Learning how to retopologize a model to make skinning easier was not something I started doing until later in my career, which is unfortunate because it can be such a time saver!
In this quick video tutorial, I’ll go over the basics of Maya’s retopology tools and how you can use retopology to build yourself a mesh that is quicker and easier to skin weight, then transfer those weights over.
Note: There are many methods of transferring skin weights. I personally like the utility found in Zoo Tools, because it is easiest in that I do not have to create a skinCluster before copying weights. That said, if you want to stick with the tools Maya provides, there are plenty of options available.