Abstract

This paper presents an example-based method to interpret a 3D shape from a single image depicting that shape. A ma jor difficulty in applying an example-based approach to shape interpretation is the combinatorial explosion of shape possibilities that occur at occluding contours. Our key technical contribution is a new shape patch repre- sentation and corresponding pairwise compatibility terms that allow for flexible matching of overlapping patches, avoiding the combinatorial ex- plosion by allowing patches to explain only the parts of the image they best fit. We infer the best set of localized shape patches over a graph of keypoints at multiple scales to produce a discontinuous shape represen- tation we term a shape col lage. To reconstruct a smooth result, we fit a surface to the collage using the predicted confidence of each shape patch. We demonstrate the method on shapes depicted in line drawing, diffuse and glossy shading, and textured styles.