KiWavers (short for Kiwi lightWavers) is perhaps one of New Zealands longest running support groups for 3D artists, primarily those using LightWave 3D (but anybody is welcome to pop along and hang out).
Starting at the very end of 1997, organiser Kevin Phillips has run monthly meetings for over 12 years. The goal of the users group was originally to support the local users who often had questions about the software, and were often known to complain about a lack of local training for the product. With LightWave being such a great production tool at the time, it seemed a pity to see it lose favor because users just had nowhere else to turn at the time. Hence was born the KiWavers users group.
Since then, its become a hive of activity! Users sharing their projects and experiences, networking with others, and learning from demos and tutorials. Locals often come and leave with comments about what they've learnt in software, technique or just production. Some leave inspired and more passionate to go and create. The effects of the support group on the people who visit have been one of the reasons for its longevity...
If you're a CG artist - commercial, student or purely a hobbiest - then do check us out.
When
User group meetings are held once a month (usually the third Thursday), they usually start around 6:00pm so that some of our hard-working artists can finish work and head over. However, people often wander in and out as the evening goes on. They can last up to 4 hours dependant upon what's happening or what's been talked about.
Where
Meetings are held currently at the
Natcoll Design Technology school campus building in Auckland, New Zealand. Its a college that teaches both LightWave and Maya, and has been supportive of the user group by providing a location to hold our meetings in each month.
The location is Level 5,
105 Symonds Street, Auckland. There is a pay-n-display parking area up the ramp between the school and hotel next door that costs about $4.00 (so bring small change). However, its recommended that people wait in the carpark until after 5:30pm before buying their ticket since the system has two payment times. Any ticket bought
prior to 5:30pm will
expire at 5:30pm. Of course, you can always find a free parking area somewhere close by (or come by public transport) if you prefer to do a little walking...
Entry after 5:30pm is up through the door on level 1 (car park) as the ground floor has a security gate that lowers at that time. Note that the doors will electronically lock around 6:00 - 6:30pm, so try not to be late.
Some basic munchies (soft drink, nibbles (chips), etc) are always provided by the organiser. Other users often also bring along a few snacks, so its usually guaranteed you won't sit around starving...
What
What should you bring? Yourself, of course! Feel free to also bring along friends, or others who are interested. The user group costs nothing to attend, and has been so since its inception over 12 years ago.
If you have some amazing work you just feel needs to be shared, then please do bring it along... Note that while Kiwavers may be aimed primarily at supporting users of LightWave3D, we often get artists who just have a passion for 3D who show us work created by other applications (Maya, Modo, and more...)
