After months of hesitations, I finally bit the bullet and bought the latest and greatest version of Lightwave, i.e. Lightwave 2018. At $995.- Lightwave isn't exactly cheap, but it isn't that expensive either, considering its wealth of features, and the quality of the outputs you can get from it.

As a beginner Lightwave user, I cannot show any jaw-dropping work, at least not yet. But you can search Youtube for Lightwave demo reels, and see for yourself, if you haven't done so already.

Though one thing I can already say about Lightwave, from a beginner perspective, is that it is rather easy to learn and use. The thorough on-line documentation and the countless number of tutorials, are enough support materials to make you feel comfortable.

Lightwave has its quirks, and you must be willing to put-up with them, but it's well worth the effort. The integration with Daz/Poser contents can be achieved through either Poser Fusion or through FBX imports.

Comparing Lightwave to Carrara would really be unfair to Lightwave, because LigHtwave is a top-notch professional 3D tool used by prominent production studios worldwide, while Carrara is only a nice hobbyist toy. The best incentive for a hobbyist Carrara user to switch to Lightwave is the vast horizons in 3D art that can be explored with Lightwave, horizons that are totally inaccessible to Carrara.

Based on previous release dates, the next major release of Lightwave will probably be in 2021, i.e Lightwave 2021. This makes LIghtwave far less of the abandonware that some people try to make us believe it is.

More on Lightwave later, if I have time.