Conventions Used in This Book

Translating software interaction to text (when we write) and back (when you read) can be difficult. To make it easier for you to understand, we've adopted certain typographic conventions 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.

We've also iconized certain tidbits of information: Tips, Traps, Notes, Going Further sidebars, CD files, and CD movie files.

tip

As you're working through tutorials, this is where you'll 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

We've added tips on personalizing your Maya experience and ideas for further exploration at the conclusion of some tutorials and chapters.

This symbol indicates when to load a scene file from the book's CD-ROM. In most cases, you can continue with your previous work, but if you're having trouble, you can dissect your problems 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.

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.