Blender 4 vs Lightwave 2023

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Let's explore the comeback of Lightwave 3D 2023 alongside the progress of Blender 4.0. Explore their new features and evolution, and find the right fit for your 3D projects in this comparison.

00:00 Intro
00:53 Overview
01:56 Modeling
04:00 Sculpting
04:48 Animation
05:39 Procedural Geometry
06:29 Motion Graphics and Text tools
07:06Simulations & Physics
08:43 Rendering & Lighting
09:41 Compatibility with other software

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MODELING►

VEGETATION ►

MATERIALS & TEXTURING ►

Terrain Generation►

ArchViz & Rendering►

SIMULATIONS & DYNAMICS ►

CLOTH SIMULATION ►

RIGGING & ANIMATION ►

UV UNWRAPPING ►

Clouds & Atmosphere►:
Physical celestial Objects

Productivity►:
Clean Panels

Asset Libraries:

SCULPTING ►

RETOPOLOGY ►

SCRIPTING ►

►►► Blender Courses ►►►
Cinematic lighting in Blender

Toanimate: Blender Animation Course

PostPro
Photogrammetry Course

Human: Create realistic Characters

Alive: Ultimate Character animation Course

The Art of Affective Rigging

Real-time Motion Graphics

Best Blender Course Creators:

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[ServusSovereign]

OMG, LW is still alive! It's amazing! It was far far 1998 I was started my first 3D experience with Lightwave!

[AnthonyFransella]

Lightwave paid my bills from '97 to 2005 and an old version is still how I model for my side projects in VR and such

[toekneeshields]

Thank you for doing a graet job of showing that Lightwave is still a very vibrant tool with a great future. Personally I am all about Lighwave and blender together. Both have great and amazing strengths and they are two major tools in my toolkit.

[dynamicrenderings]

Most 3d artists overlook Lightwave but it is really great 3d software once you get the hang of how it works. The built in render engine is great quality but a little on the slower side but LW 2023 comes with Octane now so that makes up for that. It's definitely a secret weapon if you have it in your arsenal!

[ParkD]

I used Lightwave for 20 years and would have used it forever had they not dropped the ball around 2015. I use Blender now and gotta say I actually prefer it overall. Having said that I agree that the bone system was easier to use (but not that much easier), the weight painting (from what I remember) was also better. I also used turbulence which was so much better than anything blender had (has). The one thing that I do find works better is not having a separate modeler, especially when it comes to using morphs (Blend shapes) with characters, switching back and forth and never knowing quite how the morph would look was always very fiddly. As for the renderer, I found Cycles to be quicker overall and possibly a bit better, and now Blender has EEVEE it makes it a much better option for me (although UE is still way ahead of everyone there). Looking forward to see how Lightwave progresses though.

[BenMartinBox]

I use both, Lightwave and Blender.
I use Lightwave since version 8 in film and VFX projects. I still use Lightwave today to model and animate complex objects (space-ships, robots or any other mechanical model). I do it in Lightwave because Lightwaves's pivot points, object layering hierarchy and animation system are far better than in Blender.

I mainly use Blender for render (EEVEE).
My work-flow is simple... I model, texture and animate in Lightwave, then export the scene via FBX to Blender. In Blender it is necessary to adjust some things that fail in the FBX import process (mainly related to materials / textures) but then, it is nice to render the scene in EEVEE.

If Lightwave could receive a similar "real-time" render engine like EEVEE, it would be gold over blue.
Blender's work-flow philosophy lets a lot to be desired (from my point of view)... don't get me wrong... Blender is a good and powerful tool and it is going in the right direction but Lightwave is faster, easy to learn and master and delivers anything needed "out of the box" for achieve fantastic VFX or CGI for film, TV, even a simple "light-flare" FX, something that Blender does not offers by default (only achievable by using external "fake" solutions). Anyway... its all good.

[lwhack]

I still use lightwave for quick modeling and for LWCad (one of the best CAD, if not the best). Export is an issue. Collada seems to work pretty well. I mainly use Blender and Rhino, depending.

[bertoness]

We need more 3d softwares, more competitions make them upgrade their features....R.I.P softimage....one of the best.

[ArtwithAmarBrisco]

Lightwave was my first commercial software I actually loved using back in the early 2000s. It was the go to for commercials and movie work.

[galotta]

The best 3D Suite should contain...
- Modelling like 3ds Max (incl. Modifiers and Movement)
- Animation like Maya and Lightwave 3D 2023
- Texturepainting like 3DCoat
- Sculpting like a mix between ZBrush and 3D Coat
- Rendering like 3ds Max/Maya and fast as Octance
- Free and Open Source like Blender

I think, one is calling this "wishful thinking".
...but one is still allowed to dream.

[bismuth]

I used to be a Lightwave user. I think there used to be a loyal community of Lightwave users despite the tough times. But they were betrayed too much.
Now I use Blender and what I like most is the community and the variety of people pushing the limits of the software.
The realm of integrated 3D software is so vast that you absolutely need a community (i.e. Youtube videos) to realize the true value of the software.

[janvollgod]

i worked long time with Lightwave, and i loved the modeller. The interface is much more uncluttered than in Blender in my opinion. I wonder how LW change their Rigging System, because as far as i remember, it was a pain in the ass, compared to Softimage.
At the last part a very important topic was brought up in the Video. Why ffs Blender has no full blown bridge to Unreal? This should be prioritized in my opinion. Maybe is the ideology to make everthing inside blender, but it's just don't possible. This is why software like Maya and Houdini advances. They are much better connected to the rest of the pipeline. And this is a very important key point in professional 3d Work.

[LairdSquared]

I'm a longtime LightWave user, and although the edited examples of LW in this video are brilliant, Blender probably wins in most areas.

Mainly due to the severe lack of development of LightWave for the past 15 years. However I am still hopeful that LightWave Digital can rectify it somewhat, but we'll have to wait and see. I think the guy who did this video is very lenient on LW, which is of course very kind. All great exposure for LW nonetheless :)

[hansilein]

I use the 2023LW and it works great! For modelling and fast projects it´s the best software for me. For HumanIK i use Maya. I also used Blender 3.0 for a project, but LW is my first

[patricktaylor]

Lightwave vs Blender. They're both fun to learn and are keepers in my book. The area where there seems to be a real difference is in the availability of current tutorials. There are far more tutorials for Blender (though not always great quality) than there are for Lightwave. Many years ago it was the other way around. Perhaps under the care of Lightwave Digital we may start to see an abundance of Lightwave tutorials out there as well. They're both fantastic applications and I think they compliment eachother very well. Having an effective path to learning them is what can make all the difference in their value. I'm currently running Lightwave 9.6 and Blender 3.3 because my iMac is too old to run anything more recent. Need a new machine before I can upgrade either one. I do wish there was a plugin to let Lightwave Modeler leverage a true physically accurate CFD solver like OpenFOAM so that you could truly test aerodynamic designs in Lightwave. Sort of an Aerodynamics take on LWCAD. Blender is getting closer to achieving that sort of thing but I really prefer Lightwave Modeler as a modeling environment.

[invisigoth]

i started out with Lightwave, they used it in all my favorite sci fi shows, of the time
but after a month of learning it, i realized, you needed to buy plugins, to do really cool stuff.. that was back then

[SteveWarner]

LightWave built its user base through independent film & video production studios who bought a Video Toaster. This meant non-3D artists were jumping into the software and their work was driving feature development. This peaked in the 90s with the work being done by Foundation and others in Hollywood. At that time, LightWave was lower cost and had a better user experience than programs like 3D Studio. Its native renderer was also among the best around. But in 2023, there's no reason to be using LightWave. Blender is the rightful spiritual successor. Being free means it's now in the hands of anyone with an internet connection. The user base is massive and the UI went from clunky in the 2.7 series to professional in 2.8 and beyond. The features of Blender are sufficient to allow any indie studio to do everything they'd need, including final compositing. I started using LightWave back in the 1980s and literally wrote the book on it back in the 2000s. I love what the software was, just like I loved what my Amiga was. But I don't use an Amiga any longer. The PC does everything and more. And I don't use LightWave any longer, because Blender is simply a better piece of software.

[invisigoth]

yeah, about those shortcuts, i learned Blender after Lightwave..it was Blender 1.8, i bought the actual manual, in a bookstore, and it came with the software on a cd
and the first thing said, in the manual...Blender was a 2 handed 3d software..one hand on the mouse, and the other on the keyboard

that's why after learning that manual, another Blender book, and the software..i kept modelling with Lightwave.. i like icons, that tell you what to do, i hate memorizing shortcuts...because after a while, you get overloaded with them, not just Blender, but your operating system, and any other graphics, video, or music software that you use

[MrPromity]

As a user of LW with 25 years of experience, I will say that today Blender is better than Lightwave. Lightwave 2023 has the main advantage - that it came out and gave hope to its fans to work with it in the future. So everything is in the future for Lightwave. But so far Blender beats it in many respects. Although the organization of work in LW is still better. I wish both wonderful programs a long and happy life!

[danielk]

Any one know where to get free version Lightwave 2023..?