Artist Spotlight:  Zsolt Ekho Farkas

”The first time I saw LightWave being used…I fell in love with it.”

Every artist dreams of one day creating his or her own masterpiece – a work that will be admired by many and talked about far into the future. But one 3D artist, Zsolt Ekho Farkas of Budapest, Hungary, did in fact create a masterpiece (actually, a recreation of one) as well as a range of other digital pieces. And while his art is diverse – running the gamut from realistic, to painterly, to cartoony – his tool set is not. For all his projects, Farkas uses LightWave 3D.

Node Editors for Easy Surfacing

Kevin Phillips explains the process of using node-based surfacing to quickly create worn military-style textures for hard-body CG objects. He also shows you how to bake them out to image maps for use in other software and as game assets.

The Eyes Have It!

For many artists, the eyes can be the most challenging part of creating realistic characters. Creative Bloq and Hugues Giboire help make the process a little easier, offering several good tips for rendering a recyclable 3D eye that can be re-used from subject to subject.

Importance Sampling in LightWave 2015

Chris Wells shows off how to use the new Importance Sampling feature in LightWave 2015, highlighting the five new HDRI light probes from Illuminated Tools, which are included in LightWave 2015. See how this timesaving new feature can greatly improve your scene lighting.

Caustics in LightWave 2015

Chris Wells continues sharing his knowledge in a video tutorial designed to help you better understand Caustics with IBL in LightWave 2015. Learn how to optimize caustics for impressive renders and get ready to put it to good use.

In It to Win It!

3D World magazine is now accepting nominations for its 2015 CG Awards. LightWave 2015 is definitely worthy of a win, so we ask you to cast your nomination in our direction. Nominations will only be accepted for a limited time, so please cast your vote today!

Sunrise, Sunset and Everything In Between

Illuminated Tools has over 300 high-res, high-quality HDR light probes to create realistic lighting with the Importance Sampling feature in LightWave 2015. Available separately or as an entire library, these probes were created by VFX artists who have worked in many environments—from VFX studios to large animation studios like Pixar. Starting at only $.99 each, how can you go wrong? Check out the library here.

Crowdfunding Creativity

We just can’t help it – we like animated shorts – especially cute ones. This crowdfunding project from a talented team of artists in Mexico, will be using LightWave 3D throughout the pipeline to bring this animation to life. Check it out (along with the accompanying video) and you’ll see what we mean.