Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook

Face controls with lattices

The use of shape keys allows us to model some very specific facial expressions, notably those which produce deformations such as skin folds and creases. By building a shape key library you can interpolate between them to create very convincing facial expressions. The problem is that you're always limited to the size of your library, and building a huge one requires an equally huge amount of time and effort.

A good solution to achieve more freedom when building facial expressions is to add another layer of lattice-based controllers so that the animator can mold the face as desired in real time. This is easier, quicker, and makes your file lighter for not having an insane amount of modeled shapes. But the real benefit ...