Expressions

The art task for this week was to create three different facial expressions of our choice, while learning about the fundamentals of this practise. Below is my exploration of expressions.

Approach

I had chose to create three different facial expressions. From left to right on my expression piece: Suspicious, Happy and Disgusted. My reason being that I wanted to create a main expression, which was Happy, and two alternative expressions which were completely different from each other. Suspicious has a subtle brooding look, which I wanted to create. The main attention is drawn to the eyebrows and eyes, as this is where the majority of the expression lies. With the Happy expression, the eyes, mouth and cheeks are accentuated the most. As the mouth moves, the eyes slightly close with the skin stretching on the face. For the Disgusted expression, one eyebrow is more raised than the other, with the top lip being raised more than usual. Additionally, the eyes are slightly widened, to show a disgusted look.

Research

I undertook research by finding different people with different expressions, and using them as references for the expressions, as I was unsure of how to draw a face with expressions without a reference model (Darmaev, 2021; Golubovy, 2021; Paul Ekman Group, 2021). I found three different expression from a variety of models, and used their expressions as a starting reference for my practise. As using real life models is one of the best ways to practise drawing facial expressions.

Skills Learned

From drawing expressions, I have learned about the anatomy of the face, how the muscles can move the skin, and how the skin stretches and moves with each different expression. For example, the skin on a persons face would move more with a happy expression than it would with a suspicious expression. I have also learned how much an expression can tell a story, just from a persons eyes.

Improvement

To improve these expressions, I would draw more of the same expressions, instead of one of each. As each expression of every person will not be the same, and this would be good practise for expression drawing. For example, one persons suspicious look would be different to the same expression of another person, as everyone’s face is unique. Furthermore, I would also include more details onto the drawings, such as hair, colours and details on the skin. Including lines showing where the skin is stretching on the face.

References

Darmaev, A. (2021) Young caucasian woman girl with confused, annoyed, frustrated, irritated, disgusted look expression [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.dreamstime.com/young-caucasian-woman-girl-confused-annoyed-frustrated-irritated-disgusted-look-expression-image169646292 [Accessed 6/12/2021].

Golubovy (2021) Suspicious squinting doubtful girl face expression [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.dreamstime.com/suspicious-squinting-doubtful-girl-face-expression-skeptic-young-beautiful-hair-bun-blue-background-emotional-facial-image127240348 [Accessed 6/12/2021].

Paul Ekman Group (2021) The Face of Happiness [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/what-is-enjoyment/ [Accessed 6/12/2021].

Below are my expressions.