The Graphic representation of the facial expressions of 3D anthropomorphic characters in the communication of Emotions

Abstract

Anthropomorphism is an extremely important aesthetic resource in animation cinema that attributes human characteristics to non-human objects, events, animals, or fantasy characters. Its diffusion was due to the ease that this technique allows to communicate and create empathy between the public and the character, mainly through facial expressions. However, although important, most studies related to constructive techniques of these resources are present in the literature of comics or in the documentation of two-dimensional (2D) animation processes. Few sources approach structurally the configuration of facial expressions in three-dimensional anthropomorphic (3D) characters, a factor that would bring considerable contribution due to the great diffusion of 3D representation technologies in the projects of cinematic animations. Thus, this article aims to understand and document how facial expressions are created in anthropomorphic characters using 3D modeling techniques. The methodology adopted for this work was bibliographic research addressing principles of human facial expression   and fundamentals of 3D modeling, followed by a case study on the basic configuration of 3D meshes to generate facial expressions if used of Studio Disney characters.