Real-Time 3D Facial Subtle Expression Control Based on Blended Normal Maps

Facial expression details can largely enhance the realistic facial animation. In this paper, we proposed a method to realize real-time control of 3D facial subtle expression, such as wrinkles and bulges, based on a set of normal maps. At runtime, we used a kinect to get the animation units for calculating control parameter. Normal blending technology was used to blend the base normal map and the detail normal map. A UV mask was combined with the blended normal map to achieve a good local control of facial subtle facial expression in real time.