# Arc2Avatar: Generating Expressive 3D Avatars from a Single Image via ID Guidance

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.05379 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.05379/

## Key facts

- Cited by 16 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 86 of its 105 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 9 Jan 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 86)

- [Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00020/) (2021)
- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09685/) (2021)
- [Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02502/) (2020)
- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [DreamBooth: Fine Tuning Text-to-Image Diffusion Models for Subject-Driven Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.12242/) (2022)
- [DreamFusion: Text-to-3D using 2D Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14988/) (2022)
- [An Image is Worth One Word: Personalizing Text-to-Image Generation using Textual Inversion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.01618/) (2022)
- [Zero-1-to-3: Zero-shot One Image to 3D Object](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.11328/) (2023)
- [IP-Adapter: Text Compatible Image Prompt Adapter for Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.06721/) (2023)
- [ProlificDreamer: High-Fidelity and Diverse Text-to-3D Generation with Variational Score Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16213/) (2023)
- [Efficient Geometry-aware 3D Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.07945/) (2021)
- [Multi-Concept Customization of Text-to-Image Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.04488/) (2022)
- [MVDream: Multi-view Diffusion for 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.16512/) (2023)
- [DreamGaussian: Generative Gaussian Splatting for Efficient 3D Content Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.16653/) (2023)
- [Wonder3D: Single Image to 3D using Cross-Domain Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.15008/) (2023)
- [Fantasia3D: Disentangling Geometry and Appearance for High-quality Text-to-3D Content Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13873/) (2023)
- [SyncDreamer: Generating Multiview-consistent Images from a Single-view Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.03453/) (2023)
- [Dynamic Neural Radiance Fields for Monocular 4D Facial Avatar Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.03065/) (2020)
- [Deep Marching Tetrahedra: a Hybrid Representation for High-Resolution 3D Shape Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04276/) (2021)
- [InstantID: Zero-shot Identity-Preserving Generation in Seconds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07519/) (2024)
- [CAT3D: Create Anything in 3D with Multi-View Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.10314/) (2024)
- [Magic123: One Image to High-Quality 3D Object Generation Using Both 2D and 3D Diffusion Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.17843/) (2023)
- [PhotoMaker: Customizing Realistic Human Photos via Stacked ID Embedding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.04461/) (2023)
- [ReconFusion: 3D Reconstruction with Diffusion Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02981/) (2023)
- [FastComposer: Tuning-Free Multi-Subject Image Generation with Localized Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10431/) (2023)
- [Rodin: A Generative Model for Sculpting 3D Digital Avatars Using Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.06135/) (2022)
- [LucidDreamer: Towards High-Fidelity Text-to-3D Generation via Interval Score Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.11284/) (2023)
- [3D Morphable Face Models -- Past, Present and Future](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.01815/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [FastAvatar: Instant 3D Gaussian Splatting for Faces from Single Unconstrained Poses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.18389/) (2025)
- [FastAvatar: Towards Unified and Fast 3D Avatar Reconstruction with Large Gaussian Reconstruction Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19754/) (2025)
- [PercHead: Perceptual Head Model for Single-Image 3D Head Reconstruction & Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.02777/) (2025)
- [ImHead: A Large-scale Implicit Morphable Model for Localized Head Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.10793/) (2025)
- [Controlling Avatar Diffusion with Learnable Gaussian Embedding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.15809/) (2025)
- [SpinMeRound: Consistent Multi-View Identity Generation Using Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10716/) (2025)
- [ID-Consistent, Precise Expression Generation with Blendshape-Guided Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.04706/) (2025)
- [ArchitectHead: Continuous Level of Detail Control for 3D Gaussian Head Avatars](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.05488/) (2025)
- [Any3DAvatar: Fast and High-Quality Full-Head 3D Avatar Reconstruction from Single Portrait Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.13856/) (2026)
- [SIE3D: Single-Image Expressive 3D Avatar Generation via Semantic Embedding and Perceptual Expression Loss](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.24004/) (2025)
- [STARCaster: Spatio-Temporal AutoRegressive Video Diffusion for Identity- and View-Aware Talking Portraits](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.13247/) (2025)
- [FaceParts: Segmentation and Editing of Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.13853/) (2026)
- [Splatshot: 3D Face Avatar Generation from a Single Unconstrained Photo](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.01493/) (2026)
- [Discovering Geometric Biases in 3D Face Reconstruction: A Curvature-Aware Spectral Framework for Fairness Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.07486/) (2026)
- [AvatarDynamizer: From Static to Dynamic Human Avatars via Generative Dynamic Textures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.19900/) (2026)
- [Source-Face Authenticity Detection for 3D Gaussian Heads Reconstructed from a Single Portrait: A Benchmark and Dedicated Detector](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.23984/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Inspired by the effectiveness of 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) in reconstructing detailed 3D scenes within multi-view setups and the emergence of large 2D human foundation models, we introduce Arc2Avatar, the first SDS-based method utilizing a human face foundation model as guidance with just a single image as input. To achieve that, we extend such a model for diverse-view human head generation by fine-tuning on synthetic data and modifying its conditioning. Our avatars maintain a dense correspondence with a human face mesh template, allowing blendshape-based expression generation. This is achieved through a modified 3DGS approach, connectivity regularizers, and a strategic initialization tailored for our task. Additionally, we propose an optional efficient SDS-based correction step to refine the blendshape expressions, enhancing realism and diversity. Experiments demonstrate that Arc2Avatar achieves state-of-the-art realism and identity preservation, effectively addressing color issues by allowing the use of very low guidance, enabled by our strong identity prior and initialization strategy, without compromising detail. Please visit https://arc2avatar.github.io for more resources.