Hi guys, I'm a student from the UK and I have always enjoyed/loved creating things on computers. It started with website development but having done that for some time now and coming as close to mastery as I am satisfied with, I have decided to move on to the next step of my learning. I decided that building 3d games (more cartoony than realistic) for iOS devices would prove a suitable challenge. I bought a couple of books to read to get me familiar with the language(s) involved and I am plowing through them at a steady rate. However, while I'm doing that I thought I'd help out my future self and start designing some 3D models of both environments and characters for use in my game. I was told about Maya, and after applying to the education scheme, I have my copy waiting to be used!

So my questions are:
- Is it worth investing time and effort now into creating characters and environments considering I will be building games for iPhones etc.? Are Apple's development tools even compatible with Maya exports?
- Are the tutorials on this website of a suitable and adequate standard for what I'm trying to achieve and are they worth spending the money on?

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks,
Mike