Thanks for the detailed response Jay. Using different displacements maps - that sounds like a complex (but thorough) method. Is it necessary in your experience? Given that the blend shapes will be a smile, frown, a bicep expansion etc - nothing that will majority deform the base mesh?

I was thinking (hoping) that with these kind of deformations the displacement map may just work without any artifacting... also, if you start to key displacement maps you then have the question of when to key from one map to another, and will that occur without a noticeable jump?

Think the best thing is to just try it out... so I'll have some goes this weekend and post back.

thanks again,

gubar