The key to being a good digital artist or animator isn’t necessarily knowing exactly where to find all the tools and buttons, but knowing how to find the features you need. Don’t let the interface intimidate you; it’s much friendlier than you may initially think, and there is more than one way to get something done through the user interface (UI).
Maya is intricate, with layers of function sets and interface options separated into categories. The purpose of this chapter is to help you get to know Maya and how it operates, building on your experience so far. This chapter will also answer the questions you may have about the UI from the previous chapter.
The best way to start is to explore the interface. Using your mouse, check out the menus and the tools. Just be careful not to change any settings; the rest of this book and its projects assume your Maya settings are all at their defaults. If you do change some settings inadvertently, reverting to the defaults is easy. Choose Window ⇒ Settings/Preferences ⇒ Preferences. In the Preferences window, choose Edit ⇒ Restore Default Settings. Now all the settings and interface elements are restored to their default states.