This is a newly-updated, step-by-step guide to the most popular and complex 3D application on the market, Autodesk Maya. This book includes straightforward lessons, real-world examples, detailed tutorials, and downloadable project files that get you modeling and animating your own digital models and scenes right away. The book starts you with the latest CG concepts and production workflows, and then shows you how to create a solar system to help get you acquainted with the basic tool set in Maya. From there, the books helps you to: Learn the Maya user interface, including menus and plug-ins ; Build simple animations and 3D images right away ; Explore polygons, modeling, and NEX tools ; Get started with HDRI lighting, rendering, dynamics, simulations, and effects. Whether you're new to 3D or migrating from another 3D application, this book will kick-start your creativity and get you up and running with Maya.