This week’s WIP focus is on refining character expressions for emotional impact. Expressions convey more than just emotions; they tell a story.
Key Elements to Improve
- Eyebrow Shapes – A slight arch can shift a neutral face into concern or curiosity.
- Mouth Curvature – A subtle line change can turn a smile into a smirk or a grimace.
- Eye Details – Squinted eyes can indicate suspicion or laughter, while wide eyes express shock or wonder.
Take for example these three characters from Frontier: New Horizons. The first is a mysterious barkeep from the Salty Dog Inn at the edge of Cliffsyde. Is he curious or concerned? I'll let you be the judge of that - ha! Kind of adds the mystery I'm shooting for I thought.
Then we have one of the most enigmatic yet Machiavellian characters in the story, Pope Michael, who can tell you one lie and you'll take it as a truth...he may be smirking on account of a truth he just told; wait - so does that mean he's lying?!?
Squinted eyes seems to be a character design for Clyve Cedarwood until he's shocked and experiencing wonder. In this case what do you think he's feeling? Do the details of his eyes as simple as they're drawn convey laughter or suspicion for you?
Exercise
Take a character you’ve been working on and sketch a range of five different expressions. Push each one to its extreme to see how much emotion you can convey.
