3D Linear Facial Animation Based on Real Data

In this paper we introduce a Facial Animation system using real three-dimensional models of people, acquired by a 3D scanner. We consider a dataset composed by models displaying different facial expressions and a linear interpolation technique is used to produce a smooth transition between them. One-to-one correspondences between the meshes of each facial expression are required in order to apply the interpolation process. Instead of focusing in the computation of dense correspondence, some points are selected and a triangulation is defined, being refined by consecutive subdivisions, that compute the matchings of intermediate points. We are able to animate any model of the dataset, given its texture information for the neutral face and the geometry information for all the expressions along with the neutral face. This is made by computing matrices with the variations of every vertex when changing from the neutral face to the other expressions. The knowledge of the matrices obtained in this process makes it possible to animate other models given only the texture and geometry information of the neutral face. Furthermore, the system uses 3D reconstructed models, being capable of generating a three-dimensional facial animation from a single 2D image of a person. Also, as an extension of the system, we use artificial models that contain expressions of visemes, that are not part of the expressions of the dataset, and their displacements are applied to the real models. This allows these models to be given as input to a speech synthesis application in which the face is able to speak phrases typed by the user. Finally, we generate an average face and increase the displacements between a subject from the dataset and the average face, creating, automatically, a caricature of the subject.