really easy!
It's obvious that the arrival of features like
bones. child bone and auto Key adjust in 3,5 was
no accident. When these features - especially the
bone options - are blended with the new found
kinematic skills you arrive at spectacular end
results. Unlike many 3D systems. kinematics in
Lightwave is a dream to use and incredibly simple
to set up. In the screen shot we've used bones to
illustrate the technique. but you can use objects in
exactly the same way.
Firstly you add the basic elements - which in
this simple example was just two null objects_ Then
the four bones were added to the first null object -
Fidded bonu5
Although not immediately obvious, kinematics
also provides a solution for another
missing link in the Lightwave chain. In
previous revisions it was impossible to target
one object to another. However,
thanks to Inverse Kinematics we finally
have a solution. Because objectsibones
don't need to be physically linked to each
other, or the goal they're tracking, making
one object 'watch and follow another is
really easy.
All you need is a parent, the tracking
object and a target or goal object_ You
then parent the tracker and tell it to use
the target object as its goal. Better still,
you can target the goal object with as
many trackers as you want, so, you could
have every head in a tennis crowd follow
the ball, or every gun on a ship track the
incoming attacker,
Although this may not sound particularly
revolutionary it's a feature that many
pro animators have been longing for. In
fact, for many this will been just as important
as lull kinematics. •
A Omuta example of kinematic tracking.
as the arrows efl ortlessly follow the
target around the scene
A painfully sirrtple egotist:4e of Lightwave
kinematics. But then again. that's the whole
point? Ira really, realty, easy
that's where child bone option comes into its own.
Next the bones were parented four to three, three
to two and two to one, and finally bone four was
told to treat the null object number two as its goal.
From then on it's playtime! You simply grab the
second null object and move it around - at which
point all the bones bend in classic kinematic style
as they attempt to track the goal. I told you it was
Gtow
The aii-new colput
I.. lure in action.
Could this be the
first of many
image processing
options to plug
directly into the
LightwaVe
inforfaC•?
Amiga Computing
MAY 1995
Plug-in motion
As already mentioned, plug-ins are going to
play a big part in the future development of
Lightwave. Nowhere will this be more apparent
than within the move requester. which
like its control panel counterparts has its own
plug-in option.
From here you can expect the likes of
WaveMaker, Dynamic Motion Module,
Power Macros and Impact to make their
mark with all manner of motion specific addens.
According to NewTeks' Brad Pettier. a
number of projects are well under construction,
including a new module from the
creators of Sparks which employs particle
animation to generate realistic fur effects and
other organic forms. Even NewTO are
easy! When you've arrived at a pose you like, a
simple 'key all items' command makes it permanent.
If you wish you can still move and edit the
components in the kinematic chain without
affecting their counterparts. or the basic kinematic
relationship.
All things considered it is a near perfect solution.
The only element missing is the ability to limit the
movement, or angle of rotation for the various
elements in the chain. For example, a forearm
would happily revolve at the elbow and go straight
through the upper arm and back out the other side.
NewTek have admitted that kinematics still
requires development_ and are already working on
the 'wish list' for the next revision.
However, even with this minor inconvenience
the overall implementation is excellent. For example,
if we replaced null object one with a finger
object, it would bend and flex just like the real
thing. Thanks to the bones the object would also
deform properly - given the necessary polygons.
Seamless kinematic movement in a matter of
minutes - impressive, no matter which way you
look at it.
getting in on the third•party act by enlistini
the help of Elastic Reality - formerly knave
as ASDG. As a result. NewTek will licensi
the rights to include over 20 ADPro-styk
loaders and Savers within Lightwave V4_
Although not active in the Beta version
NewTek have already guaranteed that a!
the aforementioned loaders and savers wi
be a standard element, and will cater for a
the major image formats, across a
platforms.
And finalq
Looks familiar, but when the plug-ins
arrive motion control will probably be
Ore of the biggest benefactors
Obviously, with the software still effectively 'under construction' there's still t
odd feature which isn't exactly firing on all cylinders. However, even as it Man
,the new Lightwave has the makings of a truly spectacular product. Almost all t
wish list elements have been included, in addition to a host of new features t
quite literally put Lightwave on a par with the best that Wavefront. Alias a
Softimage can offer. And all at a tiny fraction of their asking price.
Internally there's also very little to complain about_ Lightwave 3.5 scenes, ob •
and textures all appear to work faultlessly with the latest version. And better s
there appears to be no problem in porting Lightwave 4 files between formats.
Basically that's all that space will allow for this month. Next month we'll tali
close look at the changes to modeller. However, if all goes well, we hope to br
you the first full review of the complete package, plus another very spe•
Lightwave exclusive. Stay tuned...