Template:Modelling polygons extrude

If you have a face and want to make it into a volume you can use the extrude command. First select the face you want to extrude and then go to Edit Mesh > Extrude:

Then the Manipulator Tool appears on the face. You can now pull the arrow of the direction you want to extrude the face in to make the face into a volume. You can also numerically put in the value of the extrude in the channelbox

Always extrude the face in the direction of the arrow, otherwise you will turn the volume inside out. If the arrow doesn't point in the direction you want it to it's better to either undo the extrude command en reversing the normals of the face first or to pull it in the direction of the arrow and moving the volume afterward.

Check that point snap is not enabled, or you may experience difficulties performing an extrude (it may keep snapping to the base of the extrude)

When you have extruded a face Maya automatically jumps to component mode. Click it back to object mode to be able to select objects again.

You may want to check that keep faces together is checked in the top of the Edit Mesh menu. You can also turn on keep faces together in the inputs of the extrude through the channelbox of the object (click the polyExtrudeFace node, scroll down to keep faces together and set it to '1' or 'on').