Skinning

Skinning

Skinning is a way to make a 3D character mesh move smoothly with its skeleton by connecting each part of the mesh to certain bones. In character modeling, skinning lets designers set how much each bone affects nearby mesh points, so when a bone moves, the mesh bends in a natural way. A helpful tip is that skinning can use extra helper bones, called deformation bones, which are not part of the main skeleton but help control tricky areas like shoulders or elbows for better bending and fewer sharp edges. Designers can paint weights directly on the mesh to fine-tune how much each bone pulls on the mesh, making the character's movements look more lifelike.

character rigging, weight painting, deformation bones, mesh articulation

— Kevin Green