Data-Driven 3D Facial Animation systematically describes the important techniques developed over the last ten years or so. Comprehensive in scope, the book provides an up-to-date reference source for those working in the facial animation field.

Data-Driven 3D Facial Animation systematically describes the important techniques developed over the last ten years or so. Although 3D facial animation is used more and more in the entertainment industries, to date there have been very few books that address the techniques involved. Comprehensive in scope, the book covers not only traditional lip-sync (speech animation), but also expressive facial motion, facial gestures, facial modeling, editing and sketching, and facial animation transferring. It provides an up-to-date reference source for academic research and for professionals working in the facial animation field.

Provides several examples of applications using the MPEG-4 Facial Animation standard, including video and speech analysis. Covers the implementation of the standard on both the encoding and decoding side. Contributors includes individuals instrumental in the standardization process.

The CAPTECH'98 workshop took place at the University of Geneva on November 26–27, 1998, sponsored by FIP Working Group 5.10 (Computer Graphics and Virtual Worlds) and the Suisse Romande regional doctoral seminar in computer science. The subject of the conference was ongoing research in data capture and interpretation. The goals of capturing real world data in order to perceive, understand, and interpret them and then reacting to them in a suitable way are currently important research problems. These data can be very diverse: sounds, emotions, shapes, motions, forces, muscles, actions, etc. Once captured, they have to be treated either to make the invisible visible, or to understand a particular phenomenon so as to formulate an appropriate reaction, or to integrate various information in a new multimedia format. The conference included six sessions of presented papers and three panel discussions. Invited speakers treating various aspects of the topic were: Professor R. Earnshaw from Bradford University, Professor T. L. Kunii from Hosei University, and Professor P. Robert from EPFL. Professor K. Bauknecht, of the University of Zürich, President of IFIP, offered the welcoming address. Mr. E. Badique, project officer for the EU in Brussels, discussed recent results of the EU ACTS research program. Finally, the Geneva Computer Animation '98 Film Festival highlighted the evening of November 26.

Virtual Humans are becoming more and more popular and used in many applications such as the entertainment industry (in both film and games) and medical applications. This comprehensive book covers all areas of this growing industry including face and body motion, body modelling, hair simulation, expressive speech simulation and facial communication, interaction with 3D objects, rendering skin and clothes and the standards for Virtual Humans. Written by a team of current and former researchers at MIRALab, University of Geneva or VRlab, EPFL, this book is the definitive guide to the area. Explains the concept of avatars and autonomous virtual actors and the main techniques to create and animate them (body and face). Presents the concepts of behavioural animation, crowd simulation, intercommunication between virtual humans, and interaction between real humans and autonomous virtual humans Addresses the advanced topics of hair representation and cloth animation with applications in fashion design Discusses the standards for Virtual Humans, such as MPEG-4 Face Animation and MPEG-4 Body Animation.

"No other book to date presents facial animation concepts, theory, and practical application with the authority that Stop Staring does." —TIEM Design Crafting believable facial animation is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding aspects of 3D graphics. Done right, this art breathes life into otherwise deadpan faces. In this extraordinary book, professional animator Jason Osipa teaches you how to achieve realistic facial modeling and animation. Using detailed practical examples complemented with high-quality images and a touch of humor, Osipa leads you from design and modeling to rigging and animation. The CD and full-color insert demonstrate techniques you can use to fine-tune your facial animations. Reviewed and approved by Alias|Wavefront, Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right, uses the Academy Award(r) winning Maya(r) 3D animation and effects software as the focus for its examples, yet the principles and techniques are described in ways that will be helpful to anyone working on facial modeling and animation. Mastering the Face Start out by getting familiar with the range of possible facial expressions, then focus on animating and modeling the mouth, eyes and brows. When you're ready to bring it all together, you can generate a scene from concept to completion. Topics covered include: Understanding how the whole face affects expression Learning visimes and lip sync techniques Constructing a mouth and mouth keys Building emotion through the eyes and brows Building interfaces to easily connect and control your models Skeletal setup, weighting, and rigging Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.