Cost-efficient 3D face reconstruction from a single 2D image

Abstract

We propose a three-dimensional (3D) face-modelling method from a single two-dimensional (2D) face image using a gallery of 2D face images and their corresponding 3D face models. Unlike existing methods, which require human effort, we provide a simple way to reconstruct 3D face models without user interaction. Our main approach is based on the idea that a particular coefficient that linearly combines vectors of 2D face images and outputs a vector that approximates the input image vector in terms of the vector norm can be reused in 3D models. Therefore, the pair of a 2D image and its 3D model plays an important role in our algorithm. Using the FaceGen software allows us to avoid the employed in previous works procedure whereby the 3D model is generated in a labor-intensive, expensive way. As a result, we are able to easily establish our 2D and 3D database. In this paper, we present a method for adopting the coefficients in 3D models and demonstrate the results of our algorithm.