{"id":322,"date":"2024-01-02T11:25:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T11:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/?p=322"},"modified":"2024-01-03T17:54:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T17:54:24","slug":"create-your-own-3d-avatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/?p=322","title":{"rendered":"Create Your Own 3D Avatar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Photoface&#x2122; 3D is a SitePal\u00ae feature that enables you to create your own 3D character from a photo. To access this feature, open the SitePal Editor, and in the \u2018Models\u2019 tab click on \u2018Create Your Own\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"961\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image1-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image1-1.png 961w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image1-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image1-1-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px\" \/><figcaption>Photoface 3D is available with the Gold Plan &amp; higher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post we would like to share best practices and tips that should help you make the most of this unique feature. Getting good results with Photoface 3D is partly due to optimal photo selection, and partly to acquired skill with the creation process. We will discuss both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I. Photo Selection Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your first rule &#8211; pick photos that meet our guidelines &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Mouth closed (no teeth showing) &#8211; smile is ok<\/li><li>Face looking forward, directly at the camera<\/li><li>High quality, hi-resolution photo (more about this below)<\/li><li>Evenly lit &amp; in focus &#8211; no shadows on the face<\/li><li>No eyeglasses, hair or other obstructions over the face. Facial hair should not be a problem.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>High hair (a bun or Afro for example) can cause problems and should be avoided. Long flowing hair should not be a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"961\" height=\"367\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image2-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image2-1.png 961w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image2-1-300x115.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image2-1-768x293.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Optimal Resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what is the right resolution to use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use a low resolution image \u2013 and your character may appear pixelated (grainy) when displayed on your web page. Use too high a resolution &#8211; and you\u2019d be adding weight (download size) to your character unnecessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rule of thumb is roughly 1000 x 1000 pixels for the area immediately surrounding the face (while the photo itself may be larger). There is not much value to be gained by using a higher resolution, because on most screens it is unlikely that that these extra pixels will come into play. But if your implementation has unique viewing characteristics, do the math &amp; decide for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image3-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image3-2.png 960w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image3-2-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image3-2-768x454.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Image Composition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We suggest to use a photo that displays at least the upper part of the body, not just the head. For best results the body should be visible from below the chest &amp; up. This will allow you to create a character with a large enough portion of the body, which will enable more flexibility when positioning on your web page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background \u2013 does it matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Photoface 3D process does a pretty good job identifying the persons\u2019 outline &amp; auto-removing the background. But having a complex, noisy background can sometimes cause problems. While we do not require it, if you have the option we encourage the use of a uniform color background in your photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pre-Edit the Image<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being fluent in Photoshop can be an advantage in certain cases. For example &#8211; a short neck (or no neck) photo can cause the shoulders to animate when the face moves. Sometimes that works well, and other times not so much. In those cases editing the photo by adding or extending the neck can help resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another example is the so called &#8220;high hair&#8221; scenario. In some images, the face might be slightly inclined forward, resulting in the upper scalp occupying a bit more of the vertical length of the face than it normally would. This can result in visual problems when the Avatar animates. Sometimes it can be addressed by adjusting the Camera Angle setting (see below). But it can also be improved by trimming the upper scalp. This phenomena can exacerbated when the face shape is long and narrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"340\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image4-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image4-1.png 340w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image4-1-273x300.png 273w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption>A long narrow face can result in \u201chigh-hair\u201d distortion \u2013 slight trim of the upper scalp may help<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Special Cases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that a photo may not work very well despite satisfying all requirements. Sometimes it is best to simply select a different photo. The opposite is also true &#8211; we sometimes see great results with faces that are off center, looking slightly sideways, or wearing eyeglasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photoface 3D technology is optimized to the proportions of a \u201cnormal\u201d human face. Faces with unusual proportions may not work very well. For example \u2013 an alien face with exceptional large or protruding eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite that, we sometimes see customers achieve surprisingly good results with images of inanimate objects. A customer recently shared with us a very lovely \u201ccarrot face\u201d, created by anthropomorphing an image of a carrot. We encourage you to use your imagination \u2013 but bear in mind that the tool was designed for human facial proportions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"780\" height=\"532\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image5-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image5-1.png 780w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image5-1-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image5-1-768x524.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption>Example of inanimate image that works nicely<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>II. The <\/strong><strong>Photoface<\/strong><strong> Editor \u2013 Suggestions &amp; Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you click on \u201cCreate Your Own\u201d and initiate the Photoface process, there are 4 steps to go through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Image upload &amp; positioning<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Anchor points placement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Masking the image<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. Finalizing your characters\u2019 settings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 1 \u2013 Rotate &amp; Scale<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the first step, your uploaded image is scaled and positioned automatically. Treat this initial positioning as a \u201cfirst approximation\u201d. It is up to you to fine-tune it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rotation: be sure to position the face with the eyes horizontally aligned. In some photos the mouth and the &#8220;eye line&#8221; are not parallel &#8211; your priority should be to align the eyes. The mouth can be fine-tuned later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scale: As you position the photo in the frame, you may want to zoom out a bit, to allow more of the body into the frame. This positioning determines your final character\u2019s visible extent. If the body is cut too short it may limit later positioning on your web page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"961\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image6-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image6-1.png 961w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image6-1-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image6-1-768x456.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px\" \/><figcaption>Make sure the eyes are horizontally aligned, adjust mouth later<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 2 \u2013 Anchor Point Placement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the second step we auto-position the anchor points for you based on facial image analysis. This should also be considered an \u201cinitial approximation\u201d for you to review and edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the positioning in the sample picture &amp; adjust the points carefully as needed. The auto-placement frequently requires manual fine-tuning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"961\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image7-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image7-1.png 961w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image7-1-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image7-1-768x476.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px\" \/><figcaption>Sometimes initial point positioning is off \u2013 always check and adjust<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 3 \u2013 Masking the Image<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend going with the deafult settings in this step, unless you have good reason not to. Automasking works well in most cases, and produces better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 4 \u2013 Final Settings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the final step, detailed tools are provided to help you get the mouth just right. Try them out repeatedly, until you get a good feel for how each setting affects the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you may need to extend the mouth slit &#8211; not too wide, and not too narrow, to enable the mouth to open naturally. You may need to position the mouth slit off center &amp; play around with its curvature and vertical location. Faces are never symmetrical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the slider for teeth whiteness. Avoid teeth that are too bright &#8211; a good rule of thumb is to match the whites of the eyes in the photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;Camera Angle&#8221; setting can be very helpful. Play around with it to get a good feel for its effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many times a face appears perfectly natural in the photo, and it is not immediately obvious that the photo was taken from slightly below the facial plain. This may cause the upper part of the head to stretch unnaturally as the head moves &amp; can be a particular problem with naturally elongated faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adjusting the camera angle can compensate &amp; resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"920\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image8-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image8-1.png 920w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image8-1-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/wp-sp-blog\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pp3d-image8-1-768x405.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Comments? Questions? Send us a note to: support@sitepal.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photoface&#x2122; 3D is a SitePal\u00ae feature that enables you to create your own 3D character from a photo. To access this feature, open the SitePal Editor, and in the \u2018Models\u2019 tab click on \u2018Create Your Own\u2019. In this post we would like to share best practices and tips that should help you make the most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sitepal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}