# Head360: Learning a Parametric 3D Full-Head for Free-View Synthesis in 360deg

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.00296 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.00296/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 46 of its 71 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 46)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Deep Features as a Perceptual Metric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03924/) (2018)
- [A Style-Based Generator Architecture for Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04948/) (2018)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.00667/) (2022)
- [Analyzing and Improving the Image Quality of StyleGAN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04958/) (2019)
- [InstructPix2Pix: Learning to Follow Image Editing Instructions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.09800/) (2022)
- [Efficient Geometry-aware 3D Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.07945/) (2021)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis and Semantic Manipulation with Conditional GANs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.11585/) (2017)
- [GIRAFFE: Representing Scenes as Compositional Generative Neural Feature Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.12100/) (2020)
- [pi-GAN: Periodic Implicit Generative Adversarial Networks for 3D-Aware Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.00926/) (2020)
- [BiSeNet: Bilateral Segmentation Network for Real-time Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1808.00897/) (2018)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks: An Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.07035/) (2017)
- [Instruct-NeRF2NeRF: Editing 3D Scenes with Instructions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12789/) (2023)
- [StyleNeRF: A Style-based 3D-Aware Generator for High-resolution Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.08985/) (2021)
- [GAN Inversion: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.05278/) (2021)
- [Rodin: A Generative Model for Sculpting 3D Digital Avatars Using Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.06135/) (2022)
- [BiSeNet V2: Bilateral Network with Guided Aggregation for Real-time Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.02147/) (2020)
- [3D Morphable Face Models -- Past, Present and Future](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.01815/) (2019)
- [HeadNeRF: A Real-time NeRF-based Parametric Head Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05637/) (2021)
- [Disentangled and Controllable Face Image Generation via 3D Imitative-Contrastive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.11660/) (2020)
- [GRAM: Generative Radiance Manifolds for 3D-Aware Image Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.08867/) (2021)
- [A Review on Generative Adversarial Networks: Algorithms, Theory, and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.06937/) (2020)
- [Fake It Till You Make It: Face analysis in the wild using synthetic data alone](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.15102/) (2021)
- [FaceScape: a Large-scale High Quality 3D Face Dataset and Detailed Riggable 3D Face Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.13989/) (2020)
- [Nonlinear 3D Face Morphable Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.03786/) (2018)
- [Face Alignment in Full Pose Range: A 3D Total Solution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.01005/) (2018)
- [Next3D: Generative Neural Texture Rasterization for 3D-Aware Head Avatars](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.11208/) (2022)
- [DCFace: Synthetic Face Generation with Dual Condition Diffusion Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07060/) (2023)
- [Collaborative Diffusion for Multi-Modal Face Generation and Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.10530/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [IDOL: Instant Photorealistic 3D Human Creation from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.14963/) (2024)
- [PanoLAM: Large Avatar Model for Gaussian Full-Head Synthesis from One-shot Unposed Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.07552/) (2025)
- [HyPlaneHead: Rethinking Tri-plane-like Representations in Full-Head Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.16748/) (2025)
- [Towards Native Generative Model for 3D Head Avatar](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.01226/) (2024)
- [TeRA: Rethinking Text-guided Realistic 3D Avatar Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.02466/) (2025)
- [EmoDiffTalk:Emotion-aware Diffusion for Editable 3D Gaussian Talking Head](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.05991/) (2025)
- [ViewMask-1-to-3: Multi-View Consistent Image Generation via Multimodal Discrete Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.14099/) (2025)
- [Head Similarity: Modeling Structured Whole-Head Appearance Beyond Face Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.07766/) (2026)
- [ManifoldSplat: Language-Guided Semantic Shape Editing of 3D Gaussian Head Avatars](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.03599/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Creating a 360deg parametric model of a human head is a very challenging task. While recent advancements have demonstrated the efficacy of leveraging synthetic data for building such parametric head models, their performance remains inadequate in crucial areas such as expression-driven animation, hairstyle editing, and text-based modifications. In this paper, we build a dataset of artist-designed high-fidelity human heads and propose to create a novel parametric 360deg renderable parametric head model from it. Our scheme decouples the facial motion/shape and facial appearance, which are represented by a classic parametric 3D mesh model and an attached neural texture, respectively. We further propose a training method for decompositing hairstyle and facial appearance, allowing free-swapping of the hairstyle. A novel inversion fitting method is presented based on single image input with high generalization and fidelity. To the best of our knowledge, our model is the first parametric 3D full-head that achieves 360deg free-view synthesis, image-based fitting, appearance editing, and animation within a single model. Experiments show that facial motions and appearances are well disentangled in the parametric space, leading to SOTA performance in rendering and animating quality. The code and SynHead100 dataset are released at https://nju-3dv.github.io/projects/Head360.