Chapter i. Introduction

i. Introduction

Welcome to Maya 6 for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide.

Alias Maya is the high-end 3D program that has brought to life many of the three-dimensional people, animals, plants, cars, and machines you see in film, videos, and games. Whether you want to create pod races, realistic anatomy, or scenes with an artistic flair, Maya can help you achieve the desired look and feel. Maya's only restriction is your imagination; if you can think it up, you can create it in Maya, with precise control over the final imagery (Figure i.1).

Figure i.1. This voracious prehistoric lizard is just one of the myriad creatures you can bring to life in Maya.

Maya is an extremely powerful character animation application. By offering tools for both cartoon and photorealistic character animators, Maya has become the preferred 3D character animation program.

This book introduces you to Maya's interface and features. You'll soon realize, though, that Maya has enough depth to keep you learning for years. What makes Maya spectacular is that the average user can learn enough to build incredible images relatively quickly. Maya offers ease of use for beginners and extreme depth for advanced users, propelling it to the top of the 3D software genre.