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New Tools
One of the new tools added into Layout is the PathTool, which let’s the user dynamically change a keyframe (and the motion path) of an object with out a lot of futzing about with individual objects or having to open the graph editor to make a lot of changes. Simply activate the tool, and begin pulling and moving keyframes on the path. I really like this tool, but there are a few additions, which could make this really fantastic like bezier handles for adjusting tension.
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| The PathTool allows the user to make modifications to a motion path from any viewpoint, and without having to go into the Graph Editor |
Another addition that is very helpful is the X-ray Bones feature. Ever since LightWave began allowing animators to view and animate their scenes in with OpenGL previews, locating and controlling bones has been problematic. You either had to change to a wireframe mode, or cycle through a long list of bones until the correct bone became active. X-Ray Bones allows the animator to see the bones through their object. Then, it is a simple matter of selecting the desired bone and animating.
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| X-Ray Bones |
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Speaking of OpenGL, this viewing option is one that most animators love. It gives you a way of previewing lights, textures and shadows and how they interact in the LightWave environment. This is a great time saver because you don’t have to render a test frame after every single tweak to a setting. NewTek has improved OpenGL by including specular highlight previews to surfaces with texture mapping applied. The drawback is your video card and drivers must be powerful enough to activate this feature.
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| Use the About OpenGL plug-in to see if your graphics card will support some of the new display features |
While OpenGL specular texture highlights are cool, NewTek even one-upped that enhancement by including Motion Blur OpenGL Previews. Now the animator can see Depth of Field and Motion Blur properties without having to render out a frame to see the results by pressing Shift+F9. I tested this feature with several scenes, and found that for the most part it works like a charm. There were a few times when OpenGL failed and either the object disappeared from the scene (only when the feature was active), or the color depth went to heck. Either way, both of these errors are the result of graphics cards, and not LightWave 7.5.
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| The OpenGL Depth of Field Display does a great job of giving the user a look at DoF setting from slight to extreme without having to render out a frame. |
A while ago, I wrote an article discussing how to properly use depth of field in 3D animation to achieve more realistic camera effects. In the article I mentioned that depth of field is actually a range that goes from critical focus to relatively sharp focus, and finally to out of focus. With this plug-in, the actual depth of field shows up in the display window for perfect placement of objects within the scene.
Source: Digital Media Online, Inc.
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