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3D interactive animated training simulation tutorial inside Autodesk Maya.

The biggest mistake most beginners make when they start modeling is that they don't have accurate references. It is very difficult to accurately model a complicated object from memory. If you attend a life drawing or human figure sculpting class the instructor will tell you that you should spend more time looking at the live model than you do your own paper or sculpture. So at the very least you should have references to look at when you model on the computer. If you are drawing your own references remember that its possible to make drawings from the front and side that look good but actually don't represent the same 3d object. For this reason it can be good to design your character in two or three point perspective and from this drawing draw the two images for the front and side. Otherwise just take note that you might be positioning CVs appropriately in one viewport as per the sketch and then moving them out of place when you align them with the sketch in the other viewport.

Measurements Get as many dimensions of the set as practicable. You will need measuements of reference objects that will be modeled and used to match the virtual camera's position and focal length to the plate. Also take measurements so reference objects can be position relative to each other in the scene. These reference objects don't necesarily need to be ones that will be visible in the final render. Try to get measurements of any straight edged objects that cover a long distance in the frame aligning these objects will give good camera position acuracy. Try to get some measurements of straight objects that go from close to far from the camera. This will help match the focal length especialy with wide angled lens distortion. Take measurements of any of the practical elements that will have virtual duplicates or replacements. Measure the camera's position relative to the reference objects so the virtual camera can be positioned - you can match by eye using your reference objects but you might not get a chance to record the camera focal length so could be useful.