Skinning is the process of binding a modeled surface to a skeleton. You can bind any model to its skeleton using skinning, or you can model over a pre-existing skeleton to create its skin. When a model is bound to a skeleton using skinning, it then follows or reacts to the transformations of the skeleton’s joints and bones. For example, if you bind a model’s arm to its underlying skeleton using skinning, rotating the elbow joints causes the skin at the elbow to crease and pucker.
There are three types of skinning in Autodesk® Maya®: smooth skinning, rigid skinning, and indirect skinning.
With smooth skinning, you can create smooth, articulated deformation effects. Smooth skinning specifies that multiple joints and other influence objects can have varying influences on the same points (CVs, vertices, or lattice points) on a model. For more information on smooth skinning, see Smooth skinning.
With rigid skinning, you can create stiff, articulated deformation effects. Rigid skinning specifies that only individual joints can influence each CV, vertex, or lattice point on a model. For more information on rigid skinning, see Rigid Skinning.
With indirect skinning, you can bind lattice or wrap deformers as skins to a skeleton. When a character is indirectly skinned, posing its skeleton causes the bound deformers to transform the model’s skin. For more information on indirect skinning, see What are lattice deformers? and What are wrap deformers? in the Deformers guide.
