Facial Animation Based on Anatomy
By: Michael Aviles
Supervisor: Chad Walker
Masters of Interactive Technology degree conferred June 27, 2008
Thesis / Project completed: June 27, 2008

As an animator you need to know how to create believable motions, especially when it comes to animating a character’s face. I have dedicated the last six months studying facial anatomy and its affects on animation. I studied a variety of human and animal references to develop an understanding of muscle groups and structure and their affect on facial appearance. I then used this information to begin developing a custom-built facial animation rig.

For my project-in-lieu-thesis, I created three different heads loosely based on a goat, a tortoise and a pelican, each with their own unique facial muscular structures. I then rigged them suing my own custom muscle rig. I wanted to create animations that demonstrated how these animals would look and sound in if you saw them in real life. To assist with this I selected audio tracks that matched the looks and personality as well as expressed the tone of each animal.

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