In a typical workflow, you create pre-defined 3D geometric shapes called primitives in Maya as a starting point for 3D modeling. Those primitives can then be used as-is, or further modified into more complex shapes. For example:
- Create a sphere primitive, and then scale it so it appears more elliptical
- Detach half of a sphere to make a dome
- Create a plane to use as a floor in your scene
- Use Boolean features to intersect primitives with each other and produce new shapes
The primitive creation options are located in the Create menu. For example, Create > Polygon Primitives > Cube.
The options for each primitive type are selected by choosing the option box beside the primitive’s name. For example,
Sphere >
,
Cube >
,
Cone >
, and so on.
The topics in this section outline some of the most common ways to create polygon primitives.