LightWave 11.6 and NevronMotion Final Releases Now Available

Offers advanced previsualization, production and 3D printing tools in LightWave 11.6; NevronMotion plug-in for the Microsoft Kinect camera captures and retargets motion in LightWave 11.6

Burbank, CA – November 1, 2013 –The LightWave 3D® Group, a division of NewTek, Inc., today announced the final release of LightWave 11.6 software for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering is now available worldwide. Also announced today is the final release of the NevronMotion plug-in for LightWave 11.6, which uses the Microsoft Kinect camera to capture motion in real time for retargeting to 3D or live-performance characters. NevronMotion also simplifies retargeting data from standard motion capture files directly into the LightWave interface.

Created by artists for artists, LightWave 11.6 introduces many new ways for artists and designers to model, animate, capture, retarget, and input and output to 3D. New features allow users to:

Animate in New Ways: With the Spline Control tool, nulls or other objects act as nodes in a spline to control or deform objects such as tentacles, tails, whips or even elevators; Raycast Motion utilizes raycasting technology to make an animated object aware of its surroundings;, and the Compound Node feature can simplify complex networks down to a single node.

Streamline Real-Time Virtual Production, Pre-Viz, and Game Development: Use NVIDIA CgFX shader technology to create 3D assets for virtual production, pre-visualization, or game development and view assets within LightWave OpenGL exactly as they will appear in the final real-time display engine. Users can also place Normal Maps on 3D objects to make lower-polygon objects or characters display as higher-resolution objects, and create custom CgFX shaders or use existing CgFX shaders.

Output to 3D Printers: LightWave Modeler now includes new import and export options to support the popular STL and PLY file formats. VRML is also supported and offers surface color data for 3D color printing of objects with texture maps. Also included is full control of the export format used, whether in ASCII or binary, the up direction, and units for export. New geometry clean up tools specifically for 3D printing output are also included.

Review in Full Stereoscopic 3D: With support for NVIDIA 3D Vision, 3D Vision Pro, and HDMI stereo devices, artists and designers can visualize high-quality advanced stereoscopic 3D environments across multiple devices, including enabled desktop monitors and multi-projector wall displays.

The NevronMotion plug-in for LightWave 11.6 extends the software’s Virtual Studio Tools to:

Capture live-rig motion with the Microsoft Kinect camera

Retarget motion capture directly in LightWave Layout

Save and adjust captured motion data from the Kinect camera

Easily adjust arm and leg mocap positions and layer hand-keyed animation on top of motion capture files

Save and load retargeting presets for FBX, BVH, or custom setups

Preset rigs for Kinect and motion capture formats

Quickly bake out motion to character rigs

Pricing and Availability

LightWave 11.6 is priced at $1495 (USD) and the NevronMotion plug-in is priced at $299 (USD). Registered LightWave 11 customers can upgrade to LightWave 11.6 free of charge; upgrade pricing from LightWave 10 or earlier versions is $695 (USD). Educational pricing is also available.

To purchase or locate an authorized LightWave reseller visit www.lightwave3d.com/buy.

Download a free full-feature 30-day trial of LightWave at www.lightwave3d.com/try.

For more information about LightWave 11.6, NevronMotion or the LightWave 3D Group, please visit: www.lightwave3d.com, Twitter, YouTube or connect with us on Facebook.

About NewTek

NewTek is transforming the way people create network-style television content and share it with the world. From sporting events, Web-based talk shows, live entertainment, classrooms, and corporate communications—to virtually any venue where people want to capture and publish live video, we give our customers the power to grow their audiences, brands and businesses, faster than ever before.

NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas. For more information on NewTek please visit: www.newtek.com, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr or connect with us on Facebook.

LightWave 3D is a registered trademark of NewTek.
NewTek, TriCaster, 3Play and LightWave are trademarks of NewTek.
All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

LightWave 11.6 Videos:

Animate a Shark (Manual Setup) - http://youtu.be/XWTPk-wQhuk

Growing a Vine with Spline Control - http://youtu.be/xjSio43UZFY

Spline Instancing - http://youtu.be/yft6Z6wbyM8

Bullet Logo Reveal Tutorial - http://youtu.be/UqWZH0R7Vy8

NevronMotion Videos:

What is NevronMotion? - http://youtu.be/g7u4CxfBIQw

Kinect Retargeting in NevronMotion - http://youtu.be/_5_S7Vmrzrw

Using Weight Maps and IK Retargeting - http://youtu.be/fD8N0uNvgEI