Example? Please.
Bruce Willis - sideways glance, asymmetrical grin. Marilyn Monroe - raised chin, squinted eyes, parted mouth. Try to mentally imagine that the faces of these people will take on each other's expressions, they will seem strange and completely unfamiliar.
Facial expressions really express the character of a person. There are many books on how different emotions affect facial muscles. For example, "Body Language" by Allan and Barbara Pease or Paul Ekman is the first thing that comes to mind (not including anatomy for artists, of course). If you want to draw emotional portraits, information about the work of the muscles of the face will not be superfluous at all.
And for those who would like to try their hand at the image emotions already now, I would advise you to start with sketches and quick sketches. And for starters, I suggest you watch one lesson on this topic:
The lesson was prepared by the artist Olenchinkova Tatyana.
Emotions attract attention, it's hard not to agree with that!
Here are some more image examples for inspiration. emotions in the paintings of the great masters:
Repin, "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan"
Ribera, "Hawkweed"
A successful portrait can be considered a work that seems to come to life. A portrait of a person is made alive by the emotions displayed on it. In fact, it is not as difficult to draw human emotions as it seems at first glance. If you do not draw from nature or from a photograph, then before work you can go to the mirror. It is necessary, having taken the necessary form, to study the changes in your face. The emotions you draw on paper will reflect the state of mind of the person whose portrait you are depicting.
Sketch
You can draw different emotions only if you have the necessary base, so the first stage in your work is a sketch. When creating a portrait, it is important to consider the angle in order to maintain the correct proportions of the face. Draw the basics you need: the oval of the head, neck and, if desired, the contours of the shoulders. Draw a vertical - the axis of symmetry of the face. Divide it with a horizontal line, approximately in a ratio of 1:2, counting from the top edge. At the height of this line, the eyes will be located. Mark the eyebrows with small arcs. In the middle of the lower, longer, part of the vertical of the face is the nose. The distance between the eyes and the vertical will be equal to the size of the wings of the nose. Show the mouth with a slightly curved horizontal line. Do not forget to outline the ears and chin, and you can start studying facial expressions. Emotions drawn with a pencil are convenient because, unlike working with other materials, it will be more profitable to generalize the forms without drawing everything thoroughly.
Happiness
First, let's try to draw the emotions of a happy person. In an ecstatic state, people's eyes usually do not change, but you can show slight wrinkles that appear around them when smiling. To heighten the effect, slightly dilated pupils can be displayed. The arches of the eyebrows are slightly raised. A smile can be depicted by curving the line of the mouth and lifting the outer corners of the lips. Do not forget about folds or, if the person you are drawing has them, dimples on the cheeks. Also, in a smiling person, the cheeks rise slightly and appear more plump, for this, make small downward curved lines under the eyes. If the smile is "open", then show the teeth with several vertical lines.
Anger
An evil expression on the face is mostly given by eyebrows shifted to the bridge of the nose. The inner corners of the eyebrows drop strongly, almost pressing against the eyes, while the outer corners, on the contrary, fly up. Because of this, a wrinkle forms on the bridge of the nose, which can be shown with small vertical strokes. The eyes in anger are very narrowed, wrinkles appear under them and near the outer corners, show them with horizontal strokes. The mouth is also important: you can depict an evil grin by drawing teeth and showing the nasolabial fold with lines - from the wings of the nose to the corners of the lips. The shape of the mouth resembles a perfect circle: the upper lip seems to be wrapped with corners down, while the lower one forms an arc raised upwards. Due to the fact that the mouth of a screaming person is open, you need to lower the lower jaw and chin, extending the oval of the face. The wings of the nose are greatly expanded. When creating a portrait of an evil person, you can slightly sharpen the facial features, this will give him a little aggressiveness.
mockery
A mocking expression is given to the face by the shape of the eyebrows and mouth. Raise one eyebrow with an arch, depict the other like a wave, lowering the inner corner. From the side of the raised eyebrow, pull up the wing of the nose. Draw a smirk by lifting one corner of your lips. Due to this, the entire line of the mouth is slightly shifted towards the raised corner. Lower your lower lip so that your teeth are slightly visible. Also, a fold forms on the cheek on the side where the smile is extended. Narrow your eyes a little and show wrinkles around the outer corners with small strokes, as with a smile.
Astonishment
The next emotion we will try to draw is surprise. All elements of the face of a surprised person seem wider and rounder than in a calm state. Let's start with the eyebrows. The arches of the eyebrows are strongly curved, due to this, horizontal folds form on the forehead. Or you can lift only one eyebrow up, this will give your portrait even more surprise. When the eyebrows rise, the nose rises with them, so extend it up a bit. The eyes are often round and wide. The mouth is slightly open, it becomes like an oval in shape, and do not forget to draw teeth inside it.
Sadness
In sadness, people often lower their heads, and to show this, it is necessary to make the frontal lobe of the oval of the head a little larger, and cut the lower jaw and chin. The eyes do not change their shape, but the gaze is usually lowered (show this by shifting the pupil at the lower edge of the eye), so the upper eyelids will cover the eyes a little more and appear larger. The inner tips of the eyebrows rise, and the rest follows the shape of the eye, descending in an arc downward - this can be shown by a curve resembling a wave with a line. The lips will be tightly closed, and their corners will drop down. If the person in your portrait is crying, then the shape of their eyes will be narrowed. Tears can be shown with a simple line. Trails of tears, leaving the outer corners of the eyes, repeat the lines of the oval of the face and descend to the chin, bending around the cheeks.
Disgust
When expressing disgust, the face seems to wrinkle, so horizontal folds will form on the forehead, a vertical wrinkle will appear between the eyebrows, and a slightly noticeable nasolabial fold near the mouth. Draw the eyebrows as straight as possible and lower them lower to the eyes, but lift the inner corners up. The eyes will not differ much from the neutral expression, except that they will be slightly narrowed. Neglect is also expressed by the upper lip raised on one side and exposing the teeth.
thoughtfulness
Pensiveness is the last state that we will try to draw. The emotions of a pensive person are weakly expressed. People usually relax their facial muscles when thinking, but the brows in this expression can be pulled together so there is a wrinkle between them. Draw them in a straight line, but slightly lift the upper corners. The eyes do not change shape, but if you draw them a little narrower or completely closed, this will give the portrait even more thoughtfulness. The gaze can be taken aside or lowered, just draw circles of the iris and pupil not directly in the center of the eye. The lips will be slightly parted, so be sure to show your teeth.
Anxiety
In a restless person, the facial muscles are uncontrollably tense, so you need to display the wrinkles on the forehead and under the eyes. Eyebrows, as in the expression of sadness, form a wave, while the eyes are wide and rounded. In addition, a person experiencing excitement may have slightly dilated pupils. The lips are compressed, so draw the lower lip a little narrower than usual; some people bite it, so you can add a strip of teeth.
We hope this article helped you understand how to draw emotions step by step, and your portrait turned out to be alive.
We see millions of eyes, mouths, noses, ears and chins in this world, and each of them is special. At the same time, to draw cartoon faces, knowing the basics is enough. Once you have mastered them, add to this an understanding of depth, then make sure that the drawing of the head looks three-dimensional (3D), and also master the technique of drawing from any angle. If you can do all of this, great! However, if you really want to draw attention to your art, you will need to master a technique that allows you to bring your characters to life with facial expressions!
Anyone can draw a face. Draw a circle, add a few dots and lines - and anyone who looks at your drawing will say that this is a face. On the one hand, it seems to be so easy to do, but on the other hand, it can be very difficult when feelings and emotions appear ...
Human facial expressions
The facial expression of a person, as well as the tone of voice, is easy to change. Expressions appear on the face not only as a result of the contraction of certain muscles; in fact, some muscles contract at the same time, while the opposite muscles relax. For example, the same muscle groups are involved in both laughter and smiling, but with different intensity.
If I ask you to accurately name all the feelings you see in the picture below, what would you say?
I know what you will answer. You will surely say that you see an image of calmness and reflection. Maybe he was thinking about something. In reality, it's not like that! In this picture, we see a complete absence of emotions, since not a single muscle is involved. Since there are no emotions, the words "calm" and "relaxed" will probably be the best description.
It is perfectly natural to use this expression in your drawings. Why not? - 80% of people have this facial expression most of the day! However, people only have this facial expression when they are alone. After all, when a person looks at another person, or when he finds himself in a certain situation, a reaction inevitably arises. And it will have its own reaction! In animation, we blow this effect to the maximum so that it is clear to our audience exactly what emotions are expressed on the face.
Primitive emotions
Primitive emotions are those emotions that we, human beings, have little control over. This means that such an emotion is not easy to orchestrate. Let's say it occurs suddenly, in response to a primitive stimulus.
Primitive emotions are expressed regardless of our culture, nationality or age. Here are some of the most basic examples:
- Joy (1): the corners of the mouth are turned up, the eyebrows are raised, the eyes are wide open.
- Wrath (2): the corners of the mouth are down, the eyebrows are raised at an angle, and the inner edges are down, the eyes are wide open.
- Fear (3): the mouth is slightly skewed, the corners go down, the eyebrows are raised up, while the line of the eyebrows is uneven, the eyes are wide open.
- Sadness (4): the corners of the mouth are rounded down, the inner corners of the eyebrows are slightly raised, the upper eyelids hang over the eyes.
These are primitive facial expressions that appear quite often on our faces throughout life. To draw cartoon characters, you need to master these four expressions. Based on them, we can create all other emotions.
There are a couple more expressions, they are less often referred to as primitive ones, while they are also included in the group of basic expressions.
- Surprise (5): the mouth is small, half open, the eyebrows are raised, the line of the eyebrows is slightly uneven, the eyes are wide open.
- Annoyance (6): the mouth is twisted, skewed, the eyebrows are lowered, the inner tips of the eyebrows are directed downwards, the eyes are closed.
"Why on earth do you separate these two from the first group?"- The answer is simple: If you pay attention, each of these expressions is a combination of expressions from the first group.
Now that you are familiar with the basic expressions, you are probably wondering why there are so few of them. It's simple: we have primary colors, and there are enough of them to mix any colors you want. In the same way, other facial expressions can be made from primitive emotions! Take a look:
To create a sleepy expression, we took the eyebrows from the expression joy and added to them half-closed eyes from sadness. It's great, isn't it?
related emotions
That's not all! You can create related emotions, it is enough to take the most similar emotion and change only one element in the face, and another one emotion!
Note that only the mouth has been changed in these two drawings. We can express two kinds of disgust by changing one single part of the face! (captions on the picture: "Damn!" and "Stink!") Below is another example:
I remind you that we only needed to change the mouth to create the necessary emotion. (Captions on the picture: "amazed", "fears".) This time we are redrawing the mouth and eyes slightly to complete the main emotion. (Caption on the picture: "amazed" "confused").
Emotions can be drawn not only on the basis of basic ones. You can draw a third level of emotions based on secondary ones. Look:
As before, it was only necessary to redraw the mouth. (Signatures: "sleepy", "in love"). Amazing, right? With this technique, your designs can be brought to life with dozens, maybe hundreds of emotional faces!
Emotions express physical state
Physical state-based emotions rely on the same concept of basic emotions, but they differ in that they can take on various unpredictable forms.
Note that the emotions of the physical state are also drawn based on primitive emotions. Fatigue taken from sadness. Emotion can be expressed using an additional element, such as drops of sweat (Signed: "heat"):
Let's look at another example of a spontaneous reaction that we do not really know how to control. This time our character was electrocuted! In short, he has no control over his reaction!
When we are in shock, it is difficult to control, which gives us an advantage in drawing cartoon characters - you can exaggerate this expression as much as possible and achieve the desired effect. In this case, we have greatly enlarged the mouth.
Note that primitive emotions always dominate. Shock, even in its uncontrollable form, is nothing but fear. As for the emotions of the physical state, it is interesting that in real life we express them without really thinking about how they arise, since we are subject to external factors and other conditions.
The power of emotions and additional elements
Cartoon facial expressions can also change depending on the strength of the expression. By changing the intensity, we achieve very interesting results:
Vegeta? (If you don't know, this is a Dragon Ball character). (Captions under the pictures: "shock", "huge shock!") In addition to intensity, additional elements can be added to enhance the effect. In the first picture, we added a few drops of sweat flying off the face to emphasize the expression of fear. In the second, the tongue will stick out to enhance the desired effect.
Returning to fear, let's see how to draw a stronger feeling - panic!
We increased the size of the eyes and "forced" the character to cover his face - the result is an amazing effect! "Congratulations!" (Caption under the picture: "scared to death"). Change of angle
You can change the angle of the face to create a deeper impression and to achieve a more dramatic effect. That is, change the point from which you look at the scene: you can create unusual situations. If you place the point of view from an unfamiliar side, you will put your character in an "uncomfortable" position. This will give the scene more dynamics.
Here is an example of how changing the angle affects the strength of an expression. Notice that when viewed from top to bottom, the effect of humiliation of the character is automatically created, we kind of "force" him to shrink, he looks more fragile compared to the threat. In contrast, when viewed from the bottom up, the character looks more formidable. The protruding chin, smirk and wild look create the perfect atmosphere for intimidation!
In cartoons, bad characters often have large mandibles and small eyes. In this case, a weaker character will have large eyes and a more expressive, but small lower jaw, and the mouth is usually located lower at the chin. Try this technique in your designs to see for yourself!
Playing with common stereotypes and context
To create a stereotypical character, minor elements can be added to complete the context of the scene. Some of these methods can have an immediate effect, as we are used to holding stereotyped information throughout our lives. This is influenced by many factors, in particular: cinema, television and certain people from everyday life.
Let's take a drunkard for example. Tangled hair, unshaven, heavy eyelids, lack of teeth - and we have a classic drunkard slob. We grow up and get used to the fact that such features distinguish a person who has been abusing alcohol for a long time. The sick person is depicted as older, with a swollen nose. Closed eyes and drops of saliva indicate that something is wrong with his health.
Here is another example. The picture below fits different contexts. On the one hand, the person above can be in great pain, while the person below is torn apart by rage.
Let's add a few details to make a big difference. See what happened? It was enough to add tears and a handkerchief, and it becomes obvious that both are crying.
Additional elements change the context of the scene. Signal exchange
If we add to all of the above the numerous ways in which we exchange specific signals with other people, our face has many surprises in store for us. This is because, like physical states, we do not have much power over such "signs". Because of this, we sometimes react quite unexpectedly for ourselves, often succumbing to the will of the senses.
Below is an example of "signaling". Lovelace fixed a fatal gaze on the girl in order to woo her with his magic of seduction. She responds with a look filled with passion. Do you think she fell in love with him?
Let's look at another example. The picture below is quite typical in cartoons: a pretty girl "makes eyes" so that she always gets what she wants, and at the same time looks very cute.
Who can resist such a pretty face? Let's change the context. We change the direction of the gaze, and now she is already looking away from the character in front of her. Now she looks more timid. It's great, right?
In addition to the new direction of gaze, we added a little blush to her cheeks, and now we have a very shy girl in front of us. Conclusion
If you find it difficult to draw feelings and emotions in your characters, one of the best ways to learn how to do this is to try it yourself. imitate these emotions. This way you will train your personal perception and add new techniques to your arsenal.
The expression of emotions and feelings in animation is a vast topic for study and goes far beyond facial expressions. As stated above, we are in full control of our emotions as long as we do not lose control over them; for example, until a dog bites us.
Do you want to experiment? Invite your family to take a photo together and notice how they all smile the same way - this is a controlled emotion, we know how to express feigned joy if necessary. Now scare them well, and you will see how fear will be displayed in different ways on their faces!
I hope you are now inspired and ready to try what you have learned here - to draw different emotions on the faces of your characters. Keep in mind that in animation we exaggerate most of these expressions; it is also important for you to understand at least the basics of how emotions are expressed on the face - this way you will help your viewer see what you want to convey.
Well, who at least once did not use the power of seduction in an attempt to win someone's heart with a glance? There are millions of eyes, mouths, noses, ears, chins in the world, and they are all different from each other. However, to create the face of a cartoon character, you need to know the basic rules. Once you've done that, pay attention to the depth, make sure your characters' heads look 3D, and then you'll have a realistic character. If you made it, great! But if you really want to draw attention to your creation, it is worth learning the technique of creating emotions and facial expressions.
Almost anyone can draw a face. You just need to draw a circle with dots instead of eyes and lines instead of lips and eyebrows. Everyone recognizes a face in this image, but not everything is so simple, in fact.
You have to put in a lot of effort to make the character's face look realistic. If you don't know how to draw a face, check out the previous article. If you are wondering how emotions are created, then you will find the answer in this tutorial written by Nastassja Peters.
Facial expression
Infection of a person's face changes involuntarily, and is the result of contraction and relaxation of opposing facial muscles. So, for example, it happens with a smile and laughter, the same muscles work. but with different intensity.
Try to describe what feelings you associate with the image below.
Most likely, you will answer that the character makes you feel calm. Maybe he's thinking about something. Nothing like this! This is an image that expresses a complete lack of expression as none of the facial muscles are used. We look at the absence of emotion, so the picture gives us a sense of calm.
It's normal to use this expression on a character's face, in fact, it's the expression that we walk around with for over 80% of the day. A calm facial expression, without a lack of facial expressions, is present when we do not react to others. but immersed in themselves. When we communicate or look at another person, then emotions are present and facial expressions change. In animation, the facial expressions of the characters should be exaggerated, be more vivid in order to attract attention and convey the feelings of the character to the audience.
Basic emotions
Primary emotions are those that we do not intentionally control. This means that this kind of emotion does not have the right direction. For example, they appear suddenly, as a reaction to some action.
These basic emotions expressed on our face are arbitrary, regardless of skin color, age or nationality.
Below are the main human emotions:
- Happiness (1): the corners of the lips are raised up, the eyebrows are raised, the eyes are wide open,
- Wrath (2): The lip line is curved down, the eyebrows are slightly lowered, wide open,
- Fright (3): the line of the lips is randomly curved, the eyebrows are raised, have a curved shape, the eyes are wide open.
- Sadness (4): the corners of the lips are lowered down, the eyebrows are slightly raised along the edges, the eyes are lowered
- Surprise (5): Mouth slightly open, eyebrows raised, irregularly shaped, eyes wide open,
- Offended (6): The line of the lips is lowered down, the eyebrows are furrowed, the eyes are closed.
"Then why do you separate the latter from the main group of emotions?" The answer is simple: if you notice. then the last two emotions are a variation of the first four.
Now that you are familiar with the main types of expression of emotions, the question arises6 why are there so few of them?
The answer is simple: Just as there are primary colors that can be mixed to create others, basic emotions can be mixed to create new ones.
Here's an example for you:
Note that to make the sleepy expression, we took the eyebrows from the expression of happiness and mixed with almost closed eyes of sadness. Agree, it's great!
family emotions
But we won't stop there! Family emotions - those that differ from each other only by replacing one component of the face, creating a new emotion!
Notice that only the position of the mouth has been changed in these two drawings. We can express two different feelings of disgust just by changing a single element of the face!
Here is another example:
Once again, we just changed the position of the lips to convey the emotion we want.
This time we are using lips and eyes to create another version of the same basic emotion.
Not only do primary expressions give rise to other emotions, we can create a third emotion from a secondary emotion.
For example:
As we did above, the lips were fixed.
Fantastic, isn't it? Dozens and hundreds of faces can be created using this method.
Emotions of the physical state
The emotions of physical states are very close to the basic emotions, but, unlike them, they can have somewhat unpredictable forms.
Note that physical emotions are also derived from basic emotions, fatigue derived from sadness.
We can enhance the emotion simply by adding an extra element such as tears, for example:
Let's look at another example of a reaction over which we have no control. This time we will shock our character. In short: control over emotions will be completely lost.
Since we can't control shock reactions, this is a plus for a cartoon, as we can exaggerate the character's facial expressions to get the desired result. In this case, we exaggerate the facial expressions of the mouth.
Also notice how the underlying emotions dominate. Shock, even when uncontrollable, is a variant of fear. The most interesting thing about physical emotions is that in real life we receive these expressions without knowing how we receive them, as we are exposed to external factors and conditions.
Intensity and additional elements
The facial expression of a character in a cartoon is limited to a certain degree of intensity. Depending on the intensity, we can get very interesting results:
Vegeta? (Dragon Hero if you don't know).
Apart from the intensity, we can also insert additional elements to heighten the emotion. In the first image, we added a few drops of sweat flying off the face to increase the feeling of fear. In the second image, we show a bit of the hero's tongue to enhance the desired effect.
Back to fear, let's change the image to make the hero look like he's panicking!
By enlarging the eyes of the character, covering his face, we have achieved a breathtaking effect for the cartoon! Congratulations!
Change the angle
To create a more vivid and emotional scene, various changes in the position of the character, called the angle, are used. Thus, by showing the viewer from an angle that is not typical for him, you put him in an "uncomfortable" situation, and makes the scene more dynamic.
An example of how the position angle changes the intensity of an expression.
By changing the angle of the scene from the top down, the effect is automatically created that the hero shrinks, becomes more fragile and defenseless. On the contrary, by placing the camera from below, the effect is created that the hero can boldly confront fear. The character's chin becomes visible, taunts appear, and bright lights help create a wonderful atmosphere of menace!
In cartoon style, villains often have large chins and small eyes. However, weaker characters have large and expressive eyes, but their jaws are much smaller, and their mouths are always very close to the chin. Try to apply these techniques in your drawings and you will notice it!
Playing with familiar stereotypes and context
To create big stereotypes for our characters, we can add subtle elements that enhance the context of the scene. Some methods can create this effect immediately due to their value. This happens for several reasons such as the influence of movies, television and heroes on our lives.
Please note: dirty hair, unshaven, heavy eyelids, visible teeth - depict a sloppy drunkard. We are growing to recognize such stereotypical traits in a certain type, such as the drunkard.
While a sick middle-aged man with a big nose, closed eyes is associated with a sick person.
Here is another example. The picture below can be viewed in several contexts. I could tell that the person on top is very sick, while the person on the bottom is angry!
Let's add some additional elements to completely change this perception.
Did you understand what we did?
By adding tears and small pieces of cloth to both characters, we can of course say that both are crying.
Adding elements to change the context of the scene.
Facial Signals
When we add details to send certain signals to other people, our face also changes in different directions. This is because, just like physical emotions, we cannot control these "signs" that cause us to react in unexpected ways, most often controlled by the heart.
Below we have an obvious example of signal exchange. The heartthrob directs his fatal gaze to the girl, making every effort to get her attention. She gives him an interested look. Do you think she fell in love with him?
Let's look at another example. The image below is a very common scene in the cartoon: a cute girl, making a cute and plaintive look, always gets what she wants with dexterity.
Who can say no to such a cute look?
Let's change the context.
We only changed the direction of the eyes, which now look away from the person in front of her. This little detail makes her more shy. It's great, isn't it?
Conclusion
If you're having trouble creating emotions, check out our tips.
In this way, you will be able to carry out your own perception of the character and replenish your knowledge base.
Facial expressions are a very broad topic that goes far beyond the study of the face to express emotions and feelings in a cartoon style. As mentioned above, we have complete control over our emotions in the same way that we completely lose control when, for example, we are bitten by a dog.
Do you want to create an interesting cartoon? Invite the family. take a photo and see how each of them changes their face when they smile, how they control their emotions, what changes they have in facial expressions. Frighten them, and look at the changes in the face, you will see that everyone's expression is different, it is uncontrollable, and there are no similar features.
I hope this material was useful for you and will help you create expressive and vivid emotions of the characters. Having understood the basic principles, you can easily convey to the viewer the state of the hero and his feelings.
Who has never used the power of a seducer to win someone's heart with just a look??
How to draw emotions? - Reviews and Comments
Similar works:
There are millions of eyes, mouths, noses, ears, chins in the whole world and each with its own characteristics. However, to make cartoon-style faces, you just need to understand the basics. In this tutorial, we will learn how to create emotions on the faces of cartoon characters in just a few steps.
human face behavior
Just like the tone of the voice, the facial expression lends itself to easy and quick change. Different expressions are not only the result of muscle contraction, but also the simultaneous action of one and the relaxation of opposite muscles. For example, when laughing and smiling, the same muscles are involved, only with different intensities.
If you are asked to describe what feelings are depicted below, what would you say?
Surely you will say that the boy is thinking about something. Not really. This image expresses a complete lack of expression, since none of the facial muscles are tense.
In fact, this facial expression people use 80% a day. When a person is alone, this is exactly the expression on his face, but when a person is in a company, listening or talking, usually his face expresses various emotions.
Primary emotions
Primary emotions are those emotions that arise on primary stimuli and people do not have sufficient control over them and their origin.
These basic emotions are expressed on our face regardless of culture, race or age. Below are the main ones:
- Happiness (1): The corners of the lips are raised up - the eyebrows are raised up - the eyes are wide open;
- Anger (2): The corners of the lips are lowered down - the tips of the eyebrows near the nose are lowered down - the eyes are wide open;
- Fright (3): The corners of the lips (sometimes the entire line of the lips) are randomly lowered down - irregularly shaped raised eyebrows - eyes are wide open;
- Sadness (4): The corners of the lips are lowered down - the tips of the eyebrows near the nose are raised up - the eyes with lowered eyelids.
These are the basic facial expressions and we use them most frequently throughout our lives. For a cartoon, it is basically necessary to develop other expressions based on the main ones.
There are two more expressions that complement the group of basic ones:
- Surprise (5): Small and half-open mouth - eyebrows raised above an irregular shape - eyes wide open;
- Nonsense! (6): The corners of the lips are randomly lowered down - the tips of the eyebrows near the nose are lowered down - the eyes are closed.
"Why was it necessary to separate these two emotions from the first group?"
Simple: these expressions are variations of the expressions of the first group.
Now, you might be wondering why there are so few basic forms of emotional expression? It's very simple: there are primary colors that can be mixed to create others, just as there are primary emotions that can be mixed to create other secondary expressions! Just take a look:
Note that to create a sleepy expression, we took the eyebrows from the expression of happiness and mixed them with almost closed eyes of sadness. Cool, isn't it?
family emotions
The fun doesn't end! A family of emotions consists of those emotions, for the construction of which it is necessary to change only one component in the previous one.
Note that only the mouth has been changed in the drawing. We can express two different feelings, starting from the basic (“nonsense!” - “something smells bad”).
Here is another example ("surprise" - "fear"):
Here, too, only the mouth has been changed.
This time we use the mouth and eyes to get another version of the same primary emotion ("surprise" - "confused").
We can extract the third emotion from the secondary:
Fantastic, isn't it? It's entirely possible that you'll end up with dozens or even hundreds of possible emotional faces for your design by applying these techniques!
The physical side of emotions
Primary emotions and physical state of the concept are very close. One form of emotion can mean another.
Note that physical emotion stems from the primary. Fatigue comes from sadness.
We can amplify the emotion simply by adding an additional element - drops of sweat ("hot"):
Let's see another example of a physical reaction. This time our character is being electrocuted! In short: completely lost control over the reaction!
We exaggerated the mouth expression to get the desired result.
Note that primary emotions are dominant. Shock, even when uncontrollable, is a variant of fear.
Intensity and additional elements
Depending on the intensity of the emotion expression, we can create very interesting results:
In addition to intensity, we can insert additional elements into the image to increase emotion. In the first image, let's add a few drops of sweat to emphasize the fear. In the second case, we add a language.
Back to fear. Let's adjust the image to explore a more intense sense of panic!
We increase the eyes of the character and close his face.
Angle changes
To achieve a stronger impact, you can change the viewing angle of the scene.
Note that when placing the corner of the stage from top to bottom, it creates an impression of inferiority for our character. In contrast, by positioning the camera from bottom to top, we make our character more menacing! The prominent chin and taunt help create the perfect atmosphere for threatening!
In cartoon style, menacing characters tend to have large chins, weak characters have large eyes but smaller jaws, and the mouth is always very close to the chin.
Try to apply these methods in your projects and you will see!
Playing with social stereotypes and context
To make our characters more stereotypical, we can add some elements that reinforce the context of the scene.
Note that the drunk has dirty hair, unshaven appearance, heavy eyelids and one tooth sticking out of his mouth. The patient has a large nose and considerable age, eyes are closed and saliva is visible when coughing.
Here is another example. The picture below can be applied in several contexts. The man on top is in pain, the man below is furious.
Let's change the picture. Let's add tears to two characters and cloth in the hand of one of them and they will cry.
Facial Signals
People use facial expressions to convey certain signals to other people.
Below is an illustrative example of signal exchange. The heartthrob directs his gaze to the girl. Did she fall in love with him?
Let's look at another example. A common cartoon scene: a sweet girl who always gets what she wants.
Let's change the context. We have only changed the direction of the eyes. This detail made the girl more shy.
Conclusion
If you have difficulty expressing the feelings and emotions of your characters, then the best way to achieve results is to train in the perception of the emotions of other people.
We hope you are motivated to explore the expression of different emotions. And remember that for caricatures you need to exaggerate the expressions and understand the basics of their instantaneous formation.
Translation - Duty.
