FaceGen

FaceGen
Type middleware for 3D modeling
Website www.facegen.com

FaceGen is a 3D face-generating 3D modeling middleware produced by Singular Inversions. It is used where there is a need for a large number of different possible faces, either at random or from photographs. The most notable examples of its use are for player character creation in Tiger Woods PGA Tour (photo game face), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the Football Manager series, and for the character models used in Red vs. Blue season 9 and upwards.

It is also used by various police departments to make 3D models of suspects. According to the company, the software is far more useful in making police sketches than the various 2D software still being used in many places, due to its ability to render accurate 3D models of people with far more options to choose from, in order to create very detailed images.

Another use is stimulus generation for social psychology research. Advantages of its use (compared to using natural photos) is that a large number of stimuli can be generated easily, while the faces can be either matched or varied systematically on characteristics such as race, gender, and caricature, eye gaze, and head position.

Approach

Although FaceGen generates conventional 3D mesh data, it uses a "parameterized" approach to defining the properties that make up a face, and by using a fixed set of parameters it is able to morph and modify a face model independently of output resolution. FaceGen 3.3 allows the user to randomize, tween, normalize and exaggerate faces, and also includes algorithms for adjusting apparent age, ethnicity and gender. It also allows limited parametric control of facial expressions, and includes a set of phoneme expressions for the animation of characters with "speaking" roles.

FaceGen can also generate 3D models from front and side images of a face, or by analyzing a single photograph.

Free version

A free "evaluation" version of FaceGen 3.5 can be downloaded from the company's website, and allows the user to create, edit, load and save files in the program's proprietary ".fg" format. The free version features the same functionality of the paid version, except that it is unable to export mesh data for use in generic computer-modeling programs.

FaceGen Exporter

In November 2011, FaceGen Exporter DG 1 was released, which allows FaceGen facial models to be used with Daz Studio 4. At present Exporter works only with Daz Studio's Genesis model.

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