Took an introductory Maya class at Glendale Community College a while back. Never have I run across an more imposing and unfamiliar application, so paying for a guided tour of the interface and basic concepts of 3D was well worth it. The quality of instruction was a tremendous bargain.

Of course, one class is not enough to learn to do much with the program. Exhibit A: the video above in which I demonstrate the most rudimentary grasp of modeling, rigging and lighting. But it’s infinitely more than I knew when I started.