Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for beginners/intermediate
Review: This is an excellent, well detailed book that's intended (as stated on the cover) for beginner - intermediate users of Lightwave. I'm confused as to why anyone would give the book a bad review because they already knew some of the material in the book. It's a book for beginner/intermediate and contains information pertinent to those skill levels, although truth be told I'm sure there would be something here for all but the very best Lightwave texture artists...though those guys shouldn't need a book anyway.Leigh's writing style in easy to read and she covers the subjects that readers will most likely want to know. The section on skin texturing is particularly good. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The Missing Link
Review: When this book first arrived, I thumbed thru it and thought, "Wow...great! I've found the missing link!" Being a relative newcomer to Lightwave and 3D, I often found the impressive array of Lightwave tools confusing and intimidating. However, with the help of this book, my brain finally bonded with Lightwave's surface editor and the other texturing tools that Lightwave ships with. The book is so well-written that you'll enjoy reading it because the author's unique and friendly personality shines throughout the pages. She covers texturing in Lightwave so thoroughly that you will close the back cover a much more confident person, with the assurance that you've read and absorbed the best texturing info available. I bought two other books on texturing before this one came out and, while both are good, neither went straight to the heart of Lightwave, its texturing options, and its UV tools the way this one did. There just isn't any way to express how useful and just plain fun this book is. I have a feeling that the people who wrote the negative reviews here have some sort of a bone to pick with the author, and I really don't think this is the right way or the right place to settle a peeve. Believe me, if you're a Lightwaver, you will REALLY enjoy this book and will deprive yourself if you pay attention to the negative nonsensical reviews you see here. The review by the guy who teaches Lightwave (and I hear he's a very well-respected member of the Lightwave community) is right on -- please take it to heart. I've read this book once, and now I'm reading it again, slowly, doing every tutorial. By the time I finish, I'll know procedurals, image maps, and UVs better than I ever dreamed. What more could one ask for? By the way, this is only the second book that has impressed me enough to take time to write a review. It is that good. And while I don't know the author personally (I'm not a friend sticking up for a friend), I do know that she's written detailed texturing tutorials that are displayed on the Newtek website. She's a true professional, and so is her work. Last minute comment -- the section on editing UV maps is particularly good. :-) I also enjoyed the section on gradients.
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