The combination of World Construction Set and LightWave is very powerful. WCS excels at creating complex, photorealistic environments, anything from close-ups to the entire planet. LightWave excels at rendering and texturing 3D objects. Together they let you animate 3D objects within realistic terrain. Each program includes specialized tools to make your job easier and give you the best results.
"Table For Two" is an animation by Jamie Krutz using World Construction Set 3 and LightWave 3D 5.5. This animation is just a taste of what's possible.
What's on the CDROM
The final, composited WCS and LightWave frame sequence is included in the Comp directory on this CDROM, as Targa files. They are rendered at 720x480 resolution with a pixel aspect of 1.15, suitable for playback on a DPS Perception or similar NTSC video playback card.
Note that this aspect ratio, when viewed on a computer screen with square pixels, won't look quite right. The moon won't be perfectly round. This is normal for images rendered for video. It will look fine when played from a PVR or similar NTSC video card.
The WCS Project file (table-42.proj) and default directory (tropicalnew) are included. If you have World Construction Set 3, you can put them both in your "WCSProjects" directory. Then you can load the project into World Construction Set and see how it's set up.
The LightWave scene file (table-42.lws)is also included. If you have LightWave 5.5 you can load the scene file into LightWave to see how it's set up.
Note that you won't be able to see the 3D compositing within LightWave unless you have WCS to render the background terrain images and generate the ZBuffer files, and the ZBuffer plugin for LightWave to tell LightWave how to do the compositing. The ZBuffer plugin is included when you buy World Construction Set.
The LightWave scene uses stock LightWave 5.5 objects for maximum compatibility. The WCS scene uses stock WCS foliage for the same reason. You can experiment with putting your own objects or trees into the scene. For example, you might want to try creating altered versions of the tall palm trees in WCS for additional variety.
Brief Overview
In World Construction Set:
I created the terrain model in WCS using the Fractal Terrain Generator. I purposely created terrain that is virtually flat. I then added the mountains, sea bed, and sand dunes using Area Terraffectors(tm) in WCS.
I created Ecosystems that use tropical looking foliage in WCS. I then cleared the foreground using an Ecosystem Effect to plant low foliage. I cleared a small circle using another Ecosystem Effect to plant grass at a lower height. I put dense trees on the far mountains using another Foliage Effect tied to the same Vector that defines the mountains themselves.
I created the foot paths to the grass circle using Terraffectors(tm). I changed the ecosystems along the Terraffectors to allow a few weeds to grow in the foot paths.
I created the shadows for the boat and table using Illumination Effects in WCS.
I created tree shadows in the right foreground using a Shadow Effect in WCS .
I created and animated the water in WCS. The waves move a little bit faster than normal water, for dramatic effect.
I created and animated several layers of clouds in WCS. I hyped the cloud movement for dramatic effect.
I added haze in WCS.
I animated the Camera and Target in WCS.
I added the moon in WCS.
I exported the scene to a LightWave scene file.
In LightWave 5.5:
I loaded the LW scene file into LightWave 5.5. There I added the butterflies, boat, table, chairs, wine bottle, wine glasses and potted plant, plus some extra lighting to highlight the objects. Since vector objects from WCS come into LightWave as null objects, I parented LW objects to WCS null objects for initial positioning.
Rendering:
I rendered the terrain in WCS. I then rendered the LightWave objects into the terrain using LightWave, along with the special ZBuffer plugin that comes with WCS. The ZBuffer plugin was set up to use the image sequence rendered by WCS and composite the 3D objects into that terrain.
You can see the result in the Comp directory on this CDROM. Notice how the grass grows in front of the boat. The ZBuffer plugin lets 3D objects go in front and behind WCS terrain and foliage, appropriately.
To accomplish true 3D compositing the plugin needs ZBuffer files for the WCS Project. Those files are not included on this CDROM. However you can create the ZBuffer files by rendering the included Project with WCS 3.
When rendering I used motion blur for both programs.
I hope you enjoy the animation!
Best Regards,
-Jamie Krutz
Contact Information:
You can contact the animator at: jkrutz@meta.burner.com
You can learn more about World Construction Set by calling Questar Productions at 303/659-4028, or by browsing the following web site: www.QuestarProductions.com
On the web site you'll find pictures, animations and examples from other animators.
Copyright:
"Table For Two" is copyright 1998 Jamie Krutz and Questar Productions. It is included on this CDROM by permission of the animator, as one example of how to set up a scene using WCS and LightWave together.
