Real-time Facial Expression Animation on An Individualized Face Using Adaptive Simulation Algorithm

This paper presents a hierarchical 3D face model of a specific person that conforms to the facial anatomy for realistic facial expression animation and a new fast algorithm for animating high-resolution facial models. Based on the accurate facial mesh reconstructed from the individual facial measurements, we develop a biomechanical face model with hierarchical structure, incorporating the skin, muscle and skull. For computational efficiency, we devise an adaptive simulation algorithm by categorizing the skin nodes into three subsets based on their dynamic characteristics. It uses either a semi-implicit integration scheme or a quasi-static solver to compute the relaxation by traversing the designed data structures in a breadth-first order. The algorithm runs in real-time and successfully synthesizes realistic facial expressions.