Maya: Binding Skin and Painting Weights [Rigging]

In 3D computer graphics "skinning" is about binding a surface to a skeleton. Many animators bind a ring of bones to the model of the human lips. So, skinning is a pretty general way to control geometry by joints and bones.

In this tutorial we model two legs, insert joints and concentrate on the rotation of the knee joint. After binding the skin to that skeleton we discuss the skin weights, which have to do with the influence of specific joints on specific parts of the geometry. At the end of the tutorial, for demonstration purposes, we mess up the leg system by painting "wrong" skin weights.

A basic tutorial about joints and forward kinematics can be found here:    • Maya – Joints and IK Handles  

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