Skinning is an excellent money maker in WoW and also provides the raw materials for leatherworking, and some bits and pieces for other professions. Prices on some of the higher level skinned items (eg: Cobra Scales) out price nearly any other gathered item.

Also, since you are going to be killing so many beasts in this game you won't have to do much to make some good cash through your skinning profession, even if the prices get a bit low at times. Skin everything you kill and you won't have to pay much attention to what level your skill is, it will always be high enough, even if you're blasting through the levels.

Note - Players will frequently kill animals which they don't skin, so you can go in and clean up after them, gethering piles of free skins.

Master of Anatomy (MoA) - as your skining skill increases you gain an understanding of Anatomy. This gives you a small bonus to your Critical Strike Rating, not crit chance. If you've maxed out your skinning skill at level 55 (hard, but doable,) then you'll have 40 rating points, which worls out to a nearly 3% crit chance bonus, but at level 80 those 40 rating points are worth just under 1% crit chance. These numbers are good as of patch 3.2.

1. MoA level 1 requires Skinning 75, character level 1, and provides +3 crit rating points.
2. MoA level 2: requiring Skinning 150, character level 1, 6 points crit rating,
3. MoA level 3: Skinning 225, character level 10, 9 rating points
4. MoA level 4 Skinning 300, character level 25, 12 points
5. MoA level 5 Skinning 375, character level 40, 20 points
6. MoA level 6 skinning 450, character level 55, 40 rating points.

Your crit chance is the % chance you have for you strike to be a critical hit.
Each point of crit chance requires a certain number of rating points.

• at level 60 14 points of crit rating = 1% crit chance
• at level 70 it's 22 points rating for 1% chance increase, and
• at level 80 you need 46 rating points for that 1%

To get the Skinning skill simply run to your nearest trainer (ask a guard for location) and don't forget to buy a skinning knife. Then get to work.

1 - 25

Horde

• Undead = Hounds around Brill
• Orcs and Trolls = Mottled Boars and Scorpids around Sen'Jin Village
• Tauren = Prowlers and Plainstriders around Bloodhoof Village

Alliance

• Humans = Boars around Goldshire
• Gnomes and Dwarves = Crag Boars and Wendigo's South of Kharanos
• Night Elves = Nightsabers and critters around Dolanaar

26 - 50

Horde

• Undead = Worgs and Moonrage Gluttons around Silverpine
• Orcs and Trolls = Boars, Scorpids, Crocolisks and Raptors around Orgrimmar
• Tauren = Prowlers and Prairie Wolves around Thunderbluff

Alliance

• Human = Prowlers and Bears around Eastvale Logging Camp
• Gnomes and Dwarves = Wolves around Brenwall Village.
• Night Elves = Moonstalkers and Bears around Auberdine

51 - 100

Horde

• Plainstriders, Raptors and Prowlers around Crossroads.

Alliance

• Humans = Goretusks all around Sentinel Hill.
• Gnomes and Dwarves = Bears and Crocolisks around Thelsamar
• Night Elves = Moonstalkers and Bears North of Auberdine

101 - 130

Horde

• Stormsnouts and Thunderhawks around Camp Taurajo

Alliance

• Crocolisks and Raptors around Bluegill Marsh and Whelgar's Excavation Site
• Whelps and boars around Lakeshire for Alliance.

131 - 150

• Bears and Mountain Lions around Hillsbrad Foothills
• Ravagers and Wolves in Duskwood if you're Alliance.
• Bears, Stags and Ghostpaws in Ashenvale.

151 - 170

• Yeti Cave in Hillsbrad Fields and Mountain Lions on the "Daggers" (these are the bits of land between Hillsbrad and Alterac Mountains, one is called Corrans Dagger, so hence the nickname)
• Hyenas, Lions, Wyvern and Thunderhawks in Thousand Needles
• Bears, Stags and Ghostpaws in Ashenvale.

171 - 180

• Raptors in Arathi Highlands.
• Turtles and Basilisks in The Shimmering Flats.

181 - 220

• Raptors, Panthers and Tigers around Nessingwarys Camp in Stranglethorn Vale. If you're on a PvP server you might want to try the alternatives:
• Raptors and Crocs in Dustwallow Marsh.
• Thunder Lizards, Kodos, Basilisks, Scorpids and Hyenas in Desolace.
• Whelps in Swamp of Sorrows.

221 - 250

• Raptors and Gorillas around the Gurabashi Arena
• Panthers, Jaguars and Crocs in Swamp of Sorrows.
• Dragonkin, Coyotes and Ridge Stalkers/Huntresses in Badlands.
• Wolves around Feathermoon Stronghold in Feralas if your Alliance.

251 - 275

• Snickerfangs and Boars in North Blasted Lands
• Silvermanes and Gryphons in The Hinterlands.
• Stags and Hippogryphs in Azshara.
• Hippogryphs, Apes, Bears, Wolves, Screechers and Yetis in Feralas.

276 - 300

• Jagueros and Gorillas on Jaguero Island (off the east tip of Stranglethorn Vale)
• Yetis, Chimeras and Bears in Winterspring.
• Bears in Western Plaguelands.
• Plaguehounds and Plaguebats in Eastern Plaguelands.
• Turtles by Raventusk Village in The Hinterlands.
• Turtles and Chimeras in Azshara.
• Dragonkin, Worgs and Scorpids in Burning Steppes.

This is a mob level to leather type correlation

• Ruined Leather Scraps: 1-16
• Light Leather: 1-27
• Light Hide: 10-27
• Medium Leather: 15-36
• Medium Hide: 15-36
• Heavy Leather: 25-46
• Heavy Hide: 25-46
• Thick Leather: 35-63
• Thick Hide: 40-59
• Rugged Leather: 43-63
• Rugged Hide: 47-63
• Wind Scales from Scalewings in Bladestorm (pretty uncommon drop)
• Clefthoof Leather from Clefthoofs in Nagrand
• Cobra scales from Cobras in Shadowmoon Valley
• Borean Leather comes from all over Northrend
• Artic Fur is a rare drop (about 1% chance) from any skinnable mob in Northrend.

300-375

Truthfully I'd say that 300 - 375 skill is probably the easiest level range, or at the least the most profitable as well as fun. They provide tons of cash, can be accomplished whilst leveling 60-70, and due to the high mob count in each zone aren't exactly hard to complete. You could possibly hit 375 skill purely within Hellfire Peninsula.

• 301 - 310
  • Hellboars around Hellfire Citadel in Hellfire Peninsula.
• 311 - 330
  • Ravagers around Falcon Watch in Hellfire Peninsula.
• 331 - 350
  • Talbuk's and Clefthoofs all over Nagrand. (you could just as easily continue skinning to 375 here if you want, as it wont take that much longer than going to Netherstorm and skinning Drakes)
• 351 - 375
  • Netherdrakes around Stormspire in Netherstorm or around Netherwing Fields in Shadowmoon Valley or Raptors and Wind Serpents around Blades Edge Mountain

375 - 450

Get your trainng from the first towns in Northrend. While skinning ion the Borean Tundra stay away from the DHETA druids. You may be covered in blood (check your debuffs bar) and they'll attack you on sight if you are. They'll talk to you if you're not covered in blood.

Penn's Professions Guide

With Penn's Professions Guide you have a resource which will show you how to level any skill in WoW as quickly, efficiently, and as cheaply as possible. Let's face it, some of these professions are expensive to level and Penn's will give you the shortcuts. In addition, you will learn which professions work best with each other and which are the best for raking in the gold.

So if you want to level professions other than skinning you should treat yourself to a copy of Penn's Guide and make your profession leveling a lot easier.