Maya: Polygon components

When creating a 3D primitive shape in Maya, you can divide the shape into subdivisions. This can be done by selecting the shapes tab in the Channel Box/Layer Editor side menu, from here you can enter the subdivisions for width, depth and height. In this case I have divided the shape into 3 subdivisions for each.

Another way to add subdivisions to a shape, is through the Edit Mesh drop down menu, from here select the Add Divisions option to achieve similar results.

Holding down the right mouse button allows you to have access to various components of the shape. Mostly i'll be working faces, edges and vertices. Below, I have selected face mode, and have used it to extrude certain faces from the shape by pulling them with move (W) . The extrude option is available through the Edit Mesh drop down menu, or by pressing Ctrl+E.

As with most design programs, its possible to duplicate objects by selecting the option in the edit menu or Ctrl+D. You could also use the mirror tool in the mesh menu to make a mirror copy of an object.