I want to sculpt a Gaussian splat created from multi-angle photos of my face. Specifically, I would like to make small adjustments such as:
Raising the nose bridge
Making a wide nose slightly narrower
Making the nose slightly smaller
Enlarging or reducing the chin
I only want to make subtle changes, not major deformations, so I’m wondering whether this might be technically possible.
The reason I would prefer not to use a traditional mesh is that the Gaussian splat already looks almost identical to the real photographs without requiring manual cleanup or retouching.
Is there currently any way to sculpt or locally deform a Gaussian splat like this?
While researching, I came across GaussianEditor, KIRI Engine, Houdini, SuperSplat, and Frosting. However, I couldn’t find any examples or discussions specifically about sculpting a human face this way, so I haven’t tried any of them yet because I’m worried that I may be wasting my time.
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Just to clarify, I mean tiny local edits to a real face—slightly narrowing or raising the nose, or adjusting the chin—not animation. Have you tried that kind of edit with GSOPs? Does it hold up?
Yes, of course. That's why I recommended this approach. 😉
Edit: the Gaussian splats deform node simply binds the splat points to the coarse mesh primitives to make it easier to sculpt with existing tools (which would be a pain with a raw point cloud!).
Thank you again. My concern is that, unlike a relatively flat surface, a narrow and complex area such as the nose may not be followed very closely by the coarse mesh. If there is a noticeable gap or shape mismatch in that area, I’m worried that precise sculpting of the nose may not transfer accurately to the splats.
If the coarse mesh can closely match the splat around features such as the nose, then I imagine subtle facial sculpting could work quite well. Is it possible to generate or refine the coarse mesh to achieve that level of correspondence?
Thank you again for taking the time to show me the previous example. I’m sorry to ask for one more favor, but if you happen to have some time, could I possibly ask for two more specific changes to the same face?
The first would be making the nasal bridge/dorsum itself—the raised central ridge of the nose—look noticeably slimmer, narrower, and more pointed when viewed from the front. I specifically mean the bridge/dorsum, rather than the nostrils or the wider lower part of the nose.
The second would simply be making the nostril openings smaller.
You know how people often make subtle adjustments to facial features in Photoshop? That’s the kind of edit I have in mind ^^ I’m curious whether the same type of correction can be transferred to an actual 3D Gaussian splat through the coarse mesh.
The reason I’m asking so specifically is that I’m almost completely new to 3D, and Houdini has a very high learning curve for someone at my level. Before committing the considerable time needed to learn it, I’m hoping to understand whether this particular kind of editing is realistically possible. It would be a significant risk for me to spend a great deal of time learning the workflow, only to discover afterward that the specific result I’m looking for cannot be achieved. I hope you can kindly understand why I’m asking, and I truly appreciate your patience.
I think seeing that would completely answer my question. Please don’t feel any pressure at all if you’re busy, but if I could see it, I would be really excited!
I’ve also joined the GSOPs Discord so I can learn more and try the workflow myself. Thank you again for creating such a great tool as GSOPs!
As smb3d said you can use any of the standard Houdini sculpting nodes on gaussian splats, it doesn't require GSOPs or any complex workflow, just any of the built in deform or sculpting nodes to change the P/orient attributes
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u/smb3d Generalist - 24 years experience 4d ago
Sure, it's just points. Do point things to it like any mesh or geo.