Tell us a bit about yourself.

I started out with computer graphics in the early 80s doing graphics on my beloved Commodore 64 (a machine I still use for icon design ideas, total relaxation, ultimate nostalgic feelings and for hammering my ears with the hardest but coolest analogue sound available). I later started doing game graphics on the Amiga and we even finished and sold some Amiga games - I was just 17 then!

Today I work with Graphic Design tasks for all kinds of clients around the world, but mostly for the Norwegian market. My best-known work is probably the interface design for Opera Software web browser, from version 5 and up. In all of these interfaces I used LightWave as a modelling and rendering tool for tiny 16x16 and 22x22 and 48x48 pixel icons.

I am 31 years old, have a wonderful life-companion in Marianne and together we have a 2.5 year old daughter called Vilde.

How did you get into 3D?

I started out with 3D on the Commodore 64, hand crafting 3D animation after complex calculations on squared paper with pixel grids in a resolution of 320 x 200. Some years later I was trying to learn Imagine (an Amiga 3D application), but I was not able to master it - I made some awful spinning logos and a rotating 3D woman's head: my friends thought they were cool. I saw LightWave 3D for the first time ever when I was doing demos and games on the Amiga. At the time I was a member of an Amiga demo-group called Razor 1911 and I was some kind of celebrity because of being a member of Razor 1911, so some computer interested people wanted to show me something called LightWave 3D.

When I saw LightWave I fell in love, and I instantly felt the Virtual Reality of "The Lawnmower man" (a film from back then, featuring a virtual interface in one of the scenes) creep upon me. I knew that this software was going to be the most interesting element of computing I would probably ever get in touch with, and it actually remains so, even today.

When did you first start using LightWave 3D?

I started to use it two weeks after I saw it the first time. But I was a slow learner, because when the Commodore 64 and Amiga machines died I felt a bit alone and not on top any more. So I searched after other things to put my efforts into. I started with graphic design, something I am incredible happy about, because today I do all kinds of stuff. I guess if I had sat down and just done 3D stuff I would have become more nerdish and not so open minded and open to others thoughts and views. I love the way my skills have developed because I took a break in hardcore computer graphics and learned more about design, colours, looks, feelings and the like for then to return back to the more hard stuff. I am not a maths expert, but what I lack here I think sometimes I take back in the fields of the final result just looking good, at least for the budgets and deadlines I am given.

What do you like about the package?

I love the feeling and features of Layout. I also love the fact that Layout is separated from the Modeler. I love that the Screamernet makes it possible for me to render across a network - this is the ultimate feature of LightWave these days in my opinion. With other software this gets rather expensive, on LightWave you only have to deal with the server, if the server works the render network works, and as a bonus most plug-ins work on Screamernet as well.

MorphMixer is also a feature that I got to know the other day. On a project that I am working on right now I am making a slow-motion car crash and tried to do it all with dynamics, but I wasn't satisfied with the results as I am no Einstein. But with MorphMixer I was able to make something that my clients just loved... on the budget that this work is done they never thought that they would ever get something like this. I work closely with Peter (T4D) Thomas on different projects and he is the best companion I can ever dream of. I always give him impossible deadlines for things that we do together, but we manage to pull it off... I have promised him that we will have more time on future projects.

What could be improved for you?

A better OpenGL support in the application. I'd also like more preset surfaces, light-rigs and scenes that can actually be used in real-life work.

Real-time dynamics is important as one can not wait to render the whole lot in the interface and then look at it, one should be able to turn on real time calculations so that one could actually see what was going on... The Relativity plug-in is much faster and even instant, but it does not have the same features that LightWave 3D needs in real-time. If it is slow, a button to turn on and off real-time should be quite easy for NewTek to add in my opinion.