Loading the Front Face Image
To load a front face image, click the Load Image button to the left of the front pane in the Photo Lineup panel. This opens the Load Front Face Image dialog box to help in the alignment of the photo, shown in Figure 9-9. This panel lets you position the front image by clicking once to locate the corner of the right eye and again to locate the corner of the left lip. This dialog box also includes a Flip button that you can use to flip the image about its vertical center. After you click to locate the left corner of the lip, the image is placed in the front pane of the Photo Lineup panel. If you make a mistake, use the Delete Image button to remove the loaded image.

Only specific image formats can be loaded into the Face Room. The accepted image formats include JPG, PNG, BMP, TIF, GIF, and PCX.

Loading the Side Face Image
To load a side face image, click the Load Image button to the left of the side pane in the Photo Lineup panel. This opens the Load Side Face Image dialog box to help in the alignment of the photo, shown in Figure 9-10. This panel lets you position the side image by clicking once to locate the top of the right ear and again to locate the front of the chin. This dialog box also includes a Flip button that you can use to flip the image about its vertical center. After you click to locate the front of the chin, the image is placed in the side pane of the Photo Lineup panel.

Aligning the Face to the Images
Once the face images are loaded into the Photo Lineup panel, a red outline of the 3D head element is projected on top of the images with green dots to mark the key features such as the corners of the eyes, mouth, and nose. Using the Zoom and Pan Image Tools to the left of the front and side panes, you can resize and move the images and using the Rotate, Scale, and Pan Geometry Tools, you can change the outlines to match the images. For the Rotation Tool, you can hold down the Shift key while rotating in the front view to rotate about the X-axis and hold down the Alt key to rotate about the Y-axis. For detailed work, drag the green dots to their correct location. Figure 9-11 shows the results after matching the outline points to the images.

Make the large changes with the face align tools first and then make the smaller detailed changes.

Detailed changes are made by dragging the small green dots to locations on the photos that match the facial features. The cursor will change when you’re over the top of a green dot. Be aware that moving a single dot will also change the adjacent dots. You can undo any green dot movement with the Edit, Undo command or you can reset the entire face with the Reset Face Room button at the top of the Face Preview palette.

It is often easier to manipulate the photos in an image-editing program than to match the figure in the Face Room.

Applying the Face Shape from Photos
Moving the alignment dots in the Photo Lineup panel not only aligns the image with the current head model, but it also defines the shape of the head model. To see the shape changes, enable the Apply Shape option located between the front and side panes. This updates the Preview Window with the new head shape.