BSA326, Maya's water capabilities, 10 August, 2017

Rachel had me type hdri into google and this came up:

 I had created a water scene in Maya with a "pool" and a bifrost water feature that I do not understand.

The hdri was saved into the source images file and then plugged into a dome light through render settings.  Where, I do not know.  but there is a tab called "scene" which offers to create all sorts of environmental light.  Will this light the scene for rendering without my having to spend days and days putting in lights?

The hdri creates enough light that the water picks up on it and reflects it back.  There isn't enough water to really see it.  I think the more I play with it, the more useful it will become.  I don't need it for my project, though, so I'm probably not going to put the time in now.  Rachel did say that Houdini is better for making water effects, anyway.