WHAT IS IT?
ShaderMan is a library of shader plug-ins for LightWave 3D 5.0. Shader plug-ins are able to bypass LightWave's illumination model to implement whatever type of illumination model that is required, or the plug-ins may just complement LightWave's existing illumination model by modifying parameters such as color or transparency.

The ShaderMan architecture is based around the RenderMan™ shading language, hence many RenderMan shaders can be converted to a LightWave plug-in. What follows is a collection of shaders converted into LightWave plug-ins. By converting each shader manually into a LightWave plug-in, we are able to offer more flexibility and higher rendering speeds compared to a shader which has been interpreted during run-time.

Many large Computer Graphics companies use a RenderMan renderer as their main render engine. The reason for this is that the RenderMan Interface has one feature which makes it infinitely more flexible than any other renderer: the ability to use programmable shaders. Many commercial 3D packages have hard-coded their illumination model deep inside the renderer,and as a result, many of the pictures generated by such a renderer will have a "recognizable signature". By leaving the renderer architecture open, NewTek has enabled us to offer you alternative illumination models from those offered by the base program, Allowing you to create a wider variety of effects. But that is not all, you can also create many procedural textures which would otherwise be difficult to generate, while taking advantage of LightWave's built-in features such as raytracing.

IMPORTANT:
To turn off LightWave's default illumination model for shaders with their own illumination model set:
Luminosity 100%
Diffuse Level 0%
Specular Level 0%