Maya Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Maya facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the purpose of the 'Parent Constraint' in Maya? → Makes one object follow both the position and rotation of a target
2. What is 'follow-through' in animation? → Appendages or loose parts continuing to move after the main body stops
3. What does `cmds.scriptJob` allow you to do in Maya? → Runs a Python or MEL function automatically in response to a Maya event
4. What does the 'Combine' operation do to two separate polygon meshes in Maya? → Merges them into a single mesh node without welding vertices
5. What is 'IK' (Inverse Kinematics) used for in Maya? → Automatically calculates joint rotations based on a goal position
6. What does `cmds.undoInfo(openChunk=True)` / `closeChunk=True` do in Maya Python? → Groups multiple script operations into a single undoable action
7. What is the purpose of a 'Pole Vector Constraint' in Maya IK rigs? → Controls the direction the middle joint (knee/elbow) bends toward
8. What is the purpose of 'breakdown' keyframes in Maya animation? → Define the path between two extreme poses to control the arc of motion
9. What does the 'Extrude' operation do to a polygon face in Maya? → Pushes or pulls the face out to create new geometry
10. What does 'overlapping action' mean in character animation? → Different body parts move at different times instead of all at once
11. What does 'FK' (Forward Kinematics) mean in Maya rigging? → Each joint is rotated directly to pose the chain from parent to child
12. Which Maya tool allows you to cut new edges across polygon faces by clicking? → Multi-Cut Tool
13. What is an 'emitter' in Maya particle dynamics? → An object or surface that generates and releases particles into the simulation
14. What is the 'Lattice' deformer used for in Maya? → Deforms a mesh by manipulating a cage of control points around it
15. Which display mode in Maya shows a smooth subdivided preview of a polygon mesh? → Press 3 on the keyboard
16. What is the Maya 'Nucleus' solver? → A unified simulation framework for nCloth, nHair, nParticle, and nRigid interactions
17. What is an 'area light' used for in Maya rendering? → A rectangular or disc-shaped light that emits soft, diffuse illumination
18. What does 'ambient occlusion' simulate in rendering? → The darkening of surfaces in crevices where ambient light cannot reach
19. What is the 'Bullet physics' plugin in Maya used for? → Real-time rigid and soft body dynamics using the open-source Bullet engine
20. What is the 'orient constraint' used for in Maya? → Forces one object's rotation to match another object's rotation
21. What does 'cycle' infinity do to an animation curve in Maya's Graph Editor? → Repeats the animation curve pattern indefinitely beyond the keyframe range
22. In Maya's Arnold renderer, which node is used to load and connect an external texture image file into a shader network? → file node (or aiImage)
23. In Maya, what is the purpose of the 'Bevel' tool? → Rounds off sharp edges by creating chamfered geometry
24. What does `cmds.setAttr('pSphere1.translateX', 5)` do in Maya Python? → Sets the X translation of pSphere1 to 5 units
25. In Maya polygon modeling, what is an 'N-gon'? → A polygon face with more than four sides
26. What is 'skinning' in the context of Maya character rigging? → Binding a mesh to a skeleton so joints can deform it
27. Which of the following file formats does not contain any alpha information? → PNG
28. In Maya, what is the 'FLIP solver' used for in Bifrost? → Simulating liquid fluids like water, lava, and splashing effects
29. What is a 'shelf button' in Maya scripting? → A button on the Maya shelf that executes a MEL or Python script when clicked
30. How do you attach a mesh to a skeleton without it deforming when the skeleton moves or rotates? → Constraint