Home > Supported File Formats > CINEMA-4D to LightWave

How to convert CINEMA-4D (.c4d) to LightWave (.lws,.lwo)?

PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

CINEMA-4D

CINEMA 4D (C4D) is a well known and respected 3D DCC/Animation software program by MAXON Computer of Germany. C4D came to take on a much larger market share in the 2010's decade (and beyond) once other animation packages waned or went out of business.

Okino has been MAXON's primary 3D conversion partner since 1998 and hence has very strong support for importing, exporting and converting C4D files without the need to have a local copy of C4D installed.

It should be noted that no software program can read or write 3ds Max (.max) or Maya (.ma) files, just as was the case with CINEMA 4D prior to release v12. Hence, as is little understood, the proper way to convert C4D files to/from 3ds Max is via the Okino PolyTrans-for-3dsMax system and to/from Maya via the Okino PolyTrans-for-3dsMaya system.

However, Okino's primary focus is to provide the main industry standard CAD file conversion support to C4D users.

LightWave

LightWave is a well known and respected DCC/Animation system which has been around since the early days of the Amiga. It continues to be developed by Newtek Inc.

Okino implemented the main system to read and write LightWave .lwo and .lws files as of 1993, with the peak demand for our LightWave converters being throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, after which other animation systems became more popular (3ds Max, Maya and Softimage).

Fortunately a copy of the LightWave software is not needed to convert to/from the .lws and .lwo formats (as otherwise is the defacto case for the 3ds Max and Maya animation systems). The general scene data is stored in the ASCII .lws scene file whereas the binary .lwo file contains the geometry and material information.

More Info: PolyTrans-for-CINEMA 4D

CINEMA-4D import converter's overview

LightWave export converter's overview