[1] About this tutorial

Facial expressions determine how a character is perceived by the viewer. This tutorial explains how to draw a variety of facial expressions such as sleeping, sneezing, and embarrassment.

This tutorial was made for us by illustrator hnk!

 

[2] Sleepy expressions

■ Yawning

First of all, I will show you how to draw yawns!

The typical expression that represents yawning is closed eyes and a wide-open mouth. Many people try to hide their mouths with a hand because they feel embarrassed to show their open mouth.

Often, the eyes start to water a little. The shape of the eyebrows depends on the character’s emotion and situation. For example, the brow could be wrinkled between the eyebrows to express tension, or the eyebrows could be an inverted V-shape if the character is more relaxed.

 

■ Tired expression

When drawing a tired character, you can make the eyes look down and put the head at a slight tilt to make the character look like they are about to fall asleep. You can also effectively express tiredness by making the character wipe their eyes or even drool.

 

[3] Sleeping expression

Next, I’ll move on to sleeping expressions.

The most natural expression when a person is asleep is closed eyes and a neutral expression. It is complete relaxation.

 

This expression is enough to show the character is sleeping, but you can also adjust the eyebrows and eyes to show the character’s emotion.

For example, by adding a slight smile, it looks like the character is sleeping happily. You can make the viewers imagine how your character is feeling, as though she is having fun dreams.

 

On the other hand, a frowning expression or a clenched jaw will make the character look like she is having a nightmare. You can use this to reveal the unstable condition of the character, such as bad dreams or everyday stress.

In this way, sleeping characters can have many different expressions depending on their emotion and psychological state.

 

[4] Sneezing

Next, I will talk about how to draw a sneezing character.

When sneezing, people almost always reflexively close their eyes. The eyes typically snap shut quickly with a sudden movement of the eyebrows, so people often have a furrowed brow as they sneeze.

For some characters, you can make them cover their mouth with hands or a handkerchief if you feel that something is missing.

 

[5] Proud expression

In the last section, I will show you how to draw proud or smug expressions.

Some people make this kind of proud or smug expression when they feel self-confident, when they are proud, and when they feel satisfied. If your character is the type to display this emotion and they are facing a rival, you might want to give them a self-satisfied expression as they look down on their opponent.

Closing the eyes increases the sense of satisfaction in the expression.

 

For a proud or smug expression, the eyebrows raise and the upper eyelid lowers slightly so that more of the eyelid is visible. You can lift the edges of the mouth slightly to add a slight smile. As for the body posture, making the person stand tall with folded arms or both hands on the waist helps to convey an even more smug feeling.

 

Try drawing characters with a range of emotional expression as well as characters with a variety of personalities!

 

This is the end of the tutorial, “How to draw a variety of facial expressions!” The more facial expressions you can draw, the more options you have for a character's personality, so take your time to master each one.

The below video from Palmie also includes a section on how to draw several embarrassed expressions, so take a look for more information.

Note: This video is in Japanese.

 

Over 200 free lessons are available on the drawing course website Palmie! Check it out!

Note: The Palmie website is only available in Japanese.

 

・ Artist profile: hnk

My name is hnk. I doodle a lot. I also love drawing girls. Thanks for reading the article!