Express Your Feelings!

The human face has something around fifty muscles in it. Most of these muscles in some way contribute to the way people communicate with each other. I'm not talking about speaking, though (though it is a big part of communication). I'm talking about facial expressions. Scott McCloud has a very nice chapter on the subject in his book "Making Comics." I could seriously talk for hours about this, but since I can't talk about everything, I'll cover the main stuff.

Facial expressions communicate about a thousand times more to the audience than most words can. It's one thing to say how you feel, but it's another to look it (It just makes me angry when people say how they feel). What's more, is that a person can be feeling one way, and say something that is an attempt to hide or disregard their feelings. The point is this: I can say I'm happy, but you're more likely to believe it if I'm smiling, laughing, hugging everyone I meet, or dancing in the street. Comics don't have the luxury of sound, so everything must be communicated visually. With that, some artists have taken a creative license to exaggerate emotions, or use symbology (a lightbulb above the head, smoke blowing out of ears, etc). But an artist has to remember that there is also subtle expressions. I'm at one level of happiness if I find a five dollar bill on the street, but I'm at another if a girl agrees to go out on a date with me.

Facial expressions (and therefore body language), are one of the most important things for an artist to study. Look at your friends and family and note the way they express themselves. Do people display annoyance differently? Who smiles with their teeth and who doesn't? Are some people more reserved in their emotions, and are others the type that wear their emotions on their sleeve? How does that connect to their age, profession, or the context of the scene?