Facial expressions

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RaquelArellano

1. Creation of the file

This tutorial explains how to perform some facial expressions with Clip Studio Paint. For this we will start with some anatomical bases of the head to be able to fit well the elements that make up the face; nose, eyes, mouth, etc. First of all we are going to see how to open an appropriate new file and what tools must be taken into account when working.

To start drawing we will open a new file (blank page / page). To do this, we will go to the top left of the program, in the "File" section and click on "New".

We will open a window like this in which we must choose the preferences of the paper we want. I like to start with a Din A4 (297 × 210mm) which translated in pixels equals 2480 x 3508 dpi. The resolution is important that it is at least 300 dpi, since that will help us to work the details better without the drawing being pixelated.

Note: You can also configure other options such as "Basic expression color". But for the moment we leave it in "Default Color". It is advisable to name the file from the beginning to identify it more easily. Once we accept the new file preferences, we will see the Clip Studio Paint screen as follows (image below). We are going to use the browser quite a lot when working (white square shown at the top right) as it will be very useful to expand or zoom out the areas that interest us from the canvas.

You could already say that we have the canvas ready to start drawing! Let's look at the tools we want to use. In this case, to make Sketches of the head I opt for the use of textured brushes that mimic the pencil. A good option is the "real pencil."

Note: It is also very important before starting to draw, make sure to create a new layer (in the section on the bottom right) by clicking on the folio with a folded corner. In this way we create transparent layers that will not affect the main layer.

In “Tool properties” (in this case of the real pencil) we can adjust and customize the options we want to obtain the result that interests us in the drawing.

2. Basic head shapes

If you look closely, the head does not have a perfect rounded shape, but rather extends slightly backwards. In these examples of sketch I represent the head in 3/4, front and side to have a more extensive study of its forms and physiognomy.

If you look closely, each color assumes a different area of the head and face. This makes it much easier to start visualizing where and how to place each item. Below, in the black and white sketch, we see the broken down forms (the ellipse of the head and jaw).

To carry out this small study of the head, I have made several different layers: One for the black outlined, one with the colors in low layer opacity and another layer for the guides / red lines (made by pressing “Shift” and sliding the brush.)

Note: Lowering the opacity of the layer helps a lot when we want to visualize the layer above or below to polish the idea of the sketch, for example by following the outline and passing it to clean.

With the low opacity of the red lines, we mark where each element that will form the face and head will go, such as the lines of the ears, which are proportional to the nose, the eyes have a separation from each other from the other eye, etc. .

Note: These physiognomy proportions follow a more realistic basis than a “cartoon” or manga style. Anyway, it is advisable to know this type of proportions for when we want to pass it to the style that we want (stylish, manga, etc.) and that disproportionate faces and heads do not come out.

3. Expressions- Happiness

Once we know how to fit approximately each element of the face, we can start drawing some expressions, modifying the parts that will help us better identify an expression; as for example happens with the eyebrows, the eyes and the mouth.

For a happy expression, the eyebrows are usually drawn a little higher than usual and are arched. The corners of the mouth rise and the eyes close a little. It can be exaggerated more or less depending on the intensity of the expression we want to interpret. With a light gray or lowering the opacity of the layer I added shading to incorporate volumes in the face.

3.1. Expressions - Angry

For an angry expression (the opposite of the happy expression) we will make the lower eyebrows, the corners of the mouth arch down, the eyes are usually closer to the eyebrows and somewhat more open (depending on the intensity of the expression , can be closed more). We can also add as a plus lowering the head tilt a little. The frown also frowns, marking prominent wrinkles.

At the time of making the grays I use this pencil-brush called "Darker Pencil" for the light gray base, since it hardly has textures. Then with the "Real Pencil" I highlight the darkest areas, generating texture. The rubber is also useful for erasing small areas such as erasing gray eyes.

The rubber I usually use is “Stronger” and has enough hardness to erase everything without having to go through the same area twice.

Note: I try that all the tools I use have pressure on the pencil, so if I press more, a thicker line is drawn than if I press less.

3. 2. Expressions- Surprise

This type of expression is usually interpreted with fairly large and round eyes, raised eyebrows, ajar or open mouth. The face lengthens a bit in proportion to the intensity of the emotion.

4. Psychology of color

The expressions have a very close link with the color and it is that the color is capable of transmitting emotions according to its hue, saturation, brightness, etc. Next, we will make a small study of the 3 expressions that we have done by applying different ranges of colors related to this type of emotions.

Note: The color in Clip Studio Paint is selected using this color circle. With the cursor we select the desired color and in the window on the left we can see the chosen tone. Below (the numbers) we can see the characteristics of the chosen hue in RGB (such as saturation, value and hue or hue).

4. 1. Psychology of color - Happiness

Colors that convey happiness (suitable for this type of expression) are usually saturated and bright. In the color circle we look for colors that have a warm feeling.

These colors could serve to convey a positive feeling, since they have a lot of saturation and brightness. It is true that the same color range can be used to transmit different sensations, but it all depends on its values of light, pigment, darkness, among others. In the end it is quite subjective.

4. 2 Psychology of color - Anger

It is interesting to apply these colors by combining them on a preset color base to give a touch of realism.

For this type of expression we will look for some striking colors that are aggressive. Green and red are two colors that, if used with the appropriate values and / or saturations, can create emotion of hate and aggressiveness.

4. 3 Psychology of color - Surprise

Cold colors, such as dark purple and dark blue, often convey negative feelings. In this case, the colors darken a bit to emphasize the type of emotion.

5. Color final

Finally, we will try to paint an expression (that of happiness) to see how we can integrate some of the colors that we have commented together with different ones to give a more realistic touch.

Note: For coloring I use brushes without texture, as is the type of “opaque watercolor”. I also like the effect of different values and pigments that are created by sliding the brush (preferences that depend on the type of illustration I want to make).

Once we have the color base we want, we create a new layer and select the option “Adjust to lower layer” so that the color of that layer does not leave the base color. In this way it is much easier to color without leaving the line.

Note: As we have said before, warm, saturated and bright colors are a good option for positive emotions. It is also advisable to add a light touch of complementary color (blue in this case, for the eyes) to focus our attention on a specific point.