Abstract: An apparatus and method for representing expression in a tissue-like system, that may include a human face, where the system is particularized to a specified individual. A graphical representation generator implemented in a computer determines a representation, in terms of a finite-element model, of the surface of the tissue of the system, providing a graphic output defining the surface in world coordinates. An expressive detail generator, including a wrinkle generator, modifies the surface determined by the graphical representation generator before the surface has been mapped into world coordinates in accordance with three-dimensional features of the tissue-like system of a particular subject.