Hi, I just started using maya a month ago and im hooked , but i have two questions thats been bothering me for a while now. How can I make my model look more real ? For example ive seen a couple of WIP renders on this site and it looks like real plastic, Ive tried using different colors but I could never get it to look real like plastic, is it because they are using another type of rendering method or is it just shaders ? or is it a plugin ? and my 2nd question , how can i change the black backround when in render view whenever i render something.. thank you..

anyways here is a person i made using the tuts from this site!!
very helpfull site i might add.

https://www.pbase.com/image/21752696

how can i make this look real like real plastic or something that has realism.