# Ep.6 — Skin Function · Weight Work Preparation & Data Management

https://youtu.be/Q4i9YjUF-5g?si=pSC7NxVi6aiGLm9I

## Overview

The **Skin tab** is not a screen for **painting** weights — it is a **management** screen for **bulk selecting, disabling, backing up, and restoring** already-skinned meshes.

> **Skin Modifier** = The **skin modifier** applied to a mesh in Max.  
> **SkinLayer Studio** = The **layer-based skin tool** from Ep.5 (similar name, but a **different thing**).

## Prerequisites

- Meshes must have **weights (skin) applied** — work in progress or partially complete using SkinLayer Studio or similar

## Skin Tab — Button by Button

### All Mesh

- Selects **all meshes in the scene that can be skin targets** **at once**.
- Convenient when there are **multiple pieces** of body, clothing, and accessories.

### All Skinned

- Selects only meshes that **already have a Skin Modifier attached**.
- Difference from All Mesh: meshes **not yet skinned** are excluded.

### Enable / Disable Skin

| Button | What It Does |
|--------|-------------|
| **Disable** | **Temporarily turns off** all skin modifiers — when you want to see only the rig and mesh |
| **Enable** | Turns them **back on** |

**When to use:** If you changed a pose and the mesh **looks strangely stretched** → Disable shows only the **raw mesh**, making it easy to tell **whether it's a skin issue**.

### Reset

1. Test after returning to the **default pose (T-Pose, etc.)**.
2. With skin **enabled**, moving only bones can make the mesh **look stretched** — this is **normal behavior**.
3. **Reset** — restores skin and pose-related data to the **initial state**.

### Delete Skin

- **Deletes weights and the Skin Modifier** from selected meshes.
- **All Skin Delete** — deletes **everything** with skin attached (**difficult to undo**).

### Save · Load (Backup & Restore)

1. **Save** — **saves current weights to a file** (backup, or for moving to another scene).
2. **Load** — **loads a saved file**. Usually **clears existing weights** and applies new ones.
3. On success, the mesh display may **change color** or show a UI indicator (varies by version).

#### Recommended Order

```
Save in between work sessions (backup)
    → If you make a mistake, Load (restore)
    → Save before Delete as well
```

## Rigging Info (Brief)

- You can access the **Rigging Info** panel via a nearby button on the Skin tab or a separate button.
- Mirror, reset, and custom controllers are linked to **registration and Update** here (Ep.10·13).

## Notes

- Always **Save** before **Delete All Skin**.
- Disable/Enable alone does **not erase weight values**. Reset and Delete **change the data**.
- If the **bone count or names** differ from when you saved, **Load may fail** → Skin after **Build/Figure is finalized**.