Rating: 
Summary: Where is the front cover Babe for LW8 :(
Review: After all these years of waiting and wondering what hot babe will show for front cover of Inside LW8.. and what do I get? an old GEEZER??? have we waited that long? Dan.. why.. why??? I am tormented by the ugly site of that front cover.. oh how I was hoping to see the 3rd babe of your series.. now I have to wait for LW9 ??? sigh....Oh.. and by the way.. EXCELLENT BOOK. LW6 was the babe with the dark hair, LW7 was the babe with the red hair.. but LW8 ... sigh... course I can't knock off a star for that.. the content makes up for it. thanks Dan for your ever evolving book of Inside Lightwave.. the ultimate source for LW !!!
Rating:
Summary: A great deal ... and a "must have" !
Review: Dan Ablan has, IMHO, done a superb job with his newest "Inside Lightwave" book.
I also own Inside LW 7 and was concerned that the new version would be only a "rehash". Nothing could be further from the truth.
The book has a new approach, starting with a simple tutorial to get you started. The chapters are packed with information and tipps that give you a feeling of accomplishment. A lot of different subjects are covered (incl. the new and exciting features of LW 8), in good-sized chapters that are easy to follow and digest.
That alone would all be worth the price, but once you discover hours of video tutorials on the accompanying DVD, you know that you got more than your money's worth !
A great deal ... and a "must have" !
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Summary: Buy This Book Immediatly
Review: Hi, I'm 15 years old and have recently decided to take up 3d animation as a hobby. After picking Lightwave as my 3d app, I was faced with the task of learning how to operate this beast of a program. I messed around with the program for a while, but all I could make was a box... I looked around the internet for while, but I couldnt find any good tutorials. Then I found INSIDE LIGHTWAVE 8..... WOW. In just a couple hours I was up and running and had already rendered my first animation. I could not believe how fast I had progressed. Now I am totally glued to this book, as it does not cease to capture my attention (this is coming from a teenager with a very short attention span).
If you are a begginer, this book will accelerate your learning to unbelievable speeds. If you already have experience, but want to know more about anything that has to do with lightwave, this book will teach you about it.
This is NOT your usual dry, boring software book that you are sick after the first 2 pages. Dan Ablan has an awesome writing style that makes you feel as if one of your friends are standing next to you, showing you how to use the program at your own pace, and on your own terms.
If you have Lightwave, or even if you are just thinking about getting it, THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE!!!
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Summary: Superior to all other books!
Review: I bought this book off amazon brand new and I would do it all again! After reading reviews from other people this guy seemed to be pretty good at Lightwave and explaining things. I went to his website and downloaded some of Dan's courseware which I also ordered later! Anyway, Let me explain..
Dan does an outstanding job of introducing you to lightwave and just about every feature of this amazing program. He teaches you on what seems like a personal level unlike other tutorial books. His approach and teaching style has me hooked. If I knew about Dan's books years ago I would have started my journey into 3d much sooner!
It was the lack of books on the market, or atleast at the store I shopped at that kept me from tackling lightwave. This program is so tremendous and as a result you have an overwhelming amount to learn. Dan does a superior job of guiding you through projects and explains everything in detail. If you have a question along the way, Dan probably answers it in one of his tip baloons on the page! I love asking questions and Dan does a great job of answering those questions almost instantly. I have never seen this in another book.
Like I said, this book is worth every penny. I was totally new to lightwave and Dan has helped me produce an animation in the first chapter in under an hour (cause i'm a slower learner). If you are looking to get started with Lightwave, then this is a must book for the beginner to novice, even the expert! Thanks Dan!
Rating:
Summary: Top the list Lightwave tutorial book
Review: I have many books on the subject of Lightwave... this one rates at the top of my list... In fact I have every 'Inside Lightwave' book since the origonal ... 'Inside Lightwave 3D that covered Lightwave version 5.6...
This one covering Lightwave version 8 is the best tutorial book one that Dan has done yet...
Very easy to follow style... the tutorials are clear without being dry.. Dan even gives us some advanced information in most of the tutorials that allows you to tap into some of the new features of Lightwave 8... One of the things I find interesting is Dan himself has obviously changed in his way of working in Lightwave as some of the ways he is doing things in this book are completely different approaches than the ways he did them in previous books... such as his modeling of a character using Spline Curves is a different direction than in his previous works... and certainly show some of the benifits to using that method of modeling over other forms...
His tutorial on Partical Dynamics really got me over some hurdles I was having understanding their use ... sometimes you never know where you will pickup that one little explaination that makes it work... Dan had several of those in his this book for me...
Thanks Mr. Ablan!
I certainly am pleased with my purchase of this book and will be using it as a reference for sometime to come...
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Easy to read
Review: I must say that I too was skeptical of this new book. Most books are nothing more than revisions but Dan Ablan had yet again created a brand new tome that works! No offense to his last books, but inside LW 8 is a freakin' awesome book because it takes the lw user on a very productive tour of lightwave one step at a time without being boring. Even if you are new or experienced there is something in here for you. I think the dvd bonus files and tutorials are an easy sell for me or anyone. Worth the price alone...
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have
Review: Imagine that you can take a class in which you learn new things about your favorite program, you work at your own pace, and you have fun in the process. That's what I've experienced while working thru Inside Lightwave 8. There's something for every 3d'er here -- box modeling, spline patching, texturing -- and there's a DVD with video tutorials to further broaden your 3D horizons. There is a fly in the ointment, however, concerning the DVD. Unless you have a plug-in called Fprime, some of the scenes are very difficult, if not impossible, to load. Also, the texturing process for the cover photo is on the DVD instead of in the book, which is a bit of an inconvenience. Also, I do wish the regulations for using the third party sample textures were more explicit. Taking all factors into consideration though, Inside LW8 is a valuable resource and a great buy. It's worth what you pay for it.
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Summary: Dan Does It Again!
Review: Ok, so it's only 950 pages over Dan's last book of 1200. But believe it or not, I was surprised to see more information in this new book even with less pages. It's clear that he took users comments to heart and really changed this book - it's well organized from chapter 1 to the end. I have Inside 7 and it's great - but some tutorial chapters are really really long. With Inside LightWave [8] each tutorial chapter is very comfortable but also very informative too. I have not gone through it all because tehre is so much but every possible modeling method is in here. I'm happy to report extra texturing info and the dvdrom and 3dgarage videos make it worth every penny. I feel bad for the other software manufacturers because they don't have a Dan Ablan book!
Rating:
Summary: BIG Bangs for your Bucks!
Review: Okay, not to repeat everyone else, but simply ask yourself this...Where else could you get some of the best LW Video tutorials (hours of them, 2.19 or so GBytes!) and an excellent book thrown in for this price? You will probably fined that the answer is nowhere, so treat yourself, you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: Say no more.
Review: The other reviews have already said it all. Amazing book which I wouldn't like to be without. Although the number of pages could be daunting, especially to a newcomer to 3D, Dan has such an easy, chatty way of transferring knowledge that anyone will pick it up without a problem. If you want to get the most out of Lightwave 8, buy it. I also bought 'Lightwave 8 Killer Tips' and have found it worth every cent and more.
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