Depends on the topology and if you prefer shape keys or bones. There’s a million ways to do this. If you add a screenshot of your wireframe, that will help narrow things down a bit
2 Likes
Where are you getting stuck?
Topology should be good. You might need a few more loops at the eyelids so you can blink. Is the eye spherical? That’s pretty important. Loops could follow cheeks a little better maybe, but it probably won’t be a big deal.
Rigify rig would probably work well for this.
If you want to do it with your own rig, I’d still follow the Rigify model. Circles of bones at mouth, eyes. Assuming circular eye, the Rigify model of stretch-to-marker eye bones is good. Helper bones around the side of the face. You’ll probably want to deviate when it comes to the nose and the ears, which you probably want to focus on more than most Rigify candidate models care about.
Eyes might be trouble because, even if this is a spherical eye, the model is fairly cross-eyed. Imagine you’re tracking an object with they eyes: you have far further allowed to rotate for one eye than you do the other. You may want to do some shrinkwrap stuff, rotating at a point directly behind the irises, and then projecting onto the sclera mesh.
Weights depend on invisibles like how much mesh you have behind the surface (manifold mesh? boundaries at eyes, mouth?) Autoweights can work well or not work well depending on that. If they didn’t work well, I personally would just make a mesh for which they did work well, autoweight that, and then transfer weights.
2 Likes
I tried using rigify actually. And where I’m mostly stuck is the eyes and mouth.
The crosseyes should be an easy fix.
The Rigify channel has been super helpful though. CGDrive. I just cant get the mouth and eyes to deform properly. Maybe adding more loops like you said will help.
After further testing, it seems shape keys yield excellent resutls compared to just bones!
1 Like
Yeah, I prefer shape keys to bones for facial rigs 
I’m glad you found a solution!
Sure. It’s a more “elastic” solution for films and video. But when it comes to real time, especially on target as switch or cell phone… bones are the lighter solution.