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Larry Shultz

Larry Shultz passed away 4:00 AM November 24, 2012 NZST

(8:00 AM Nov 23 PST)
Liberty3D now waives the site’s commission on the sale of Larry’s videos. All proceeds from his video sales now go to support his wife, Camilla.
I’ve been involved with computer graphics since the mid 1980’s. Initially I learned computer graphics strictly from a programming standpoint. Later I figured out that I also had an artistic ability and quickly took to creating 2D and 3D artwork on the Amiga when it was first released. I spent more and more time with 3D artwork, fascinated with movie FX and animation in general. At the time I was really getting into computer animation I was working as a Laser Technician at Sandia National Laboratories. During that time I became more involved with the Video Toaster through a friend of mine, Brad Carvey. I began using Lightwave 3D in its early days. My fascination with CGI went from a hobby to my full time career instead of Laser Electro-Optics. In the early 1990’s I helped set up a CGI facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico called Impact Photo Images. Our goal was to do photo restoration on the computer, but instead ended up doing computer graphics and animation for local and regional TV. I went on to form my own company with two other partners. It was called The Animation Factory and we did quite well. It was here that we began to have a keen interest in character modeling and animation. This seemed to be an area where our competitors were weak. Using Lightwave early on gave us a huge edge over our competition, who typically produced work that looked very plastic like. Even in those days Lightwaves renderer was above average. During this time I was interested in furthering my skills in the video game business. I applied for an engineering position at a company called American Laser Games. During the interview I explained that I was also very capable as a 3D modeler and animator. I was hired on the spot after showing my demo reel. I worked on several home titles and arcade titles. I eventually became lead artist for the company. In January of 2000, I moved to Los Angeles. During the next 9 years I worked for several local studios, which include Netter Digital, Foundation Imaging, Amalgamated Pixels, Warner Brothers, Tandem Digital, Light Storm, Cinergy Creative, Morning Star Entertainment just to name a few. In 2002 I launched an online training facility specifically for Lightwave, 3D Training Online, which had instant success. I now reside in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand where I continue to Freelance and create training videos.