Lightwave

Hi I was thinking about purchasing lightwave. Do you users recommend it. Can it do character animation. Does it work well for begginners? etc...

 

even tho I don't use and actually never liked LW, I would say yes to all your queries... but the best thing is to get their demo, play with the included tutorials and find out...

after trying it and MAX, I became a MAX'r... but that's because I had used a previous low-end modeler that was similar to MAX...

a friend of mine just graduated from DAVE school in Orlando and has since abandoned MAX in lieu of LW and Maya...

so try it out, do some research, hang out in forums where there are alot of LW users... that's the best way to decide, since most opinions are subjective...

Darksteps...

 

There is also Maya, C4d & XSI... give them all a shot. No app is perfect for everyone (LW & MAX certainly aren't for me)

 

As a LW user .. i'd say try it out i personally liked it best. But thats me like others have already said you should try as much as you can before you make a purchase choice.. that way you get something you are at least some what comfortable with

a few programs not mentioned:

Blender (actually completly free for the full version, doesnt really have the zing the higher end programs do but hey)

Wings3D .. another free one.. however its just a modeller you'll need to import the models into an animation package

Houdini:Master .. like maya xsi lw max it has a free learning edition .. it was also used in Xmen 2 to create night crawlers teleporting tricks.. probably in collaboration with a few other programs.. (maya, xsi?)

and povray... tho i wouldnt recommend that... its a bit.. difficult.. to put it mildy..