System and method for animating a digital facial model
First Claim
1. A method for animating facial motion, comprising:
- generating a three-dimensional digital model of an animated face;
defining a virtual muscle structure for the digital model, said virtual muscle structure including plural muscle vectors each respectively defining a plurality of vertices lying along a surface of said digital model in a direction corresponding to that of actual facial muscles;
receiving motion capture data reflecting physical movement of an actor'"'"'s face; and
re-generating said digital model in direct response to said motion capture data to produce an actuation of at least one of said plural muscle vectors that repositions corresponding ones of said plurality of vertices and thereby simulates motion of said digital model that corresponds to said physical movement of the actor'"'"'s face.
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Abstract
A system and method for animating facial motion comprises an animation processor adapted to generate three-dimensional graphical images and having a user interface and a facial performance processing system operative with the animation processor to generate a three-dimensional digital model of an actor'"'"'s face and overlay a virtual muscle structure onto the digital model. The virtual muscle structure includes plural muscle vectors that each respectively define a plurality of vertices along a surface of the digital model in a direction corresponding to actual facial muscles. The facial performance processing system is responsive to an input reflecting selective actuation of at least one of the plural muscle vectors to thereby reposition corresponding ones of the plurality of vertices and re-generate the digital model in a manner that simulates facial motion. The muscle vectors further include an origin point defining a rigid connection of the muscle vector with an underlying structure corresponding to actual cranial tissue, an insertion point defining a connection of the muscle vector with an overlying surface corresponding to actual skin, and interconnection points with other ones of the plural muscle vectors.
89 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for animating facial motion, comprising:
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generating a three-dimensional digital model of an animated face; defining a virtual muscle structure for the digital model, said virtual muscle structure including plural muscle vectors each respectively defining a plurality of vertices lying along a surface of said digital model in a direction corresponding to that of actual facial muscles; receiving motion capture data reflecting physical movement of an actor'"'"'s face; and re-generating said digital model in direct response to said motion capture data to produce an actuation of at least one of said plural muscle vectors that repositions corresponding ones of said plurality of vertices and thereby simulates motion of said digital model that corresponds to said physical movement of the actor'"'"'s face. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for animating facial motion, comprising:
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an animation processor adapted to generate three-dimensional graphical images and having a user interface; a motion capture processor adapted to produce motion capture data reflecting physical movement of an actor'"'"'s face; and a facial performance processing system operative with said animation processor and said motion capture processor to generate a three-dimensional digital model of an animated face and provide a virtual muscle structure for the digital model including plural muscle vectors each respectively defining a plurality of vertices along a surface of said digital model in a direction corresponding to that of actual facial muscles, said facial performance processing system being responsive to said motion capture data to produce selective actuation of at least one of said plural muscle vectors to thereby reposition corresponding ones of said plurality of vertices and re-generate said digital model in a manner that simulates motion of said digital model in correspondence with said physical movement of the actor'"'"'s face. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification