SIGGRAPH, LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- NewTek, Inc. and
Worley Labs today announced that the newly released LightWave 3D version [7]
includes a special introductory version of Worley Labs' award-winning
Sasquatch hair and fur rendering system. Sasquatch, released by
Worley Laboratories in 2000, is an unrivaled fast hair, fur and grass renderer
and is the best selling plug-in for LightWave 3D. NewTek teamed up with
Worley Labs to create a special easy to use version of Sasquatch to offer
users off-the-shelf hair and fur creation and rendering capabilities when
using LightWave 3D [7].
Using Sasquatch Lite, artists are able to create grass, fur and hair on
their LightWave objects. Users are able to fine tune the coarseness,
frizziness, length, color, glossiness, and other attributes of the hair and
fur, including "combing" the strands to fall or lean in a certain direction.
Long hair effects are possible using chains of two-point polygons to guide the
full hairstyle. These can be as simple or as complex as needed, including
creating knots, bows, or even braids.
"The advanced architecture of LightWave [7] makes adding new plug-in
features like Sasquatch possible," explained Steven Worley, author of the hair
system. "Integrating a new hair renderer into LightWave gives users enormous
power, but LightWave keeps it seamless and easy to use. I'm very pleased to
make a Lite version of Sasquatch to give all LightWave [7] users a taste of
the fur and hair effects that are possible."
"Hair and fur, as well as landscape creation, are traditionally aspects of
3D that are very difficult to create realistically," commented Brad Peebler,
NewTek's executive vice president of 3D graphics. "When Sasquatch was
released as a LightWave plug-in last year, it greatly simplified these
elements for users that purchased the plug-in, and we are extremely happy to
now offer Sasquatch Lite as a standard feature in LightWave [7].
This addition really raises the bar on the definition of 'standard'
features; users can now create photo-realistic hair and fur right within our
software."
LightWave [7]'s Sasquatch Lite tool derives its features from the full
Sasquatch system, which includes extra options and features for power users.
These additions include real time previews, a fur dynamics engine, wind, full
texturing of all attributes, object contour driven combing, over 30 additional
styling controls, shadow casting, compositing controls, radiosity support,
manual memory management options, animated length and density, light
selection, multithreading, and much more.
LightWave 3D is versatile enough to make the transition to and from all
kinds of projects. Proven for years in television, film, and games, LightWave
3D is also being used to create graphics for print, web, industrial design,
architecture, medical imaging, and anywhere else a 3D package is needed. A
full, robust program, LightWave 3D includes soft-body dynamics, particles, new
Sasquatch Lite for hair and fur, plus unlimited render nodes; LightWave 3D
ships with all the tools an artist needs to create.
Pricing and Availability
LightWave [7] is available immediately for a suggested retail price of
US$2495. LightWave [7] is available for Macintosh OS 9 and OS X-native, and
for Windows 98, 2000, Me and NT4 on AMD, DEC Alpha and Intel processors.
Product is available through NewTek's channel of authorized resellers and
distributors worldwide.
The full Sasquatch plug-in system for LightWave [6] and [7] is available
immediately directly from Worley Laboratories for a price of US$499. Versions
for Macintosh OS 9 and OSX, and AMD, Intel, and DEC Alpha Windows are
available through the Worley Laboratories website.
About Worley Laboratories
Worley Laboratories is a small company dedicated to producing advanced
software for 3D rendering. They concentrate on the highest-end tools,
requiring advanced research and new developments in the state of the art.
This R+D focus explains their description as a laboratory, developing brand
new technology for the 3D graphics market. They apply these new techniques to
current software such as LightWave 3D in the form of plug-in tools. Contact
Worley Laboratories at 405 El Camino Real #121, Menlo Park, CA, 94025. Phone:
650-322-7532, fax: 650-322-8349, website: http://www.worley.com.
About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, NewTek is a leading provider of
full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools including the
Video Toaster, LightWave 3D and Aura. NewTek launched the desktop video
revolution in 1990 with the release of the legendary Video Toaster. The
company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to
feature film. Recent film and television projects using NewTek software
include Driven, A.I., Final Fantasy, The Time Machine, How The Grinch Stole
Christmas, The 6th Day, Jurassic Park III, Charlie's Angels, X-Men The Movie,
Pitch Black, Dracula 2000, Star Trek: Enterprise, Roughnecks: Starship
Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files,
The Family Guy, Ally McBeal, Dune: The Miniseries, Dawson's Creek and
Family Law. Recent game titles include Deus Ex, Serious Sam, Twisted Metal:
Black, Quake 3 Arena, Moto Racer World Tour, Giants for PS2, Baldur's Gate II,
EverQuest, Planescape: Torment, Dead To Rights, and Escape From Monkey Island.
Contact NewTek at 5131 Beckwith Blvd, San Antonio, TX, 78249. Phone:
210-370-8000, fax: 210-370-8001, website: http://www.newtek.com or
http://www.lightwave3d.com.
NOTE: LightWave 3D is a trademark of NewTek. All other products or brand
names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.
SOURCE NewTek, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.newtek.com
CONTACT:
Press or Review Units Only, Hollie Wendt of
Wendt Communications, +1-831-688-1193, or hollie@earthlink.net,
for NewTek, Inc.
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