So I have never really drawn using pencil and papper. Very little actually, back in middle and high school, about 8 or so years ago. I keep on wondering whether I have to be good at drawing on piece of papper in order to be good at Maya. Modeling things, characters, environment and things of like. Thank you.

Well… I dont think that that skill is unimportant for modeling in maya, but there is a wide range of things you can model in maya.. characters (creatures, humans, animals), landscapes, buildings, props like desks, chairs, books, weapons, plants/trees and so on and so ...

http://adeptus-astrates.deviantart.com/ this is my DevantArt page.. ive started to do 3D modeling in August 2010.
My 2d paint skills are above average and i think for that reason I had a reather easy start into 3D modeling. especially characters… but I also know ppl that arent really talented in 2d art, but they are great modelers never the less. So i think that you dont need to be a good 2D artist to be a good 3d modeler as well… but studying anatomy, and architecture is very useful when it comes to those things..

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The simple answer is absolutely positively yes. If you look at the websites for PIXAR, Imageworks, Blizzard, or any successful entertainment company, they will all say the same thing: a resume without traditional drawing skills is pretty much dead on arrival. You cannot successfully create, rig or animate good characters without understanding the principals of art, anatomy, proportion or design. Take a look at the curriculum for any good school that teaches animation, and you’ll see that they make you take a lot of figure drawing, human anatomy and a lot of other such topics before they let you anywhere near a computer. The technology of animation has changed almost beyond recognition in the 110 years or so film animation has existed. The artistic principals of animation haven’t changed a bit since they were laid out by the Disney animators in the 1930s.

It doesn’t matter if you say, “well, I’m going to only do superheroes or anime” either. They and all other art styles are based on real world principals, and you’d have a very hard time finding a successful artist in any such field who would tell you anything else. Good animation, whether 2d or 3d, is hard. It always has been. Computers and the internet have not made it any easier. So take those art classes. Draw a billion drawings until you want to throw them all out the window and go work for McDonald’s. Don’t just draw muscleman or fifteen inch eyes anime girl. Draw real people. Above all, get a cranky old art teacher as well, don’t just try to do this all by yourself. Everybody else had to do the same thing, so you’ll be in good company.

Please don’t think I’m being mean, I’m not! I’d love to see you succeed in this mean business. But this is the most common question new people ask, and the answer is always the same. This is what makes the difference between a semi-interested amateur and a real pro.

Best of luck!

Cool, thx for the replys guys.