Modeling and Rendering for Realistic Facial Animation

Abstract

Rendering realistic faces and facial expressions requires good models for the reflectance of skin and the motion of the face. We describe a system for modeling, animating, and rendering a face using measured data for geometry, motion, and reflectance, which realistically reproduces the appearance of a particular person’s face and facial expressions. Because we build a complete model that includes geometry and bidirectional reflectance, the face can be rendered under any illumination and viewing conditions. Our face modeling system creates structured face models with correspondences across different faces, which provide a foundation for a variety of facial animation operations.