Control of feature-point-driven facial animation using a hypothetical face

A new approach to the generation of a feature-point-driven facial animation is presented. In the proposed approach, a hypothetical face is used to con trol the animation of a face model. The hypothetical face is constructed by connecting some predefined facial feature points to create a net so that e ach facet of the net is represented by a Coon's surface. Deformation of the face model is controlled by changing the shape of the hypothetical face, w hich is performed by changing the locations of feature points and their tan gents. Experimental results show that this hypothetical-face-based method c an generate facial expressions which are visually almost identical to those of a real face.