Learning Resources > Tutorials > Getting Started with Maya > Maya Basics > Lesson 3: Viewing the Maya 3D scene >
Camera tools
In the lessons so far, when you looked at an object from the top, front, or side views you have been viewing the scene through an orthographic view. Orthographic views appear two-dimensional because the object is displayed using parallel projections of only two axes at a time. (Scooter images courtesy of The Art of Maya)
When you view the scene through the perspective view, you are viewing the scene in a three-dimensional manner. The perspective view simulates what your scene would look like from a camera’s point of view.
In Maya, you view the scene through a set of virtual cameras. These cameras are either orthographic or perspective in nature. You can adjust how these cameras view the scene using the Camera Tools.
The three primary methods for manipulating the camera view are dolly, tumble, and track.
The Dolly Tool gets its name from filmmaking where a camera, mounted on a wheeled tripod, is moved towards or away from the scene. In Maya, dollying allows you to view the items in your scene either close up or from further back.
The Tumble Tool allows you to tumble or rotate the camera’s view around a particular center of interest to achieve either a higher or lower vantage point, or a different side angle.
To tumble the perspective view
Tumbling the view revolves the camera around the center of the scene view, in whichever direction you drag (left, right, up or down). The Tumble Tool does not work in the orthographic views.
