Facial Animation in 3D Games and Extended Realities

This book explores how the digital face has become a vital medium of expression, emotion, and identity in contemporary visual culture. Integrating artistic practice, anatomical understanding, and technological innovation, this book charts the evolution of facial animation from traditional rigging and motion capture to the new frontiers of real-time performance and immersive environments. Through close examination of modelling, rigging, capture, and design processes, it reveals how the animated face functions as both an expressive surface and a communicative interface within digital media. Each chapter connects aesthetic analysis with technical insight, connecting creative experimentation to scientific perspectives on motion and expression. Combining creative analysis with production-based case studies, this book provides animators, researchers, and creative technologists with a framework for designing and interpreting digital faces. It demonstrates how facial performance continues to evolve across 3D cinema, interactive games, and extended realities, transforming how we perceive, perform, and connect within virtual worlds.