Recommnded text for those preparing for the Maya Associate exam Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, and commercials, is challenging to learn. This full-color guide features approachable, hands-on exercises and additional task-based tutorials that allow new users to quickly become productive with the program and familiar with its workflow in a professional environment. You'll learn the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and lighting; explore different parts of the production pipeline; and practice on some real-world projects. Maya is the 3D animation and effects software used in the film, game, and advertising industries; it's a complex program and this book gives beginners essential training in Maya basics This book is an Autodesk Official Training Guide, recommended for students planning to take the Maya Associate exam Provides task-based tutorials and hands-on exercises to get you up to speed and introduce you to production workflows Teaches the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and lighting Helps you create simple animations, model with polygons, and add detail with blend shapes and surfaces Starting and ending files for the exercises and additional learning tutorials are available online Autodesk Maya Essentials provides beginners with a solid foundation in Maya 3D software.