There are a variety of techniques you can use to create 3D polygonal models in Maya:

• Primitives are three-dimensional geometric shapes you can create in Maya. The primitive shapes available include spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, planes, and many others. You can modify the attributes of basic primitives to make them more or less complex. You can also split, extrude, merge, or delete the various components on the primitive’s polygon mesh in order to modify the primitive’s shape. Many 3D modelers begin with polygon primitives as a basic starting point for their models. This technique is referred to as primitive-up modeling.
• Individual polygons can be created using the Create Polygon Tool. This tool lets you place individual vertices in the scene view to define the shape of an individual polygon face. You can then split or extrude the polygon face to create additional polygon faces that are attached to the first one and build your polygon mesh in that fashion. This Create Polygon Tool technique can be useful when you need to closely match a particular shape or outline. For example, if you needed to model a particular 3D logotype for an animated logo sequence or trace the outline of a 2D image using a bitmap image imported onto an image plane as a reference.
• Polygons can also be created by converting an existing NURBS or subdivision surface models using the Convert features found under the Modify menu.