Need to get a strong foundation in Maya? Start here. This Essential Training course covers all the latest features in Maya 2015, while giving you a background in the basics of 3D modeling, texturing, animating, and rendering. Need a quick overview? Check out the first chapter of the course, which covers the interface and basic object manipulation tools. Author George Maestri then takes you deeper into polygonal modeling, editing and refining meshes, and NURBS modeling—for sculpting curves and organic surfaces in Maya. After that, learn how to create and apply materials to give the surface of your models color, texture, reflectivity, and more. Next, create realistic images (with lighting and depth-of-field effects) in the final rendering process, and finally, add movement and life to your characters with Maya's animation tools.