Autodesk Maya Basic
Autodesk Maya Basic is a beginner course in 3D with Maya, covering the interface, NURBS and polygon modelling, topology, character modelling and UV unwrapping through to materials, lighting, cameras, rendering with Arnold and basic animation. It suits students, graphic designers and video editors starting out in 3D, and you leave with your own character model and presentation renders.
- Duration18 hours · 3 days
- FormatOnsite / live online
- Next roundOn request
- CertificateIncluded
Course overview
Autodesk Maya is a 3D program used widely in film, animation, games and advertising, because it covers every stage of the work: modelling, surfacing, lighting and cameras, rendering and animation. With so many tools, though, beginners often do not know where to start; they can build a model but the topology is poor, textures stretch, or renders come out with unattractive lighting.
This course lays the foundations of Autodesk Maya 2027, from the interface, project setup and handling objects to modelling with NURBS and with polygons in the Modeling Toolkit. It continues with topology principles, modelling a character's head and body from reference images, clothing and accessories, and unwrapping UVs in the UV Editor, then applying materials and textures, setting up lights and cameras, rendering with Arnold and basic animation. It closes with a workshop producing presentation renders of each learner's own character. (3 days, 6 hours per day, 18 hours in total, Beginner level.)
What you’ll gain
- Use the Autodesk Maya 2027 interface, menus and basic tools, and organise work with projects
- Create and manage objects and build hierarchies with groups and parenting
- Model 3D objects with NURBS and polygons
- Model a character with a sound understanding of topology
- Unwrap UVs and apply textures to models
- Assign materials, light the scene, set up cameras and render with Arnold
- Create basic animation with keyframes and the Graph Editor
Who this course is for
- Students and anyone who wants to start 3D work with Maya
- Graphic designers who want to move into 3D modelling and imagery
- Video editors and motion graphics artists who need 3D elements
- Newcomers to animation, games and visual effects
Prerequisites
- Comfortable using a Windows computer and managing files and folders
- No previous experience of 3D software is needed
- Some photo editing or drawing experience helps with texturing but is not required
- A laptop that can run Autodesk Maya 2027 (your own or your organisation's licence, or a trial) and a three-button mouse
Curriculum
Course Details
This is the 2026 edition of the Autodesk Maya 2014 Basic course. It runs for 3 days, 6 hours per day (18 hours in total, 09:00-16:00), at Beginner level. The content has been rewritten for Autodesk Maya 2027 and covers the interface, NURBS and polygon modelling with the Modeling Toolkit, topology, character modelling, UV unwrapping with the UV Editor and UV Toolkit, materials and textures, lighting, cameras, rendering with Arnold and basic animation, closing with a workshop producing character presentation renders. Learners use their own or their organisation's copy of Maya, or a trial, and take home the course handbook, practice files for every lab and their character work.
Day 1 The Maya Interface and Modelling Basics
Section 1: Lab: Getting Started with Autodesk Maya 2027
- The 3D pipeline, from modelling, texturing, lighting and rendering to animation
- Menu sets, the status line, shelves, the Channel Box, the Attribute Editor and tool settings
- Tumble, track and dolly the view, split viewports and switch workspaces
- Set a project so scenes, textures and renders stay organised
- Lab: set up a project and the interface for the whole course
Section 2: Lab: Primitives and Working with Objects
- Create polygon primitives and adjust them in the Channel Box
- Move, rotate and scale, moving pivots and snapping
- Duplicate and Duplicate Special
- Wireframe, shaded and X-ray display, and Isolate Select
- Lab: assemble a table and chair from several primitives
Section 3: Lab: Hierarchies and an Organised Scene
- The Outliner and naming objects consistently
- Grouping, parenting and hierarchies
- Display layers, construction history and Freeze Transformations
- Lab: organise a desk scene so it is ready to reuse
Section 4: Lab: NURBS Curves and Surfaces
- Draw curves with the CV Curve Tool and EP Curve Tool
- Create surfaces with Revolve, Loft, Extrude and Planar
- Convert NURBS to polygons for further work
- Lab: model a bottle, a glass, a vase and a kettle with NURBS
Section 5: Lab: Polygon Modelling Basics
- Object mode and component mode: vertices, edges and faces
- The Modeling Toolkit: Extrude, Bevel, Bridge and Multi-Cut
- Insert Edge Loop, Target Weld and Merge
- Lab: model a boxy everyday object from a polygon cube
Day 2 Character Modelling and UV Unwrapping
Section 6: Lab: Polygon Modelling Techniques
- Booleans: union, difference and intersection
- Rounding edges with Bevel and Smart Bevel in Maya 2027
- Mirror, soft selection and Smooth Mesh Preview
- Lab: model a hard-surface prop
Section 7: Lab: Topology and Reference Images
- Good topology: quads, edge loops and even face distribution
- Prepare front and side reference images
- Set up image planes in Maya at the right proportions
- Lab: sketch the topology of a character's face over the reference
Section 8: Lab: Modelling a Character's Head
- Block in the head from a polygon cube and smooth it
- Add detail to the eyes, nose and mouth following edge loops
- Model a simple ear and attach it to the head
- Tidy the topology with Quad Draw
- Lab: model a character's head from reference images
Section 9: Lab: Body, Clothing and Accessories
- Build the torso, arms and legs and join them to the head
- Create clothing from the body surface and give it thickness
- Add folds to clothing, plus accessories such as shoes and armour
- Lab: a complete character with clothing and accessories
Section 10: Lab: Unwrapping UVs in the UV Editor
- What UVs are, and checking stretching with a checker map
- Planar, automatic and camera-based projection
- The UV Toolkit: Cut, Sew, Unfold and Layout
- Lab: unwrap the character's head, body and clothing
Day 3 Materials, Lighting, Rendering and Animation
Section 11: Lab: Materials and Textures
- The Hypershade and assigning materials to objects
- aiStandardSurface: base colour, specular, roughness and transmission
- Apply texture files, bump maps and normal maps
- An overview of painting textures in external applications
- Lab: apply materials and textures to the character and the scene
Section 12: Lab: Lights and Cameras
- Arnold area lights, directional lights and aiSkyDomeLight with HDRI images
- Intensity, exposure, light colour and shadows
- Set up cameras, focal length and depth of field
- Lab: three-point lighting and a presentation camera for the character
Section 13: Lab: Rendering with Arnold
- Render settings, image size and sampling quality
- Interactive previews in the Arnold RenderView
- Colour management and saving the output
- Lab: render a high-quality presentation image of the character
Section 14: Lab: Basic Animation
- Keyframes, the Time Slider and the Range Slider
- Adjust timing with the Graph Editor
- Motion paths and orbiting a camera around an object
- Lab: animate a bouncing ball and check the timing with a playblast
Section 15: Workshop: My Character Presentation
- Prepare the scene, character, materials and lights for rendering
- Render stills and a turntable around the character
- Export the model as FBX or USD for use in other applications
- Workshop: present the work, review it together and see the next steps towards rigging and animation
Schedule & training options
For individuals — public rounds
No public rounds are open right now. Join the waiting list and we will contact you first when the next round opens, or ask us on LINE. Or call 02-570-8449 or 088-807-9770
For organisations — in-house / private
- Tailor the content to your team’s tools and projects
- Your dates, at your office or live online
- Quotation with tax ID for procurement
Instructors
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between polygons and NURBS in Maya?
Polygons build surfaces from vertices, edges and faces. They are very flexible and can be refined part by part, so they are the usual choice for characters, environments and models for games or animation. NURBS build surfaces from mathematical curves, giving smooth, precise curved surfaces that suit rounded objects such as bottles, glasses or vases. In practice some parts are often modelled with NURBS and then converted to polygons for further work.
What does unwrapping UVs on a 3D model mean, and why is it needed?
UV unwrapping flattens the surface of a 3D model into a 2D layout that tells the software where each part of a texture image goes on the model. Without good UVs, textures stretch or distort. In Maya you use the built-in UV Editor and UV Toolkit: start with a projection, cut seams where they are least visible, flatten the shells with Unfold, arrange them with Layout and check for stretching with a checker map.
What does good topology look like in 3D modelling?
Good topology is mostly quads, with edge loops that follow the form and the muscles, such as loops around the eyes, mouth and joints. Face density is even, and faces with more than four sides are avoided in areas that deform. The result is a model that smooths cleanly, unwraps easily and deforms naturally when it is later rigged and animated.
Who is the Autodesk Maya Basic course for, and what should I know beforehand?
It suits students, graphic designers, video editors, motion graphics artists and anyone who wants to start 3D work with Maya. No previous 3D experience is needed, as long as you are comfortable with a Windows computer and bring a laptop that can run Maya 2027, with a three-button mouse.
What will I be able to do after the Autodesk Maya Basic course?
You will be able to use Maya's interface and main tools confidently, model with NURBS and polygons, build a character's head and body from reference images with clothing and accessories, unwrap UVs, apply materials and textures, light the scene, render with Arnold and create basic animation, taking home your own character model and presentation renders. Participants who complete the training receive a Certificate of Completion with its own number, which can be verified online.
Which software does the Autodesk Maya Basic course use?
The main application is Autodesk Maya 2027, with the bundled Arnold for Maya for rendering and Maya's built-in UV Editor and UV Toolkit for unwrapping, so no extra plug-ins are needed. Painting textures in external applications is covered as an overview. Learners use a licensed copy of Maya, their own or their organisation's, or a trial from Autodesk, and the content follows the latest release on the training day.
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