Lightwave Users.. Please Help :O

Ok i just got my hands on lightwave 9

Ive got a shirt ive just finished up in PS ready to be put into lightwave for the shading..

but i clicked to get on lightwave, and it nearly hit me in the face how many buttons there is.. Ive got the SL Mesh.. but i got no idea how to do anything in lightwave, ive searched the internet and i only found a Blender tutorial for baking SL clothing. Can soemone who uses lightwave to bake there clothes please give me a step by step on what too doo.. pleaseee

Thanks!

I googled Lightwave tutorials and the first item up was a whole database of lightwave tutorials:

http://members.shaw.ca/LightWavetutorials/Main_Menu.htm

I bet you can find what you need in there

It's never a good idea to approach a new 3D (or 2D) graphics program with "I just want to learn to do _____" as your goal. The only approach that works is to learn the program itself first, and then use it to do whatever _______ happens to be. In other words, don't put the cart before the horse.

For an easy-to-understand analogy, you're basically asking how win the Indianapolis 500 before you've even learned to drive. Obviously step one is to learn how to operate a motor vehicle, the same way everyone else does. Step twenty or thirty might be driving on a professional race track for the first time, and step one hundred might be driving in an actual race.

By the same token, step one for you is learning the basics of Lightwave, and of 3D modeling/rendering programs in general. That includes at a minimum: modeling, lighting, creating materials & shaders, texturing, rendering/baking. You can't tackle any one of those subjects without also learning the others. They all depend on each other.

I'd suggest you buy yourself a good book on Lightwave (or several), and dive in. Forget all about SL clothing for the moment. Commit to learning Lightwave itself. Then, only after you've got a good handle on the program should you come back to anything so specific.

You'l get there, but it will take time. There's no way around that. If for any reason you're not willing to make that kind of commitment, spare yourself the aggravation, and give up now. Otherwise, look forward to baking your first SL garment in several weeks.

There's a wonderful tutorial from Pixel Dolls to do exactly what you want. It may still be too difficult to follow if you don't know lightwave, but it is pretty thorough.

http://www.nafii.com/PixelDolls/?p=87

Edit: She doesn't go into setting up your lighting, so if you don't like the example she provides that'll be something that'll bite you if you don't know Lightwave.

I smile silently every time you say this, Chosen. Sometimes you need a fancy tool to do a specific job, but it's a waste of time and money to buy a fancy tool if you aren't going to take the time to learn to use it properly. In fact, it's a waste of resources to buy a fancy tool before your skills are good enough that the tool will actually make a difference. A kitchen full of super gadgets isn't going to make you a better cook.