Page 93 - 3D World - October 2017

Reviews
LW CAD Lite 5.2

Left: Creating a fully tiled roof is easy: add Above: the live Boolean system lets you
a Lw CaD roof object, click the shingles block out forms in realtime. It only works
button, click on the roof object. It works just with Lw CaD Lite’s primitives, but holds up
as well on convoluted roof systems with multiple, nested Boolean objects

primitives – so cubes, still struggling with them). Easy PrEsEts
pyramids, cylinders, roofs and The reliance on Cinema 4D’s
arc sections. We encountered Properties panel also makes
a few times that pushing a the process a bit ‘clicky’, LW CAD is built around a system for adding preset meshes:
cylinder’s side count too high whereas 3ds Max’s non-modal tiles, doors, handles and so on. It comes bundled with few
caused the Boolean to produce panel is more user-friendly. basic models, but is really designed for you to add your own
a single flat side, although For a version 1.0, this release (which makes sense for those doing regular arch vis work). If,
most of the time the windows of LW CAD Lite is undoubtedly however, you can’t be bothered to make your own, there’s a
and doors were added with powerful and has some great really nice set available from Massive Tree (massivetree.com)
no problems whatsoever. tools. It won’t be of use to for $46 (around £35).
However, it’s currently a everyone, but is ideal for the
case of eyeballing things in arch vis crowd and has exciting
conjunction with the snapping potential for future upgrades,
grid. Hopefully a future update with stairs, paths and roads,
will instigate a numeric panel, architectural detailing, and of
so you can consistently and course, NURBS surfaces yet to
repeatedly add windows and be ported over. Some of the
doors of a set size. line drawing functions would
In use, LW CAD’s workflow also be useful to have, despite
feels very different to the C4D’s spline toolset. So while
one Cinema 4D users will be this release is solid enough,
familiar with; the Move, Rotate hopefully you’ll be buying into
and Scale tools, for example, a whole host of new features
have the feel of the Transpose down the line.
tool in ZBbrush, and take some
getting used to (frankly, we’re VerDiCt

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