Exporting Vector Muscles for Facial Animation

In this paper we introduce a method of exporting vector muscles from one 3D face to another for facial animation. Starting from a 3D face with an extended version of Waters' linear muscle system, we transfer the linear muscles to a target 3D face. We also transfer the region division, which is used to increase the performance of the muscle as well as to control the animation. The human involvement is just as simple as selecting the faces which shows the most natural facial expressions in the animator's view. The method allows the transfer of the animation to a new 3D model within a short time. The transferred muscles can then be used to create new animations

Enhanced waters 2D muscle model for facial expression generation

In this paper we present an improved Waters facial model used as an avatar for work published in (Kumar and Vanualailai, 2016), which described a Facial Animation System driven by the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) in a low-bandwidth video streaming setting. FACS defines 32 single Action Units (AUs) which are generated by an underlying muscle action that interact in different ways to create facial expressions. Because FACS AU describes atomic facial distortions using facial muscles, a face model that can allow AU mappings to be applied directly on the respective muscles is desirable. Hence for this task we choose the Waters anatomy-based face model due to its simplicity and implementation of pseudo muscles. However Waters face model is limited in its ability to create realistic expressions mainly the lack of a function to represent sheet muscles, unrealistic jaw rotation function and improper implementation of sphincter muscles. Therefore in this work we provide enhancements to the Waters facial model by improving its UI, adding sheet muscles, providing an alternative implementation to the jaw rotation function, presenting a new sphincter muscle model that can be used around the eyes and changes to operation of the sphincter muscle used around the mouth

FACe! 3D Facial Animation System based on FACS

In this paper we present a 3D facial animation system named FACe! It is able to generate different expressions of the face throughout punctual and combined activation of Action Units, defined by Facial Acting Coding System(FACS). This system is implemented on a 3D human head controlled by bones, riggers and skinning to deform the geometry. The bone system is implemented in order to move single or combined Action Units, so that they can implement superior layers such as expressions, phonemes, words, emotions and the synchronization of all them together.Postprint (published version

A framework for automatic and perceptually valid facial expression generation

Facial expressions are facial movements reflecting the internal emotional states of a character or in response to social communications. Realistic facial animation should consider at least two factors: believable visual effect and valid facial movements. However, most research tends to separate these two issues. In this paper, we present a framework for generating 3D facial expressions considering both the visual the dynamics effect. A facial expression mapping approach based on local geometry encoding is proposed, which encodes deformation in the 1-ring vector. This method is capable of mapping subtle facial movements without considering those shape and topological constraints. Facial expression mapping is achieved through three steps: correspondence establishment, deviation transfer and movement mapping. Deviation is transferred to the conformal face space through minimizing the error function. This function is formed by the source neutral and the deformed face model related by those transformation matrices in 1-ring neighborhood. The transformation matrix in 1-ring neighborhood is independent of the face shape and the mesh topology. After the facial expression mapping, dynamic parameters are then integrated with facial expressions for generating valid facial expressions. The dynamic parameters were generated based on psychophysical methods. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed methods have been tested using various face models with different shapes and topological representations

THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELING AND ANIMATION OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Facial expression and animation are important aspects of the 3D environment featuring human characters. These animations are frequently used in many kinds of applications and there have been many efforts to increase the realism. Three aspects are still stimulating active research: the detailed subtle facial expressions, the process of rigging a face, and the transfer of an expression from one person to another. This dissertation focuses on the above three aspects. A system for freely designing and creating detailed, dynamic, and animated facial expressions is developed. The presented pattern functions produce detailed and animated facial expressions. The system produces realistic results with fast performance, and allows users to directly manipulate it and see immediate results. Two unique methods for generating real-time, vivid, and animated tears have been developed and implemented. One method is for generating a teardrop that continually changes its shape as the tear drips down the face. The other is for generating a shedding tear, which is a kind of tear that seamlessly connects with the skin as it flows along the surface of the face, but remains an individual object. The methods both broaden CG and increase the realism of facial expressions. A new method to automatically set the bones on facial/head models to speed up the rigging process of a human face is also developed. To accomplish this, vertices that describe the face/head as well as relationships between each part of the face/head are grouped. The average distance between pairs of vertices is used to place the head bones. To set the bones in the face with multi-density, the mean value of the vertices in a group is measured. The time saved with this method is significant. A novel method to produce realistic expressions and animations by transferring an existing expression to a new facial model is developed. The approach is to transform the source model into the target model, which then has the same topology as the source model. The displacement vectors are calculated. Each vertex in the source model is mapped to the target model. The spatial relationships of each mapped vertex are constrained

Creative tools for producing realistic 3D facial expressions and animation

Creative exploration of realistic 3D facial animation is a popular but very challenging task due to the high level knowledge and skills required. This forms a barrier for creative individuals who have limited technical skills but wish to explore their creativity in this area. This paper proposes a new technique that facilitates users’ creative exploration by hiding the technical complexities of producing facial expressions and animation. The proposed technique draws on research from psychology, anatomy and employs Autodesk Maya as a use case by developing a creative tool, which extends Maya’s Blend Shape Editor. User testing revealed that novice users in the creative media, employing the proposed tool can produce rich and realistic facial expressions that portray new interesting emotions. It reduced production time by 25% when compared to Maya and by 40% when compared to 3DS Max equivalent tools

Animação de personagens 3D - expressão facial

Durante os últimos anos, emergiu um interesse crescente em animação 3D de caracteres e expressões faciais. EsTe facto está relacionado com a nova participação de actores virtuais em televisão, cinema e indústrias de jogos interactivos, entre outros. Nestes casos, o objectivo principal é criar personagens virtuais que simulam o corpo e todos os detalhes de movimento do rosto, da forma mais realista possível. Neste artigo é efectuada uma revisão dos métodos mais usados na animação 3D. O método base do esqueleto é o mais utilizado para criar os movimentos principais, como o andar, por exemplo; os métodos base de mistura de formas são usados para criar deformações mais subtis. Em áreas que exigem um maior controlo e realismo, como alguns músculos do rosto, é possível adicionar camadas de deformação. Normalmente, curvas de NURBS ou grelhas de FFD são usadas para realçar algumas características do rosto. Os vários métodos têm vantagens e desvantagens. Assim, a melhor solução é combinar as diferentes técnicas