What you'll learn

Maya is a very broad 3D application and it can be difficult at the beginning to know where to start. Over the course of the next several lessons, you'll get an overview of several of the key areas of Maya and some examples of how to put that knowledge into practice. We'll begin by getting an overview of the Maya interface and you'll learn to navigate the 3D view where you'll be able to interact with all of your models and scenes. Next we'll take a look at how to work with 3D models and you'll learn about some of Maya's modeling tools and workflows. Animation is next, as you learn to set key frames, modify timing, and work with your playback controls to get your models moving around the scene. You'll also learn to work with materials and textures to give your models the appearance of different types of surfaces. You'll finish the course by learning to add and manipulate lights in your scenes, and use Mental Ray to render out final images of your projects. These lessons will give you a great head start on working in Maya, but we're only scratching the surface of this powerful 3D application. Software required: Maya 2016.