A portrait that comes to life can be considered a successful portrait. The portrait of a person is made alive by the emotions displayed on it. In fact, it is not so difficult to draw the emotions of a person, as it seems at first glance. If you do not draw from life or from a photograph, then you can approach the mirror before work. Having taken the necessary look, you need to 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 step in your work is a sketch. When creating a portrait, it is important to take into account the angle in order to maintain the correct proportions of the face. Describe the basics you need: the oval of the head, neck and, if desired, the contours of the shoulders. Draw a vertical axis of symmetry of the face. Divide it with a horizontal line, approximately in a ratio of 1: 2, counting from the top edge. At the height of this line the eyes will be located. Outline eyebrows in small arcs. In the middle of the lower, longer, part of the vertical 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 the mouth with a slightly bent down horizontal line. Do not forget to outline the ears and chin, and you can begin to study 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, try to draw the emotions of a happy person. In an enthusiastic state in people, the eyes usually do not change, but you can show light wrinkles that appear around them with a smile. To enhance the effect, you can display slightly dilated pupils. The arches of the eyebrows are slightly raised. A smile can be portrayed by curving the line of the mouth and lifting the outer corners of the lips. Do not forget about the folds or, if the person you are drawing, they have dimples on the cheeks. Also, in a smiling person, the cheeks are slightly raised and appear more plump, for this, make small lines curved down under the eyes. If the smile is “open”, then show your teeth in several vertical lines.
Anger
For the most part, evil eyebrows are attached to eyebrows shifted to the bridge of the nose. The inner corners of the eyebrows are very low, almost clinging to the eyes, the outer ones, on the contrary, take off. Because of this, a wrinkle forms on the nose, which can be shown with small vertical strokes. Eyes in anger narrow strongly, wrinkles appear under them and near the outer corners, show them with horizontal strokes. The mouth is also important: you can portray an evil grin by drawing teeth and showing the lines of the nasolabial fold - from the wings of the nose to the corners of the lips. The mouth resembles a perfect circle in shape: the upper lip seems to be wrapped with corners down, while the lower lip forms an arc raised upward. Due to the fact that the mouth of a screaming person is open, you need to lower the lower jaw and chin, prolonging the oval of the face. The wings of the nose expand greatly. When creating a portrait of an evil person, you can slightly sharpen facial features, this will give him a little aggressiveness.
Mockery
The mocking expression on the face gives the shape of the eyebrows and mouth. Raise one eyebrow in an arc, and depict another wave-like, lowering the inner corner. From the side of a raised eyebrow, pull up and the wing of the nose. Depict a smirk by lifting one corner of the lips. Due to this, the entire line of the mouth is slightly shifted towards the raised corner. Lower your lower lip and your teeth will be slightly visible. Also, a fold is formed on the cheek from the side where the smile is extended. Narrow your eyes slightly and show with small strokes wrinkles around the outer corners, as with a smile.
Surprise
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 eyebrow. The arches of the eyebrows are strongly curved, due to this, horizontal folds form on the forehead. Or you can raise only one eyebrow, this will give your portrait even more surprise. When the eyebrows rise, the nose rises with them, so slightly extend it upwards. The eyes are often rounded and wide. The mouth is slightly ajar, in shape it looks like an oval, and do not forget to draw teeth inside it.
Sadness
In sadness, people often lower their heads, and to show this, they need to make the frontal lobe of the head oval a little larger, and cut the lower jaw and chin. The eyes do not change their shape, but the gaze is usually lowered down (show it by moving the pupil at the lower edge of the eye), so the upper eyelids will slightly cover their eyes and seem larger. The inner ends of the eyebrows are lifted, and the remaining part follows the shape of the eye, dropping down in an arc - this can be shown in a curve resembling a wave line. The lips will be tightly closed, and their corners will go down. If the person in your portrait is crying, then the shape of his eyes will be narrowed. Tears can be shown with a simple line. The paths of tears, leaving the outer corners of the eyes, follow the lines of the oval of the face and go down to the chin, around the cheeks.
Disgust
When expressing disgust, the face seems to wrinkle, so horizontal wrinkles will form on the forehead, a vertical wrinkle will appear between the eyebrows, and a slightly noticeable nasolabial fold near the mouth. Draw the eyebrows as straight as possible and lower them lower to the eyes, but lift the inner corners up. The eyes will not differ much from the neutral expression, except that they will be slightly narrowed. Neglect is also expressed by the upper lip raised on one side and exposing the teeth.
Thoughtfulness
Thought is the last state that we will try to draw. Emotions of a pensive man are weakly expressed. People usually relax the muscles of the face, lost in thought, but the eyebrows in this expression can be shifted, so a crease appears 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 more thoughtfulness. You can look away or look down, just draw the 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 a restless person, the facial muscles are uncontrollably tense, so you need to display the folds on the forehead and under the eyes. Eyebrows, as in the expression of sadness, form a wave, while the eyes are wide and round. In addition, in a person experiencing excitement, the pupils may be slightly dilated. 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 in stages, and your portrait turned out to be alive.