# Ep.3.1 — Faster than AI | Quick Skin

https://youtu.be/BNLfkSGzeRM

## 1. Why this episode

Later episodes introduce Skinning Layer by building Layers one by one — Pelvis, Spine, Arm, and so on. Before that, there is a much faster way to get the same first pass: **Quick Skin**.

This episode shows **Basic** and **Human** Quick Skin for a full-body first pass. The goal is a first pass that is **faster than AI auto-skinning** and **easier to edit** because it is split into Layers.

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## 2. Quick Skin Basic

1. Create an empty Layer.
2. Right-click the Layer → **Quick Skin Base**.
3. Select all Data (meshes) you want to skin.
4. Pick **only the Bones** that should receive Skin Weight. Drop the rest.

If you feed everything, unintended bones can get skinned. Picking only the bones you want improves Quality.

**BipedPlus** already ships a Template that checks skinning bones only. You can also pick bones for your pipeline and **Save As** for reuse. If you use Auto-Rig Pro, MetaHuman, or similar often, tell us and we can add them as default Templates.

After Apply, turn Activate off and dump weight onto Pelvis — the body will not move, but **Quick Skin is already applied**. First-pass Quality is roughly this level; armpits may look soft. Early skinning in 3ds Max, Maya, and Blender starts in a similar range.

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## 3. Quick Skin Human — even faster

**Human** is the faster path added in v1.6.0.

1. Temporarily set Pelvis weight to 1.0.
2. In Quick Skin, choose **Human**.
3. Maps can use the built-in Template, **None**, or **[User]**, and you can save your own.

Bone assignment feels like Maya Human IK. Add regions per Map with **Select Add** (Pelvis, Spine chain, Clavicle/Upperarm, legs, fingers, thigh/calf/foot/toe, neck, head).

Turn on **Mirror last** so Right fills when you add Left. Rules follow Name; pick or create your own. Save as **My Bone Template** so you do not re-enter every time. Game and animation pipelines with stable bone names drop in cleanly.

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## 4. Basic vs Human

Older Basic produced **one** Layer. Human rebuilds the joint weights from Quick Skin into **many Layers**. On a human-type rig it is tuned further, so Quality is usually better than plain Quick Skin.

Even if the armpit looks off, you already have a first pass you can fix quickly per Layer. Voxel / heatmap algorithms already exist in the industry; the pain was getting **one flat map**. Quick Skin Human keeps a solid algorithm but delivers an **editable Layer stack**. You still hand-polish afterward.

We voxel-skin first, then hand you an easy Layer layout. Delete unused Layers, then edit. Fingers move into **Layer Group** in later episodes.

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## 5. Faster than AI?

We researched AI skinning too. As of September 2026, **Voxel Quick Skin + Layer split** felt lighter and more production-ready. It does not demand a heavy PC. If a strong AI model appears later, we will consider it. For now, practical first pass beats elegant theory.

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## 6. What to watch next

Some later videos were shot **before** this feature, so they show building Layers one by one — those still hide useful know-how. Skim them for the idea, then start with **Quick Skin Human**. Creature Templates may come later.

- Workflow: [EP02](/guide/skin-layer-studio/ep02-workflow?lang=en)
- Cross DCC note: [EP2.1](/guide/skin-layer-studio/ep02-1-cross-dcc?lang=en)
- Overview: [EP03](/guide/skin-layer-studio/ep03-overview?lang=en)
- Body work: [EP04](/guide/skin-layer-studio/ep04-body-skinning?lang=en)