This two part Skinning Series explains the concepts and tools found at the heart of skinning in Maya. Skinning’s a straight forward part of the pipeline however many find it conceptually challenging while starting. This first class explains the fundamental tools and concepts in simple demostrations that get to the core of skinning concepts.

Object deformation in Maya is based on virtual skinning rules, unlike reality which obeys more intuative physical laws. This page clarifies how skinning’s different in Maya compared to the rules of the real world.

You’ll learn the basic tools and how vertices loose volumes and why, twists and how some of the tools won’t work intuitively. Then you’ll get into weight painting. The class continues on the next page where we’ll look at the tools in more depth.

Despite efforts from the software manufacturers that appear to make skinning look as easy as one click setups, skinning still requires a solid understanding of basics to achieve desirable results.

The following classes are a must for any student wishing to have their characters deform well in Maya.

Running Time: 42 mins
Software: Maya 2016
Instructor: Andrew Silke