How to draw emotions. Creating emotions of cartoon characters
A successful portrait can be considered a work that seems to come to life. What makes a person’s portrait come alive are the emotions displayed on it. In fact, it is not as difficult to draw a person’s emotions as it seems at first glance. If you do not draw from life or from a photograph, then before work you can go to the mirror. You need to take the necessary form and 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, the neck and, if desired, the contours of the shoulders. Draw a vertical line - 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. The eyes will be located at the height of this line. Draw eyebrows in small arcs. In the middle of the lower, longer, vertical part 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 your mouth with a slightly downward horizontal line. Don't forget to outline the ears and chin, and you can start exploring facial expressions. Emotions drawn in pencil are convenient because, unlike working with other materials, it will be more profitable to generalize forms without drawing everything thoroughly.
Happiness
First, let's try to draw the emotions of a happy person. In an enthusiastic state, people's eyes usually do not change, but you can show slight wrinkles that appear around them when you smile. For added effect, you can display slightly dilated pupils. 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. Don't forget about folds or, if the person you're drawing has them, dimples. Also, when a person smiles, their cheeks rise slightly and appear plumper; to do this, make small downward curved lines under the eyes. If the smile is “open”, then show the teeth with several vertical lines.
Anger
An angry expression on the face is mostly given by eyebrows shifted towards 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 narrow greatly in anger, 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 curl down at the corners, while the lower lip forms an upward arch. Due to the fact that the mouth of a screaming person is open, the lower jaw and chin need to be lowered, prolonging the oval of the face. The wings of the nose widen greatly. When creating a portrait of an angry person, you can slightly sharpen the facial features, this will give him a little aggressiveness.
Mockery
The shape of the eyebrows and mouth gives a mocking expression to the face. Raise one eyebrow with an arch, draw the other like a wave, lowering the inner corner. From the side of the raised eyebrow, pull up the wing of the nose. Create a grin by lifting one corner of your lips. Due to this, the entire line of the mouth shifts slightly towards the raised corner. Lower your lower lip so your teeth are slightly visible. A fold also forms on the cheek on the side where the smile is extended. Narrow your eyes a little and show small strokes of wrinkles around the outer corners, just like when you 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 are formed on the forehead. Or you can raise just one eyebrow, this will give your portrait even more surprise. When the eyebrows rise, the nose rises with them, so extend it upward a little. The eyes are often round and wide. The mouth is slightly open, the shape becomes like an oval, and do not forget to draw the teeth inside it.
Sadness
In sadness, people often lower their heads, and to show this, you need to make the frontal lobe of the oval of the head a little larger, and trim the lower jaw and chin. The eyes do not change their shape, but the gaze tends to be downward (show this by moving the pupil at the bottom of the eye), so the upper eyelids will cover the eyes a little more and appear larger. The inner tips of the eyebrows are raised, and the remaining part follows the shape of the eye, going down in an arc - this can be shown with a curve, a wave-like line. The lips will be tightly closed, and their corners will go down. If the person in your portrait is crying, the shape of his eyes will be narrowed. Tears can be shown with a simple line. The trails of tears, leaving the outer corners of the eyes, follow the lines of the oval of the face and go down 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 will appear near the mouth. Draw the eyebrows as straight as possible and lower them lower towards the eyes, but raise the inner corners up. The eyes will not differ much from the neutral expression, except that they will be slightly narrowed. Disdain is also expressed by raising the upper lip on one side and exposing the teeth.
thoughtfulness
Thoughtfulness is the last state that we will try to draw. The emotions of a thoughtful person are poorly expressed. People usually relax their facial muscles when lost in thought, but the eyebrows may be drawn together in this expression, causing a crease to appear between them. Draw them in a straight line, but slightly raise 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. You can look away or down, 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 an anxious person, the facial muscles are uncontrollably tense, so you need to show the folds on the forehead and under the eyes. The eyebrows, as in the expression of sadness, form a wave, while the eyes are wide and round. In addition, a person experiencing anxiety 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 alive.
We will look at the most common emotions, which are used to create anime characters.
Emotions:
Calm state without showing any emotions. This condition is emphasized by a straight mouth.
Smile. This condition is emphasized by the mouth drawn with a slightly curved line.
Joy. The lower eyelid covers the bottom of the iris. The mouth is shaped like an inverted letter "D".
Laughter. The eyes are closed in an upward arc. The mouth is shaped like an inverted "D", only now larger in size.
Tears of happiness. Eyebrows lowered. The eyes are drawn with large pupils in the corners, from which small droplets of tears appear. The mouth is shaped like an inverted letter "D".
Trembling, slight trembling due to overflow of feelings. The pupils are dilated and there is a glare on them in the form of a star-shaped diamond. The upper lip is shaped like an inverted letter “Z”.
Impatience. Eyebrows raised. The eyes are closed, the eyelid is lowered. A droplet is drawn near one eye. The mouth is slightly open and a small cloud comes out of it (this is how we show that the hero has exhaled air)
Irritation. The eyebrows are still furrowed, the ends lowered to the bridge of the nose. The mouth arched upward.
Severe irritation. The eyebrows are drawn down and small wrinkles are created between them. A semblance of an X appears on the forehead. The mouth is open.
Malice. Very strong irritation. The eyebrows are lowered even further and wrinkles are created between them. The pupils are constricted. The mouth is very open and the fangs are visible. You can also draw the likeness of one or two X’s on your forehead if desired.
Stunned. Upper eyelids are straight lines. The ends of the eyebrows are raised up. The pupils of the eyes are large without an iris. Mouth in the form of a triangle. A droplet is drawn on the side.
Severe stupor. Eyebrows raised. The eyes are drawn in a circle. The mouth is very open.
Fright. The ends of the eyebrows are raised up. The pupils are reduced. The lower eyelid is straight. The mouth is in the shape of an uneven oval (as if involuntarily open). There are strokes and a droplet under the eyes indicating sweat.
Disappointment. Eyebrows raised. The eyes are shining with tears. The mouth is arched.
Cry. Eyebrows raised. Tears are coming from the eyes. The mouth is slightly open. Instead of tear lines, you can also draw droplets.
Cry. Eyebrows raised. The eyes are closed upside down. The mouth is wide open. Instead of tear lines, you can also draw droplets.
Strong crying. Eyebrows raised. The eyes are closed upside down. The mouth is wide open and fangs are visible. There are lines and droplets of tears coming from the eyes.
Emotion of puzzlement, reflections. One eyebrow is raised, the other is lowered. Eyes look to the side or up. The mouth is shaped like an inverted "V".
Astonishment. Eyebrows up. The eyes are wide, but the pupils are small. The mouth is very open.
Great surprise. No eyebrows. The eyes are drawn as a very large circle, and the pupils as dots. The mouth is very open.
Fatigue. Upper eyelids are straight lines. Pupils in the form of dots. There are strokes under the eyes indicating bruises or bags. The mouth arched upward.
Disgust. Eyelids and eyebrows are straight lines. The pupils are small. The mouth is at the bottom of the face, in the form of a wave.
As a rule, all cartoon characters are created based on real people.
All drawn heads, regardless of the style of execution, are created based on real ones. In order to turn a real head into a cartoon one, you need to do two things: (1) Forget about detail and 2) exaggerate the most significant elements. This will allow you to more clearly express the character's feelings and display his character. To give you an idea of what we mean, below we have posted drawings of three people by four artists. Their drawings vary in type of rendering: from realistic to highly stylized. Please note that when conveying a person’s appearance, each artist created a unique, different image.
In the first column There are more realistic heads that are closest in execution to the original. But many details are missed.
(second column) The head can look more cartoonish if you simplify some of the details, in particular the eyes and hair.
(third column) If the character’s appearance is further exaggerated and the head shape is simplified, then he will become even more like a cartoon character.
(fourth column) Even though there is extreme exaggeration and stylization, the heads in this column are similar to those in the first column.
Practice drawing different types of heads.
You should not be content with the ability to draw only a couple of types of heads. Continue to learn new ones, drawing both from examples and from memory. There are over 2 billion potential examples on earth, so you can hardly complain about the lack of new images. Remember that experience comes from practice.
Test for the performance of 25 basic emotions.
This exercise will teach you how to draw the same characters the same way, giving them different expressions, and clearly depict a specific emotion. The best way to draw a character to look like yourself is this.
Depicting anime emotions is not at all difficult. In this lesson you will highlight for yourself what we need to change in order to get this or that emotion, how to correctly show and express the character.
Now we will look at how small details can radically change the character of our character.
When you understand the principle behind the technique of drawing emotions, you will be able to draw absolutely any character and show the emotions you want!
1. Calm, sweet smile
The smile is emphasized by bright highlights in the eyes and the arch of the mouth.
Unlike the previous emotion, here the drawing of the eyes has changed a little, and the arc of the mouth has changed dramatically (it has become more straight).
It differs from the first drawing in the shape of the mouth.
It’s like a slightly improved version of “joy”, where the drawing of the eyes has radically changed.
As shown in the figure, the eyes are drawn with inverted arcs and dashes under them.
Rather, this emotion is something between embarrassment and disgust.
The eyes are more stern and the mouth is drawn in a “springy” manner. The nose is not shown here.
There are already dramatic changes in the entire face as a whole.
The mouth takes up a lot of space and is already drawn in with more than just a line. The teeth are drawn as fangs. Lines are visible above the nose. The eyebrows are arched downwards. There is less glare on the eyes and the pupils are darker, larger and virtually glare-free.
Everything is the same as in the previous case, only the emotions are less expressed and closer to a normal state.
Mouth without fangs. The eyes are brighter and have larger highlights.
Unlike the previous one, the mouth is drawn in an arc, the eyes are brighter.
The mouth is wide open, wide eyes, very small pupils, straight eyebrows, there are extraneous features.
