i don't know much about Maya, but i use blender which is free, and ventilator wrote a perfect exporter that allows you to export your model, texture, and animations straight out of blender into ur game project. www.blender.org

i recommend starting with some AUM projects. check the Acknex User Magazine forum for more details on it, but its a monthly magazine with loads of useful tips and tutorials, especially for beginners. also, as you browse all these forums and someone mentions a feature u didn't know about, be sure to look it up in the manual!

julz