Skinning weights
How much each bone influences each part of the artwork.
Every point of the artwork carries a weight for each bone — how strongly that bone pulls it. A point weighted entirely to one bone moves rigidly with it; a point split between two bends smoothly between them.
Auto-weighting computes a reasonable starting set using geodesic distance, which respects the shape rather than straight-line proximity. That matters: a hand near the hip in straight-line terms should still be weighted to the arm.
When to reach for it#
- After binding, whenever a joint creases badly or the wrong part moves.
- Fine-tuning where one limb ends and another begins.
Parameters#
How quickly influence drops with distance. Sharp falloff gives rigid segments with visible seams; soft falloff blends but can make nearby parts drag.
Forces each point's weights to sum to 1. Leave it on — weights that do not sum correctly make artwork shrink or balloon as bones move.
Things that catch people out#
If a region collapses or inflates when a bone moves, it is almost always unnormalised weights rather than a bone problem.
See also#
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