Blender shows up as a very good alternative to Lightwave 3D, not mention they share some UI paradigm. A definitive choice for independent artists.

Strong support of subdivision and displacement with Adaptive subdivision, Catmull-Clark and linear schemes, Displacement and Bump mapping.

Cycles is Blender’s ray-trace based production render engine.

Blender

Windows

Linux

PortableApps.com

Haiku

Steam

Blender is the free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and motion tracking.

Wings 3D

Wings 3D is a subdivision modeler inspired by Nendo and Mirai from Izware.

Bforartists

AmigaOS

MorphOS

Bforartists is a fork of Blender. It comes with the same features, but with an improved UI and usability.

<p>According to the official website k-3d.org :<br />The latest &quot;source code&quot; release is from November 2015. And the latest binary executable release is even older. According to its Sourceforge page ( <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/k3d/files/K-3D" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://sourceforge.net/projects/k3d/files/K-3D</a> Win32 Binaries/ ), latest release is from june 2010.</p>

K-3D

K-3D is free-as-in-freedom 3D modeling and animation software.

DeleD CE

DeleD is a 3D modeler and level-editor combined into one. It focuses at game development and is specifically designed to create static objects/worlds.

Dead Deer

Android

iPhone

Windows Phone

Daydream

Dead Deer is a 3D modeler, 3D game maker, and a 3D demo maker designed to create games.

Fragmentarium

Fragmentarium is an open source, cross-platform IDE for exploring pixel based graphics on the GPU.

OpenFX

OpenFX is an open-source, free modeling and animation studio, distributed under the GNU General Public License.

LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac UB 64 and 32-bit operating systems, free technical support and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide, as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, visualization, game development, and Web. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy Awards than any other 3D application.

Major Studios and Post-Production Houses spend years assembling their custom pipelines, often at great expense and requiring large numbers of technical staff to maintain. Those complex pipelines are perfect for companies with hundreds of employees, but can be overkill for the majority of studios around the world with 40 employees or less.

LightWave fits seamlessly into large multi-software pipelines - with its powerful interchange tools including FBX, ZBrush GoZ, Collada, Unity Game Engine Support, and Autodesk Geometry Cache. Unlike other software packages, LightWave offers artists and studios a complete end-to-end solution right out of the box. Robust polygonal and subdivision surface modeling, unique. Interchangeable layered and nodal texturing, along with powerful dedicated node material shaders. Powerful animation and rigging tools. Eye-popping volumetric and dynamic effects systems. A production proven, award-winning Global Illumination render engine - built in. You decide what workflow or pipeline suits you best and LightWave puts all of the tools in your hands. 

LightWave

LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools.

Open Source LightWave Alternatives

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