| Translating software interaction to text (when describing it in writing) and back (when you read it) can be difficult. To make it easier for you to understand, the following typographic conventions are used in this book: A monospace font is used for text you type in, such as values changed in a dialog box or filenames used to save projects. A bold font is used for hotkeys. Italics are used to introduce new terms or for emphasis. The pipestem character (|) indicates Hotbox or menu choices.
Some tidbits of information are set off in boxed elements: Tips, Traps, Notes, Going Further sidebars, CD files, and CD movie files. tip As you're working through tutorials, this is where you find helpful guidelines or reminders of how to perform certain techniques.
trap Pointers on potential trouble spots are highlighted as traps.
note General comments in a tutorial or interesting background comments are often highlighted as notes.
Going Further Here you find tips on personalizing your Maya experience and some ideas for further exploration at the conclusion of some tutorials and chapters. |
On the DVD  This symbol indicates when to load a scene file from this book's CD-ROM. In most cases, you can continue with your previous work, but if you're having trouble, you can dissect the problem by examining the scene file or just forge ahead by loading the next scene. Tutorials are saved at several points so that you can easily move around the book if you want. |
On the DVD  Full-resolution movies with audio are included on the CD, too. These movies should prove invaluable in speeding your progress. Instead of translating a complex series of moves and mouse clicks from the book's text, you can actually look over our shoulders while we perform each step in the tutorial and explain what we're doing. See the next section if you have any difficulties playing these .wmv files. |
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