PART 2
Facial Expressions That Add Color and Detail
Eating Something That Tastes Bad
BashfulnessBashfulness is expressed by the unintentional reddening of the cheeks that embarrassment causes. It’s important to differentiate the source of the mortification when drawing the facial expression—is it because the characters are in the presence of someone they have a crush on, or are they embarrassed due to a personal failure?
TIP
Keep the expression that follows embarrassment in mind as you draw, whether that’s laughing, getting angry or sulking. Blood can also rush to the cheeks and turn the face red from embarrassment when being praised in front of other people or being scolded after a mistake. The level of shyness can be reflected by adjusting the amount of redness.
Variations
▶ Wanting to run away out of embarrassment
This expression portrays trying to bear embarrassment. There are many situations when a high level of embarrassment creates the urge to run away.
▶ Feeling abashed after being praised
This expression conveys feeling bashful after being praised, but thinking that the attention or approbation was warranted.
▶ Getting angry from feeling bashful
This expression captures the progression of bashfulness to anger. It expresses concealing embarrassment.
▶ Hesitating
This expression captures the feeling of being embarrassed and wanting to say something, but not being able to get the words out.
▶ Being overexcited
Instead of becoming bashful after being praised, this expression shows overexcitement. There are various ways to depict it, such as exhibiting pride, agreeing with praise or aggressively demanding more praise.
ExcitementIn this case, excitement refers to the feeling of nervous expectation that romance brings. It can also be described as the awakening of romantic feelings in the early stages of love. The expression is often used in romantic scenarios to depict the moment of falling in love or to show the heightening of tenderness and regard.
TIP
Plenty of highlights in the eyes add shine, while the raised brows convey excitement and a sense of expectation in this expression. Excitement is usually a sudden emotion, so it is common to depict it as following surprise. Adding flushed cheeks and symbolic expressions of shine is effective in achieving this expression.
JealousyJealousy associated with romance is easily linked with anger and frustration and can be used to pique interest in the behavior and reactions that will follow.
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If it’s romantic jealousy, the expression differs depending on the object, ranging from that of a bad mood to exposing animosity and becoming enraged. The expression can be more than adequately communicated even if only the eyes are used to create a glare of hatred.
References: Loathing (Page 70)
YearningWhen related to romance, yearning encompasses the desire to be adored as well as the frustration that arises when things don’t go as exprected. It’s an internalized sadness, different from feelings of loneliness, making it a somewhat complicated expression.
TIP
Yearning is an emotion that accompanies the heartache of loneliness and sadness, so its basic expression involves lowering the brows to create a slightly lonely look. Incorporating symbols such as drops of sweat and blushing communicates that the character is thinking of the person she likes.
Savoring the TasteThe expression of delight that accompanies a delicious meal can also be used in other scenarios where your character is savoring the situation.
TIP
The expression of enjoying food forms while eating. It is easier to convey that it is an expression arising during a meal if the character is shown chewing on something or having just finished swallowing food.
Variations
▶ Enraptured
Eating something delicious prompts an unintentional expression of rapture. Create this atmosphere by aiming for an ecstatic look.
▶ Blowing on food to cool it down
This expression shows blowing on hot food to cool it down before eating it.
▶ Brain freeze
Eating too much shaved ice or other cold food at once causes brain freeze!
▶ Wolfing food
Being so hungry that the priority is just to get food in one’s mouth results in this manner of eating. Rather than savoring the food, the goal is simply to gulp it down.
▶ Overexaggerating the tastiness
Typically seen in manga and anime about gourmands, this expression conveys overly exaggerated happiness in response to something delicious. Eating tasty food can result in all kinds of expressions, so have a go at drawing different types.
Eating Something That Tastes Bad
Yuk! Swallow that mouthful or spit it out? Your character’s face tells the story.
TIP
Furrowed brows and a look of dislike are the basics for this expression. If the food is not so bad that it can’t be eaten, but anything worse would not be tolerated, an expression resembling forbearance works. If it is something that instinct warns against consuming, the bad taste can be expressed by showing the character spitting the food out.
Variations
▶ Spitting food out
The expression of food being so revolting that it is spat out is often used as a comic element. It can be used not only to show food tasting bad, but also in scenarios where food is past its expiration date or improbable ingredients have been used.
▶ Eating despite not wanting to
The scenario of eating unappetizing food because a loved one has made it occurs frequently. Breaking out in a cold sweat while eating expresses struggling to bear the situation.
DISCUSSION Expressions for Different Flavors
Apart from the extremes of food tasting either delicious or disgusting, it can also be sweet, spicy, sour, salty or bitter. The facial expression differs depending on the flavor. Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Spicy
When food is so spicy as to be inedible, the tongue becomes numb and breathing becomes ragged, expressed via the widened nostrils. Eating spicy food can bring on sweat, so adding drops of sweat is effective.
Spicy yet delicious
When the level of heat is just right, the brows lift and a happy expression forms, conveying a sense of anticipation about the next mouthful.
Bitter
Exhaling as much as possible to expel the bitterness and stiffening the area around the eyes evoke a sense of revulsion that expresses the reaction to eating something bitter.
Sour
The facial features seem to move toward the center of the face and shrivel up from the sourness.
DrunkFlushed cheeks are the most noticeable part of a drunken person’s face, but don’t forget about the emotions that go with it. Is your character a happy drunk or prone to aggression and anger?
TIP
A flushed face forms the foundation for this expression. The degree of drunkenness can be expressed through unfocused eyes, drooping eyelids and slackened or uncoordinated muscles around the mouth. Round, fuzzy symbols around the head make it easy to convey an air of drunkenness.
Variations
▶ A laughing drunk
This expression is used for a character who gets happy and laughs for no reason when drunk. The drunk appearance can be created by simply adding a flush of red to a laughing face.
▶ Crying drunk
This expression is used for a character who suddenly gets sad and cries when drunk. In this instance also, flushed cheeks are key.
▶ Acting drunk
This expression shows that despite the cheeks being flushed from alcohol, the character is still in command of her senses. An unwavering stare at the other person and a slightly sly air build the atmosphere.
DISCUSSION Expressing Feelings of Nausea
The expression of feeling nauseated can be used to depict illness or loathing as well as to portray having had too much to drink. The expression changes depending on the progression of the nauseated feelings.
HungerRemember that there are degrees of hunger. If someone is a little bit hungry, the expression resembles that of a troubled face, but as hunger progresses, energy levels drop and the expression becomes closer to one of fatigue.
TIP
Lowered brows and an expression similar to that of being troubled are commonly used to express regular hunger. When physical strength is dramatically weakened due to hunger, there is no energy to even create a facial expression, and the face takes on a tired look. Symbols such as saliva or those conveying trembling are effective for differentiating types of hunger.
Variations
▶ Feeling snacky or peckish
This expression is used to show that the character isn’t exactly starving, but wouldn’t mind noshing on something.
▶ Starving
This expression depicts not having eaten for a long time so as to be past the point of hunger. The cheeks are sunken and the expression is dull and lifeless.
▶ “Dying of hunger”
“Dying of hunger” is an expression often used in manga or anime.
DISCUSSION How Opening the Mouth Can Ruin the Look of a Character
▶ Opening the mouth
In reality, when the mouth opens wide, the chin moves with it. However, the eyes and mouth are often boldly distorted in illustrations, manga and the like, making it difficult for them to fit within the outline of the face.
▶ Ruining the look of a character
While it depends on how the character is designed, when characters with large eyes, noses and mouths are depicted with their mouths open, they often do not fit inside the outline of the face. Dropping the chin in an attempt to solve this makes the character look like someone else, leading to a situation called “character collapse.”
▶ Examples of countermeasures when drawing large mouths
When drawing large mouths on characters, it’s important to watch out for character collapse. Here, we look at two countermeasures, but even if character collapse occurs, if you think it works, then continue with it, as it will be the best means of expression for you. Try your hand at various looks, from cute to cool, comical to realistic.
FatigueFor a character gripped by deep fatigue, diminished physical strength and the lack of vitality read on his face. The greater the fatigue, the less expressive the face becomes. Consider the level of fatigue to differentiate between its various expressions.
TIP
A lack of vitality from fatigue makes the brows droop and the eyes grow hollow or close altogether. Drawing in lines around the eyes to resemble bags and adding large amounts of shadow make for a fatigued expression. Symbols for turning pale, sighing or being short of breath are also effective.
Variations
▶ Being short of breath
Tiring after running or breathing hard from excitement are some of the reasons for this expression. When breathing heavily, the mouth opens wide and the chin points up in an effort to make breathing easier.
▶ Anxiety
Rather than being tired physically, this is an expression of mental fatigue or being overwrought with worry. Wrinkles form between the brows and the eyes tend to droop.
▶ Feeling drained
This is a dazed expression caused by a loss of strength. The face goes slack and the mouth and eyes are only half open.
DISCUSSION Characters’ Personalities and Expressions
Personality plays an important role when considering character’s expressions. Personality can guide expression, with a quiet person giggling softly when they laugh, whereas a character with an exciting personality would laugh with a wide-open mouth. Conversely, it would be a major departure from character for a cool person of few words to laugh boldly, resulting in a sense of something being not right. It’s easier to work out the character’s expressions if his or her personality is decided in advance, using the personality as a guide for drawing expressions.
Of course, it’s also possible to create a sense of awkwardness on purpose with expressions that don’t match the character’s personality, or to use this device to reveal his or her true personality. Let’s look at an example of establishing a character’s personality.
Notes for establishing character
•about 25 years old
•on the eve of college graduation, discovered that her boyfriend was cheating and they split up after a huge fight
•went through the recruitment process and began working in an office, dating one to two people in that time without success
•straight after this, becomes interested in a younger man
•her expressions during interactions with him are the concept for the drawings
•as he is younger, she tries to appear sexy in a more mature way (sort of how a younger person would perceive a sophisticated young woman who is older than he)
•she is transitioning from a child to an adult, gathering life experiences
AsleepWhen asleep, the face relaxes, creating a looser expression overall. It alters depending on whether the character is having a pleasant dream or a disturbing toss-and-turn nightmare.
TIP
The basic expression is formed by a relaxed face with the outer corners of the eyes and the corners of the mouth turning down. The brows are generally depicted as neither raised nor lowered, but rather as flat or neutral. Portraying the mouth as half-open with drool trailing out enhances the sense of weariness. When wanting to express discomfort in sleep, add wrinkles between the brows, with a slight smile used to express sleeping deeply.
Variations
▶ Dozing
Falling into a doze causes a vacant expression, as consciousness is slipping away. The brows and eyes droop naturally as the muscles relax.
▶ Having a pleasant dream
When having a pleasant dream, the expression is one of peaceful sleep and happiness. A loose smile works too.
▶ Having a bad dream
When having a bad dream, wrinkles form between the brows and the jaws clench to form an expression of pain.
▶ Trying not to fall asleep
This expression conveys desperately trying to keep the eyes open to stop from falling asleep. Having the eyes open but not looking anywhere in particular lends a realistic look.
▶ Too wakeful to sleep
This expression shows being unable to sleep after drinking a strong energy drink or seeing something that stimulates the mind.
Just Woken UpA sense of a lack of strength and a vacant look create the expression of having just woken up. The expression changes depending on how much fatigue still lingers, so consider this when drawing this expression.
TIP
Lowered brows, half-open eyes and a naturally open mouth are standard elements in a vacant expression that depicts having just woken up. There are various ways of adding to the look to show that the character is still sleepy, such as drawing the mouth wide open in a yawn or messing up the hair to show that she was asleep until a little while ago.
Variations
▶ Yawning
Yawns form unintentionally when someone is sleepy. The facial muscles involved in yawning stimulate the tear ducts, thereby causing tears to form.
▶ Brushing the teeth
There are various expressions for brushing the teeth. In the morning, aim for a fresh look, while at night a sleepy appearance is more fitting. Many women brush their teeth before applying makeup or showering, so keeping the brows and eyelashes simple is effective in achieving a realistic look.
▶ Dazed
Having just woken up, the expression takes on a slightly dazed look. The eyes are not quite open and the brows and corners of the mouth turn down to enhance this expression.
▶ Waking up enthusiastically
The expression of waking up refreshed is similar to that of a smiling face. The eyes are open properly and there is an air of breeziness.
References: Refreshed (Page 140)
Just as “tears” denote sadness and “sweat” represents panic, there are various items such as symbolic expressions that can be used to express emotions. The same expression can appear quite different depending on the items added to it. Here we look at examples of how six different items can affect faces with no facial expressions as well as those with happy, angry, sad, surprised and scared expressions.
