I’ve taken a few Maya classes a while back but really don’t remember much more than a the basic short keys and manipulating object components. I want to get back into 3D modeling and animation again so I need a better understanding of how all the Maya polygon tools work. I’d also like to learn tips for quickie making objects to the correct size, such as modeling a gear then scaling it to fit within a 30cm bounding box – or something like that. There were a lot of tutorials online but they all assume you have a working knowledge of how each of the tools work, and I don’t have that. I grew up using LightWave from version 3 on the Amiga to version 7 on the PC. I knew that package well but it was limited compared to what Maya could do. Maya was very impressive when it came to extruding polygon surfaces – and the interface was much faster for working with objects of any given size.

What I recommend for you is to check out this website:

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/

They have DVD's from professional people that work in the games and movie industry. I've used some of those tutorials my self. Most of the lessons are anywhere from 1 to 2 hours in length but they go over it in detail as they work on a project.

Other than that you could read a book but I think that a Gnomon DVD would be the quickest way.

-Miguel Chang