LightWave (or, more properly, LightWave 3D) is a computer graphics program for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation. Although the program originated on the CommodoreAmiga, it has since been ported to support Mac OS X, Windows, Sgi IRIX, and the render engine has also been ported to Linux platforms. It was once licensed by and is now entirely developed by NewTek.
Lightwave has long been known for its excellent rendering abilities and unusual user interface (for example, icons are not used; instead functions are all given descriptive titles). Like many other 3D packages Lightwave is composed of two parts, an object modelling environment where 3d models or meshes are created and an animation environment where models are arranged and animated for render. Unlike most other packages these two parts are stand-alone programs. There is also a separate rendering application which can be run on multiple machines.
Some functions within LightWave are multi-threaded which means those components can use as many as eight processors in the same machine at the same time when rendering an image.