If I have a mesh that I've already added Skin data to, but I realize that I need to edit the underlying mesh a bit:

Such as resizing it to fit the proportions better, moving pieces around to remove clipping, or other stuff of that nature, is there any way to do it without removing the actual skinning data? Whenever I try to move my skinned meshes they just move back to where they were... So far I've just been deleting my skinning data, editing the mesh, then moving it again...but somehow I feel like there has to be a better way. Can someone help me out?

For minor edits, you should have no problem cutting the skin modifier, making your changes and then pasting it back in place. So long as you don't add or remove vertexes, or move anything too far, you should be just fine.

i strongly advise NOT touching the skin modifier at all.

instead, place an edit poly modifier under the skin modifier in the stack, and do your edits on the edit poly modifier.

when you export your skinned mesh do not collapse the stack. keep all modifiers active in this order:

BSdismember
Skin
Edit Poly
Editable mesh


if you ever need to edit your UV's atr any time. you must delete the BSdismember from the stack, then add your UVW to the top of the stack, make your edits, then "collapse to", keeping the rest of the stack integrity in place. you will have to redo your BSdismember (but that is much easier than redoing your skin modifier)


if you do your edits outside of an edit poly modifier in the stack, you will have vert issues when using the weight slider for your target morphs

Amethyst you rock! Thanks again!

I wanted to bring up...does scaling affect the skinning?

I do not recommend scaling a skinned mesh in 3DS. besides, if you scale any of the bones individually or whatever, they will revert back to default when you import the model into skyrim, most likely with unintended results.

if you need to make changes to the skeleton rig, you need to also save that skeleton as a separate nif (i haven't done this yet so i am not sure what the process is for it.

afaik, if you want to use a unique skeleton in skyrim i think you have to create a new race

Ah my bad I meant, if in the Edit Poly/Edit Mesh Modifier I scale the mesh, will it cause problems?

I wouldn't touch the bones, just scaling certain parts of the mesh in the Edit Poly modifier...like...making a wolf's fangs smaller, giving a mammoth bigger feet, etc.

it does affect skinning to a certain degree.

lets say for example i have a symmetrical crab skeleton where both claws are the same size, but on my mesh i want to make a fiddler crab where one of the claws is significantly smaller than the other.

scaling the mesh in this case would screw up my deformation, because the bone at full size is driving the shrunken claw mesh as if it was still full size (the "joints" no longer overlap where they should)...


if you are doing small edits (such as the wolf fangs) this will be hardly noticeable and should be ok, especially if the fangs are hard-weighted to a single bone. bigger feet for the mammoth should also be ok, as long as you keep the joints aligned where they should bend

Hm...3D modeling is complex...thank you for the response.

Edit: If I did want to do the fiddler crab thing, how would you go about doing it?

or if like I wanted to make an animal smaller, but all the other proportions were the same?

edits on the skeleton require a new skeleton nif and probably a new race to exclusively use your new skeleton as far as i know (i havent tried this myself).

because if you change the skeleton in 3DS max and base your mesh around your new skeleton, then import it into skyrim, it will always call up the vanilla skeleton and stretch your mesh to the size of the original vanilla skeleton, so the fiddler crab will have 2 claws of equal length, but one will be really deformed looking since it is being forced back into the original arm length on the skeleton.


i will agree though, rigging is a nightmare. i don't know how tech artist can do this on a day to day basis without going postal.