Basics of animating different facial expressions

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Pete111

Pete111

Intro

Animating a character’s facial expressions might sound difficult at first, but it becomes much easier once you’ve mastered the basics. The key is learning how to illustrate core emotions like joy, sadness, and anger. Once you understand these fundamental expressions, bringing your character’s face to life becomes a whole lot smoother—and way more fun.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to animate a variety of facial expressions and share some tips to make your animations look more believable and natural.

Drawing basic facial expressions

But before diving into animation, it’s important to first focus on illustrating your character’s emotions. Start by creating your character and practicing different facial expressions. This helps you become more familiar with their features and personality, making it much easier to draw expressive, believable and consistent reactions later on.

Say hello to the character I’ll be using for today’s session! I’ll be animating him with all sorts of facial expressions—but before we jump into the fun stuff, let’s learn how to draw him pulling different faces :⁠-⁠)

Right now, my character’s expression is neutral—or relaxed. This kind of expression is usually the starting point for any animation. Drawing a neutral face is super simple! You can represent the mouth with just a straight horizontal line, like this emoji: ‘😐’, and keep the eyes and brows in their natural, resting position.

When drawing character expressions, facial features change a lot depending on the emotion. To really sell the expression, here are the key parts you should focus on:

 

1. Eyes 👁️👁️

The shape of the eyes changes with every emotion!

 

Wide and open for surprise/shock

Squinted for anger or suspicion

Half-closed for bored or tiredness

 

2. Eyebrows / Brows 🪄

The shape and position of the brows tell a lot.

 

Raised and arched = surprised

Furrowed and angled down = angry or focused

Tilted up in the middle = sadorworried

 

3. Mouth 👄

Mouths are super expressive—even with simple lines!

 

A curve up = happy

Curvedown = sad

Zigzag or uneven = confused or nervous

Straightline = neutral or unimpressed

 

4. Overall Head Shape & Extra Details 🧠

Sometimes the whole head shape shifts with the emotion!

 

(Add wrinkles or creases on the forehead, cheeks, or around the mouth for emphasis)

Tensed jaw or puffed cheeks can also boost the expression.

Tip: Try acting out the expression in a mirror—it really helps you spot the subtle details you can add to your drawing!

This tutorial will cover the five basic facial expressions:

Neutral

Happy

Sad

Angry

Surprised/Shocked

 

Let’s dive in and explore how each one brings characters to life!

Happy 😊

Happiness can be shown in many ways—through a smile, a laugh, or even a subtle chuckle.

To draw a happy face, here are the key facial features to focus on:

Smiling


1. Eyes – Dots or curves; shape shows emotion (e.g., curved up = happy).

2. Mouth – Upward curve for smile; wide or tilted changes the vibe.

3. Eyebrows – Optional but powerful; shape changes the expression.

4. Cheeks/blush (optional)– Adds warmth or cuteness.

Laughing


1. Closed or squinted eyes – Often curved like upside-down U's.

2. Wide open mouth – Big curve or oval shape, sometimes showing teeth.

3. Raised cheeks – Makes eyes look more squinted.

4. Optional extras – Sweat drop, motion lines, or tilted head for emphasis.

5. Face wrinkle/ creases – add wrinkles to the edge of the mouth to emphasize the smile.

Note

You can create a hybrid expression by blending the key facial details of two different emotions. This technique is crucial for making your character’s personality and intentions shine through their natural expression. For example, a normal smile can easily become a devious smile with just a few subtle changes.

Anger 😠

Anger can range from a mild glare to a full-blown raging expression. You can even mix anger with sadness to create a more complex and emotional look on your character. Here are the key features to keep in mind when drawing an angry expression:

Glare


1. Angled eyebrows – Slanting down toward the center (furrowed).

2. Narrowed or glaring eyes – Can be sharp or squinted.

3. Frowning mouth – Downturned

4. Wrinkles or lines – On forehead or between brows to show

tension.

Rage


1. Heavily furrowed eyebrows – Deep angle, often with wrinkle lines.

2. Wide, intense eyes – Sometimes bloodshot or glaring.

3. Open mouth with bared teeth – Yelling or screaming look.

4. Tensed facial muscles – Especially around the jaw and forehead.

5. Veins or stress lines (optional) – For extra

intensity.

You can always adjust the intensity of an emotion to make your character’s expressions more dynamic and impactful.

Sad 😔

Sadness can be shown in many ways—from a subtle frown to deep mourning or intense crying. Here are the key features to focus on when drawing a sad expression:

Frown


1. Upturned inner eyebrows – Creates a sorrowful look.

2. Drooping eyes – Half-lidded or teary.

3. Frowning or trembling mouth – Often curved downward.

4. Tear streaks or watery eyes – Optional but emotional.

5. Lowered head or tilted face – Adds to the defeated vibe.

Crying/weeping


1. Tear-filled or streaming eyes – The most obvious sign of crying.

2. Eyebrows arched upward in the middle – Shows emotional pain.

3. Quivering or open mouth – Often curved downward or trembling.

4. Reddened eyes or cheeks – Adds realism and emotional weight.

5. Wrinkles near eyes and nose – From scrunching the face while sobbing.

Surprise 😲

Surprise can be expressed in many ways—from a simple gasp to full-blown terror. Here's what to focus on when illustrating a surprised expression:

Surprise/shock


1. Wide-open eyes – Often with raised upper eyelids.

2. Raised eyebrows – Arched high to show alarm.

3. Open mouth – Usually round or slightly agape.

4. Tensed or frozen expression – Minimal movement, like a sudden pause.

5. Pale or sweat details – Optional, for added dramatic effect.

Terrified


1. Wide, trembling eyes – Pupils may shrink; eyes may show whites.

2. Raised and furrowed eyebrows – Creates a panicked look.

3. Open mouth – Often stretched in a scream or gasp.

4. Tensed facial muscles – Especially around the mouth and jaw.

5. Sweat drops, pale skin, or shaking lines – Adds intensity and fear.

Tired (extra)

Note

Mastering expression drawing comes down to one thing: practice. The more you practice, the easier it becomes — until shaping and mixing expressions feels second nature. Push yourself, stylize your characters, create hybrid expressions, and most importantly, never stop practicing!

 

 

Animating expressions

Now that we’ve learned how to draw facial expressions, it’s time to bring them to life through animation. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through different facial expression animations you can practice—and show you exactly how to approach each one.


Preparation and workflow.

I use Clip Studio on Android for everything covered in this tutorial, but you can still follow along using other software or hardware. This guide focuses on animation techniques, not specific tools—so the principles apply anywhere. To set up your animation canvas in Clip Studio Paint, tap the 'Draw' icon and go into 'Advanced Settings.

After tapping the 'Advanced Settings' icon, you'll be able to select 'Animation.' From there, adjust the canvas settings to your preference. For this tutorial, here are the settings I'm using:

 

 

In the animation settings shown (specifically the rightmost panel), here’s what the Playback time and Frame rate settings control:

 

Frame Rate (fps):

 

Set to 24 – This means the animation will play 24 frames per second, which is the standard for traditional animation and film.

A higher frame rate (e.g., 30 or 60) results in smoother motion, while a lower one (e.g., 12) can feel more choppy or stylized.

 

Playback Time:

 

Set to 48 – This determines how many frames your animation will run.

With a frame rate of 24 fps and a playback time of 48 frames, your total animation duration will be 2 second

After creating your canvas make sure you enable timelapse and add the timelapse icon to the task bar menu

When you create a canvas in Clip Studio Paint, an animation folder is automatically generated. However, if you want to create a new one manually, go to Menu > Animation > New Animation Layer > Animation Folder. This folder will hold the layers—or cels—that you’ll place in your timeline to bring your animation to life.

To use the timelapse feature, tap the Timelapse icon. You’ll be able to view all your frames. To insert a layer, tap and hold on a frame in the timeline. A pop-up menu will appear, giving you options to Add a New Cel, Delete a Cel, or Create a New Cel.

Another important setting to check before you start animating is the Onion Skin. This feature lets you see both the previous and next drawings, making it easier to stay consistent. It’s especially helpful when you're working on in-between frames, as it helps you keep track of motion and flow throughout your animation.

 

To enable Onion skin, go to menu > animation > Show animation cell > enable Onion skin.

For info about basic animation features in clip studio paint check out the official tutorial.


Eye animation

When it comes to animating facial expressions, mastering basic eye animation is crucial for creating believable and expressive characters. The eyes and eyebrows, along with the mouth, play the biggest roles in conveying emotion. That’s why understanding simple eye movements like blinking, looking around, or rolling the eyes can significantly enhance the quality and realism of your overall facial animation.

Animate a simple blink

To animate a simple blink, just 4 frames are enough to create a smooth and appealing effect. I use a frame rate of 24fps because it gives me more flexibility with timing—there are more frames to play with, which allows for better control. The key to a good blinking animation is perfect timing—not too fast, not too slow. Get that right, and even a quick blink can add a lot of life to your character.

Drawing the frames

The first stage of creating an animation involves applying basic principles by drawing the initial and final positions of a motion. These two drawings are enough to give the viewer a clear idea of what’s happening. They are called key frames.

 

To start:

 

1. Open your animation folder and create a new layer.

2. On this layer, draw the eyes open.

3. Create another layer within the same folder, and draw the eyes closed.

4. Move the second layer to the appropriate point on the timeline to show when the eyes should close.

5. Play the animation to check if the timing looks natural and adjust as needed.

Breakdown

After illustrating the key frames, create a new layer to draw the in-between frame this is a transitional drawing between the eyes being open and closed. Use the onion skin feature to guide your drawing by showing a ghost image of the key frames. Visualize the eyes as partially closed and sketch that state.

 

Next, drag this in-between layer to a position on the timeline between your two key frames. You can add multiple in-between drawings to smooth out the motion. However, in this tutorial, we’ll use only two in-between frames, since blinking is a fast action—too quick for the human eye to catch every single frame.

 

These in-between frames are called breakdown frames. They help make the animation smoother and more believable by bridging the gap between major movements.

To create a more realistic and organic animation, animators often use a technique called the overshoot frame. An overshoot frame is essentially an exaggerated version of the final key frame, and it’s placed just before the final key frame in the timeline.

 

This technique helps convey the intensity and force behind a motion. The greater the force or emotion, the more pronounced the overshoot becomes.

 

For a blink animation, you can add an overshoot frame by drawing the eyes in a squinted, tightly closed position—more intense than a regular blink—and placing it right before the final closed-eye key frame. This small detail can communicate a lot about the emotion behind the blink, whether it’s a gentle blink of fatigue or a forceful blink of frustration or surprise.

Here's the result of the drafted simple blink animation.

Timing animation

Timing is one of the most crucial—and complex—elements in animation. Most blinks happen in less than a second, so when working at 24 frames per second (fps), a blink should typically not exceed the 24th frame.

Getting the timing right isn't just about realism—it’s also a great way to express emotion. A fast, sharp blink might show shock or irritation, while a slow blink could suggest tiredness or calmness.

 

The timeline is your main tool for controlling timing. You can move each layer along the timeline to adjust exactly when things happen. Mastering the timeline also allows you to create smooth loops, which is essential for seamless animations.

When working with timing, always make sure you understand the motion you're trying to achieve, and don’t forget to preview your animation frequently to fine-tune the feel and flow.

Eye roll animation

Another eye animation worth noting is the simple eye roll. It's commonly used in a variety of expressions—such as thoughtfulness, annoyance, or contempt. While it may seem subtle, it plays a powerful role in conveying emotion and attitude.

 

The key point is: the eye roll is an essential detail when animating a full facial expression, adding depth and realism to your character’s performance.

Drawing frame

Start by drawing the eyes in their natural, forward-looking position. This is your starting key frame.

Draw the eyes in their rolled position—usually looking upward, but you can roll them sideways or diagonally depending on the emotion (e.g., contempt = side-eye roll). In this tutorial, I draw the eyes rolled upwards to the left and right in a separate frame, this two drawings serves as my second and third key frame.

Tip:

Make sure the pupils remain inside the eye socket for believability.

Turn on onion skin mode so you can see a ghost of both key frames. This helps you maintain smooth transitions between frames.

Draw 2–4 in-between frames where the pupils gradually move from the starting to the ending position.

If you're going for a slow, dramatic eye roll, add more in-betweens.

If it’s a quick, sarcastic roll, just 1–2 frames might be enough.

You can also slightly move the eyelids or brows to exaggerate the feeling (e.g., raised brows for thoughtfulness, lowered brows for contempt).

In my own case I created 2-3 breakdown between my key frames.

Tip

When animating an eye roll, remember that the eyeball is a sphere. Use the Free Transform or Mesh Transform tool to adjust its movement and maintain realistic perspective.

Drag each frame into place on your timeline to space out the movement evenly. Play around with timing to match the emotion.

Play your animation repeatedly. Tweak the timing or drawing if something feels off. A good eye roll should feel natural, effortless, and expressive.

Here’s my final animation result. Feel free to try this practice yourself—you might even create something even better!

Simple Facial expression animation

Now that we’ve covered the basics of human expressions and simple animation techniques, it’s time to take things a step further with full facial expressions. In this tutorial, we’ll focus on four key expressions: smile, laughter, anger, and shock.

 

I’ll walk you through how I approach each one, breaking down the principles behind them. By understanding these techniques, you’ll be equipped to create more complex and expressive facial animations of your own.

Animating a smile

We’ll be using the same basic animation principles as before. Start by drawing the neutral expression as your first keyframe, then draw the smiling face as your second keyframe. Pay close attention to the facial feature changes that occur when smiling—these were covered in the first part of the tutorial.

Now start creating the breakdown drawings. Since a simple smile happens quickly, one breakdown frame is enough for the in-between. When drawing it, gradually raise the cheeks and lips, and position the eyes between a neutral and squinted look. Make sure Onion Skin is enabled to help ensure a smooth transition.

Tip

When drawing a smiling face, be sure to lift the character’s jaw—this adds intensity to the smile and makes the animation feel more natural and expressive.

Give your animation a more natural look by adding an overshoot frame before the final frame.

Final animation;

Animating an expressive laugh

As always, start with the two keyframes: the neutral expression and the full laughing pose. Pay attention to key feature changes—like squinted eyes, an open mouth, and lifted cheeks.

Create the breakdown for the animation using Onion Skin as your guide. Draw the in-between frames and position them accurately on the timeline for a smooth transition.

 

 

When a character laughs, there’s usually a slight bounce or head shake. To add this effect, duplicate the final frame and use the Transform tool to shift the head slightly up or down. Then, use the Lasso tool to select the body and subtly increase its size with the Transform tool—this creates a squash-and-stretch feel. Alternate the edited frame with the original final frame at consistent intervals on the timeline. Repeat this sequence until you reach the end of the laugh. Finally, play back your animation to check the timing and make any necessary adjustments.

 

 

Final animation:

Animating angry expression

Start by drawing the keyframes: the neutral expression and the angry one. When creating the second keyframe, focus on key details like furrowed brows, gritted teeth, and narrowed eyes. Place your keyframes at the right spots on the timeline—use trial and error and preview the animation to find the perfect timing.

Use breakdown drawings to smooth out the transition. For this example, I created two in-betweens to enhance the flow. I turned the second breakdown into an overshoot frame and alternated it with the final frame along the timeline. This creates a subtle twitch in the eyebrows and a continuous mouth twitch, adding extra intensity to the emotion.

Final animation

It's amazing how we can use a couple of drawings to bring a character to life isn't it?

Animating Shock

For the shock animation, I created four keyframes, adding a blink to emphasize the surprised expression. I started by drawing the neutral face as the first keyframe, followed by the surprised expression as the second. The third and fourth keyframes show the surprised face with the eyes closed and then reopened. After completing the keyframes, I placed them on the timeline at carefully chosen intervals to achieve the perfect timing.

 

 

Tip

When drawing the shocked expression, make sure to lower the jaw of your character this will emphasize the shock and make the overall animation looks more natural.

Once the keyframes are completed, it’s time to move on to the in-between drawings. I started by creating a breakdown for the shock animation, expanding the mouth, raising the brows, and widening the eyes. Since most expression changes happen quickly, there’s usually no need for too many breakdowns. For this tutorial, I created just one breakdown between the neutral keyframe and the shocked expression.

Animating the blink is simple—just follow the same process we discussed earlier in the tutorial. For the blink animation, the main focus when drawing the breakdowns is the eyes. Carefully time your breakdowns to create the most natural and believable movement possible.

Final animation

Rendering your animation.

There are several ways to paint and render your animation. Personally, I prefer the technique often used by anime animators, which involves using color separation lines to define areas of light and shadow. These lines help clearly separate highlights, midtones, and shadows, making the character look sharp, expressive, and easy to animate.

 

 

Before rendering your animation, think about the environment where the scene takes place—this will help you imagine how the lighting should affect your character. It’s a good idea to illustrate your background early, so you can easily add it to the canvas after animating. For this animation, I created a simple background in advance, which gave me a clear idea of how the lighting would work.

Color separation line

In animation—especially anime—color separation lines are used to divide areas of light and shadow with sharp edges instead of soft blending.

Animators apply a base color, then add shadows and highlights using clean, hard-edged shapes. This technique makes characters look bold, keeps movement clear, and speeds up production.

 

It is mainly used because it is faster since flat color areas are quicker to paint than detailed gradients and it is easier to maintain across many frames and artists.

 

Typical Steps:

1. Draw clean lineart.

2. Fill in base colors.

3. Add sharp-edged shadows and highlights based on lighting.

4. Check for consistency across frames.

To get started with this process, make sure your lineart is clean—unless you're intentionally creating a stylized animation.

For Clip Studio Paint users: turn your layers into folders by tapping and holding the layers, then selecting 'Create Folder and Insert Layer.' Do this for all layers involved in the animation.

The reason for this is simple: in Clip Studio, each folder acts as a single frame on the timeline. This way, you can add new layers inside the folder (like your color separation lines) without creating a new frame, keeping your animation organized and efficient.

 

 

Create a new layer underneath all your folders and label it 'Color Separation Line.'

Use Clip Studio’s default G-Pen (or any other hard-edged pen) to draw your separation lines.

When drawing, use blue to outline the shadow areas and yellow or red to mark the highlight areas.

Repeat this process for every frame, then play your animation to ensure the lines flow smoothly from frame to frame.

Create another layer beneath the Color Separation Line layer, and use it to fill in the outlined areas.

The filled sections will serve as your shadows and highlights.

Once you’ve filled all the frames, play the animation to make sure the transitions are smooth and everything lines up properly.

Base colors

Once you’re done with the color separation, it’s time to add the base colors.

Create a new layer beneath both the Line Art layer and the Color Separation Line layer.

Fill in the base colors, then clip the Color Separation layer onto the Base Color layer.

This will neatly apply your shadows and highlights over the base, giving you a clean, professional look.

 

 

You can change the color of your Color Separation layer by enabling 'Lock Transparent Pixels.' In Clip Studio Paint, you’ll find this option at the top of the Layer palette—it's the icon that looks like a small checkerboard.

This allows you to paint over the existing lines without coloring outside them.

Once you're happy with the final look, add your background and preview your full animation.

Full animation;

Exporting your animation

Go to File > Export Animation > Movie (for video) or File > Export Animation > Animated GIF (for a GIF).

Set your export settings, like resolution, frame rate, and file format. Choose where to save your file and click OK. Clip Studio will render your frames into a final animation ready to share!

Tip:

If you want a smoother animation, export as a .mp4 video. For simpler loops (like for social media), GIF works great!

Final

And that wraps up this tutorial!

We covered the entire process—from rough animation to clean line art, color separation, rendering, and final export.

With these techniques, I hope you’ll be able to create smoother, more professional-looking animations in Clip Studio Paint.

Keep practicing, experiment with different styles, and most importantly, have fun bringing your characters to life! Thanks.

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