Artist Spotlight: Salif N’diaye

Salif N’diaye is a West Africa (Ivory Coast) native who has created a thriving freelance career in Paris producing 3D animation for ad agencies and high-profile accounts such as Samsung, Peugeot, L’Oreal, Ford, Lucky Strike, AC/DC headphones, and more. He relies on LightWave to deliver stunning results, and we think you’ll see why we are shining the spotlight on this talented Power Artist this month. His interview is also available in French, too.

Camera Matching in LightWave

Ian Thompson has created a four-part video tutorial for camera matching in LightWave 11.5 (however it is not specific to 11.5). The series starts out inside LightWave and moves to a more advanced set up using SketchUp to match the camera before bringing it into LightWave to test. He goes on to add geometry in SketchUp for a VPR render. Downloads to scripts and scene files are included.

LightWave Space Command Challenge Ends Soon

The "Space Command" challenge is approaching its final orbit as artists vie for the opportunity to have their spaceship(s) featured in the upcoming "Space Command" movie. The winner(s) of the challenge will receive screen credit(s) and a suite of products from the LightWave 3D Group, which includes LightWave 11.x, ChronoSculpt, and NevronMotion software. Competition ends July 31, 2014. Get all the details here.

Chainsaws Up! Here Comes "Sharknado 2"

The Syfy Channel and the artists at The Asylum hit a home run last year, using LightWave to help create the wildly outrageous and campy made-for-TV movie "Sharknado." A top trending topic for days after it aired, the topic is trending again as audiences ready for even more flying sharks and chainsaw wielding action. Watch for more LightWave assets in the trailer and prepare for "Sharknado 2," which is set to air Wednesday July 30 at 9pm EST.

"RoboCop" Revisited

As menacing as ED-209 was on the silver screen in "RoboCop," he's just as menacing in this real life remake of the popular movie, even though he's made with cardboard, aluminum, springs, Velcro, and bungee cord. Calling ED-209 the coolest movie robot of all time, twin brother David and James Codeglia used LightWave 3D to bring the formidable Enforcement Droid Series 209 to life and visualize the robot as a full-size walking costume, creating the blueprint for the real-world ED-209 prop in the comedic spoof "Our RoboCop Remake."

Don't Forget to Cast Your Votes

The 3D World CG Awards is in full swing and the deadline to vote is fast approaching. LightWave 11.6, NevronMotion, and ChronoSculpt are all contenders along with Hall of Fame nominees NewTek Founder Tim Jenison and LightWave 3D Group President Rob Powers. Cast your votes for your favorites by July 31, 2014. Awards make us very happy!

Bring on the "Real Scary Spiders!"

Who doesn't love a free game—especially one with really cool CG arachnids and bugs? Fuzzy Frog Productions recently paired LightWave and Unity 3D to deliver "Real Scary Spiders" a virtual pet game for iOS and Android where players discover and collect tarantulas, feed them bugs and rear them to adulthood. The game was created for Animal Planet, but rest assured, the artists at Fuzzy Frog aren't stopping there. Stay tuned.

Oculus Rift on the Horizon for LightWave

Dalton Industries is charting the course for Oculus Rift support in LightWave 3D. The company announced development is underway to bring a new plugin to market that will bring the head mounted virtual reality display technology to LightWave artists. Advanced beta of the plugin is expected to be released summer 2014. It will be sold at Liberty3d.com.

SimplyLightWave.com Gets a New Look

Several new training videos have been added to complement the new look at SimplyLightWave.com. The popular online destination for LightWave video tutorials offers a wealth of new videos that cover features such as Bullet Dynamics in LightWave 3D, Zbrush to LightWave workflow, and more. For $39 a month, SimplyLightWave offers more than 350 hours of instructional videos for LightWave.

LightWiki! LightWavers are Everywhere

It's always great to get inspiration from the community, and Facebook offers many standout examples. Check out the LightWiki community, where artists congregate to share ideas, stories, techniques, inspiration and knowledge. We're pretty certain there's something in there that you'll appreciate.

VizPark Now Supports LightWave 3D

VizPark's Interior Plants v2.0 now supports new native 3D formats including LightWave 3D. The bundle contains 40 highly detailed 3D models of interior plants in pots for architectural visualization. Each plant is available in four different model variations, prepared with ready-to-render materials.