Sorry I didn't reply earlier about your edge loop fix. You could have either deleted those side edges or continued them through the rest of the hand with the split poly tool.

2-3 weeks is pretty ambitious for the whole pipeline. I fear you may be overwhelmed by the vast diversity of topics you'll need to learn from scratch. If it's a required project, just remember to keep it simple, and don't get discouraged. You might have to compromise on a few things.

You can add some effects in Maya (it has very robust particle, cloth, and hair systems), but many other effects can be done in After Effects, which is also a good program to put it altogether into one finished animation (editing, compositing, effects etc).
Hope that helps.