Recruiter's Glossary

Examples: Maya • Tweening • Exaggeration

Skinning

Term from Animation industry explained for recruiters

Skinning is a common animation technique where artists attach a virtual "skin" (like a character's outer appearance) to a digital skeleton. Think of it like putting a puppet's outer covering onto its inner framework. This process is essential in making characters move naturally in animated films, video games, and visual effects. Without proper skinning, characters might look stiff or have unrealistic movements. It's similar to how a real person's skin moves along with their bones and muscles when they move.

Examples in Resumes

Created character skinning for main characters in an animated feature film

Optimized skin weights for better character movement in video game characters

Developed skinning solutions for complex character costumes and clothing

Implemented automated skin weight transfer system for background characters

Typical job title: "Character Technical Artists"

Also try searching for:

Character TD Character Rigger Technical Animator Character Setup Artist Character Artist Character FX Artist Character Technical Director

Where to Find Character Technical Artists

Online Communities

• Animation & Rigging Community on ArtStation
• CGSociety Forums
• Reddit r/Animation

Job Boards

Professional Networks

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you handle skinning for a character with complex clothing like a flowing dress?

Expected Answer: A senior artist should discuss multiple layers of influence, cloth simulation integration, and strategies for maintaining natural movement while preventing unwanted deformations.

Q: What's your approach to optimizing skin weights for game characters?

Expected Answer: Should explain balancing visual quality with performance, techniques for limiting influence per vertex, and automated solutions for background characters.

Mid Level Questions

Q: How do you ensure smooth deformation around joint areas?

Expected Answer: Should describe techniques for weight painting around joints, handling areas like elbows and knees, and methods to prevent texture stretching.

Q: What's your process for fixing skinning issues like texture penetration?

Expected Answer: Should explain troubleshooting methods, weight adjustment techniques, and how to identify and resolve common skinning problems.

Junior Level Questions

Q: Can you explain what skin weights are?

Expected Answer: Should be able to explain that skin weights determine how much influence each bone has on different parts of the character's surface.

Q: What tools do you use for weight painting?

Expected Answer: Should demonstrate familiarity with basic weight painting tools in common software like Maya or 3ds Max, and understanding of basic weight adjustment techniques.