A digital medium environment is described to generate a three dimensional facial expression from a blend shape and a facial expression source. A semantic type is detected that defines a facial expression of the blend shape. Transfer intensities are assigned based on the detected semantic type to the blend shape and the facial expression source, respectively, for individual portions of the three dimensional facial expression, the transfer intensities specifying weights given to the blend shape and the facial expression source, respectively, for the individual portions of the three dimensional facial expression. The three dimensional facial expression is generated from the blend shape and the facial expression source based on the assigned transfer intensities.