facial expressions: a visual reference for artists

AcquisitionsEditor,JoyAquilinoProjectEditor,RobbieCappDesigner,MarkSimon

GraphicProduction,HectorCampbell

Copyright©2005MarkSimon

Publishedin2005byWatson-GuptillPublications,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,

adivisionofRandomHouse,Inc.,NewYorkwww.crownpublishing.comwww.watsonguptill.com

LibraryofCongressControlNumber2004116562eISBN:978-0-8230-0831-5

Allrightsreserved.

v3.1

http://www.crownpublishing.com

http://www.watsonguptill.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

OFCOURSE,ABOOKLIKE thiscouldnotexistwithoutthewonderfulmodels who gave their time so generously and posed their faces soexpressively for my camera. On behalf of artists around the world, Ithankyou.

Iamalsogratefultotheincrediblytalentedprofessionalswhoseartforthisbookinspiresme—asitwillgenerationsofartistswhowillbenefitfromtheimaginativeworkcreatedforthesepagesbasedonmygalleriesofreferencephotos.

Myimmediateandextendedfamilywillbelookingfortheirthanks,andtheydeserve it!Notonlydo theyputupwithmedayafterday—theyalso agreed to pose formewhile I tried tomake them look as funny,scary,anduncomfortableaspossible.Thankyou,andIloveyou.

Tomyassistants:Theonly reason I can continue toproducebooksontopofeverythingelseIdoisbecauseyouallgivemesuchgreathelp.Ihope I have helped you asmuch as you have helpedme. Thank you,RichardBartley,ChrisBoyd,CowLauterbach,andCindyRangel.

And,ofcourse,tothecrewatWatson-Guptill,thanks.Thankyouallforsharinginmyvisionandhelpingmemakeitbetter.Inparticular,Iwantto thank JoyAquilino for guidingme along theway,RobbieCapp forpushingme in theediting, andSivanEarnest forher coverdesignandhelpindesigningthetext.

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

MARKSIMONhasbeenaprofessionalartistforovertwenty-fiveyears.His background includes live-action and animation design andproduction, advertising design, comic strips, storyboarding, lecturing,and writing. He is based in Orlando, Florida, where he founded andowns A&S Animation, Inc., a cel animation house, and Animatics &Storyboards, Inc., the largest storyboard house in the southern UnitedStates,withmore than1,600productions to its credit.A&SAnimationdevelops and produces animation for commercials, television, trainingvideos, mobile streaming media, and the Web. The A&S team hasproduced award-winning shorts, commercials, and shows forNickelodeonandCartoonNetwork,anddesignedsetsandspecialeffectsfor live-action feature films. Simon teaches at the DAVE (DigitalAnimation and Visual Effects) School, located at Universal StudiosOrlando,andhisanimationandstoryboardingarticleshaveappearedinvarious industry magazines. He is also the author of ProducingIndependent 2D Character Animation and Storyboards: Motion in Art(SecondEdition),bothpublishedbyFocalPress.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

CoverTitlePageCopyrightAcknowledgmentsAbouttheAuthor

INTRODUCTION

HOWTOUSETHISBOOK

SKULLGALLERY

EXPRESSIONSGALLERY

AGES20–27

AGES31–39

AGES40–47

AGES50–54

AGES65–69

AGES76–78

AGES83

SEQUENTIAL-EXPRESSIONSGALLERY

KISSINGGALLERY

PHONEMESGALLERY

HATSANDHEADGEARGALLERY

SPORTSHEADGEAR

ETHNICHEADDRESSES

CAPSANDCASUALHATS

DRESSIERHATS

SAFETYHEADGEAR

WORKHATS

MODELCONTACTS

ARTISTCONTACTS

INDEXES

INTRODUCTION

I’VEBEENA professional artist for over twenty-five years. Early on, Ihad a repertory of only about five different faces that I always drew.ThenIbeganlookingforadditionalreferencesources.Itookpicturesoffamily and friends to use as reference formy various projects.Next, Iwent through magazines and newspapers and cut out photos ofinteresting faces to add to my collection. Then came the internet, awonderfulsourceforaccessingphotosofcelebrities.

Consistently forcingmyself to draw new and different subjects helpedme to growas an artist, andmy file of references contributedgreatly.But then I realized thatone imageofone facedidnotgivemeall thereference I needed for drawing an individual from several angles,showingarangeoffacialexpressions.

Granted, likemostartists, Ihavemirrorsaroundmeandcanmug intothemand copy the look I need for a givenpiece of art. But suppose Iwanttodrawalargewomanwithanangrylook.Theangryexpressionon my slim male face won’t look the same as the anger on a heavyfemaleface.AndifIneededtodepictasadoldmantwicemyage,thelines on his face would be quite different from those on my face. Irealizedthatinsteadoftryingtohaveaharemofmodelsatmybeckandcall, I needed to develop a file of faces representing many types andages,withexpressionssimulatingavarietyofmoods,photographedfrommanydifferentangles.

Thebookyouareholdingistheresult.Itwasmotivatedbymyquesttobeabetterartistandtohelpmyartistfriendsbysharingthiscollectionofindispensablereferencematerialwiththem.Indiscussingtheconceptfor this book with many professionals—from animators to fineillustrators tocomicbookartists—theyallagreedthat thisbookwouldbeanessentialtoolforthem.

Thesepagesshowmorethanfiftydifferentmenandwomenofvarious

agesandethnicities,eachexpressingabroadarrayofemotions formycamera.Astheirfacessimulateddifferentmoods,Itookpicturesfromanumber of angles, so there are dozens of shots of each model. Inaddition,sincethisreferencebookisforartists,Ithoughtthatyou,thecreative reader,wouldenjoy seeingexamplesofhow thesephotos canstimulatecreativework,soIaskedanumberofprofessionalsintheartworldtoselectareferencephotofromthiscollectionandbaseaworkofartonit,usinganymediumoftheirchoice.Scatteredthroughthebookyou’llfindrealisticillustrations,caricatures,sculptures,andmanyotherworksofartinspiredbythesephotos.

Atthebackofthebook,thereareindexeslistingtheartists,aswellasanumber of the models. Feel free to contact them. Save the world—employanartist!

Enjoy the references. Allow your creativity to thrive. And never letanyonetalkyououtofexpressingyourself.

Toons!

HOWTOUSETHISBOOK

DRAW.LOOKATTHEPICTURES.Drawsomemore.Besidesthat,therearelotsofcreativewaystomakeuseofthesereferencephotos.

Supposeyouneedtodrawamanwithaponytail,butyoucan’tfindanygood examples. Simply choose anyman’s face you’d like to illustrate,andthenuseawoman’sponytailasthereferenceforhishair.

Youcanmixandmatchmanyotherelementsfromthesephotostohelpyou find just the look you want. Draw the eyes from one face, addglassesfromanother,chooseahatfromathird.

Consult the “Table of Contents” when you’re looking for a face of aspecificage;themodelsaresequencedbyageforquickreference.Whenyouwantacertainkindofhatorheadgear,thosearealsoseparatedandlistedbycategory.

Of course, these photos should never limit your imagination. If yourworkcallsforcaricatures,enlargethemodel’schinormaybeaddalargebumponhisnose.Studythefacestofindthesubtledifferencesbetweengendersandethnicities.Noticehowmusclesdistorttheshapeofaface.Make use of this book as a starting point on which to build yourcharacterdesigns.

If you’re a storyboard artist, you may also use the book as a castingsession. For example,when a commercial director asks you to draw aclassic couple in their thirties, youcan turn to the sectionof thebookdevoted to that decade and ask, “Like one of these?” The photos canquicklynarrowthevisualapproachthedirectorwants,soyoucanmoveaheadwithyourboards.

Ifyou’reananimator,you’llfindreferencematerialforcharacterdesign,mouth shapes, and a huge range of facial expressions. Many cameraangles are shown to help you in illustrating turnarounds—charactersdrawnfromeveryangletoguideotheranimatorsandensureconsistency

onaproject.Anothergreataidforanimatorsisthe“PhonemesGallery,”whichprovidesmouthshapesforeachsound.

If you don’t have a specific assignment at the moment, youmay justwant to sketch different faces to stimulate ideas for future projects.Sometimes faces just pop out at you, begging to be drawn. Let thosephotosjump-startyourcreativity.

Pleasenote:Toreinforcethepublisher’sstatementaboutreservedrights(seethecopyrightpage),rememberthatthephotosinthisbookmaynotbe reproduced or used in anyway other than as reference for artists.While themodels understand that their facesmay be replicated in allformsofart,theyhavenotreleasedtherightsfortheirphotostobeusedoutside of this text. All art in this book is copyrighted to theparticipatingartistsorasnoted.

SKULLGALLERY

THESHAPEOFTHE SKULL determines the structure and look of theface,andthemovementofthejawaffectshowwelookwhenwespeak.Thesimilaritiesbetweenskullsaremuchgreater thantheirdifferences,although every skull differs somewhat from all others, but in minorways. The next few pages depict both the bare skull and the skullcoveredinmuscles,togiveyouabetterunderstandingofhowboneandmuscledefineourfacialtraitsandexpressions.

Thejawrotatesfromtherearmostconnection,andistheonlyportionoftheskullstructurethatmoves.Other facialmovements,suchasraisingeyebrows or wrinkling the nose, are based on muscle movement. Sowhiletheskullismadeupoftwenty-eightbones,onlythejawbonecanmove, and its action contributes greatly to the broad range of moodsthatthehumanfaceiscapableofexpressing.

The skull used in the photos is that of an adult male. Although thedifferencesbetweenaman’sandawoman’sskullarenotabsolute,theyareoftenapparentintheseways:

•Maleshavemoreprominentbrowridges.•Maleshavebluntandsquarisheyesockets.•Femaleeyesocketsaresharperandmorerounded.•Maleshavealargerpalate(thetopofthemouth).•Maleshavelargerteeth.•Maleshavesquarerchins.•Femaleshaveroundedchinswithapointinthemiddle.•Femaleskullsaresmaller,smoother,andmoredelicate.

SKULL,ADULTMALE

SKULLWITHMUSCLES,ADULTMALE

EXPRESSIONSGALLERY

THEFOLLOWINGLIST of emotions and ideaswasused to inspire themodels to exhibit a variety of facial expressions. While each modelreacted to different suggestions, not every example listed below isdisplayedbyeachmodel.(Nomodelswerehurtduringtheproductionofthesephotos,eventhoughIwastemptedattimestophysicallyassistthelookoftruepain.)Herearethemanywordsandfeelingsthatelicitedtherangeoffacialexpressionsshowninthegalleryahead.

PLEASEDHAPPYGIGGLINGECSTATIC

HYSTERICALLAUGH

TENDERBLISSFULADORINGLOVINGSEXY

STONE-FACEDSHY

EMBARRASSEDBEWILDEREDCRAZED

ANNOYEDANGRY

FURIOUSTERRIFIEDSCREAMING

CONCERNEDUPSETCRYING

DISTRAUGHTEXCRUCIATINGPAIN

SURPRISEDPUZZLED

CONCENTRATINGLISTENINGINTENTLY

EXCITED

SLYMEAN

CONNIVINGMENACINGEVIL

CHEWINGWHISTLINGSQUINTINGBLOWINGOUTACTINGGOOFY

POUTINGPANTING

BEDRAGGLEDHEADACHYHUNGOVER

MARIAMTELLEZ•AGE20

ARTINSPIREDBYMARIAM’SPHOTOS

CINDYRANGEL•AGE21

ARTINSPIREDBYCINDY’SPHOTOS

COWLAUTERBACH•AGE23

ARTINSPIREDBYCOW’SPHOTOS

PencilsketchesbyTonyMorgan©2005

Flashillustration

RICHARDBARTLEY•AGE23

ARTINSPIREDBYRICHARD’SPHOTOS

ANTHONYANGELOTTI,JR.•AGE24

ARTINSPIREDBYANTHONY’SPHOTOS

ENOCCASTANEDA•AGE24

ARTINSPIREDBYENOC’SPHOTOS

JASONMEYER•AGE24

ARTINSPIREDBYJASON’SPHOTOS

LESVALENTIN•AGE26

ARTINSPIREDBYLES’SPHOTOS

CHRISTINEFAIREY•AGE27

ARTINSPIREDBYCHRISTINE’SPHOTOS

CRAIGFAIREY•AGE27

ARTINSPIREDBYCRAIG’SPHOTOS

SARAHAL-ATRAKCHI•AGE27

ARTINSPIREDBYSARAH’SPHOTOS

MADDIEXIE•AGE31

ARTINSPIREDBYMADDIE’SPHOTOS

GINAGATTS•AGE32

ARTINSPIREDBYGINA’SPHOTOS

LISASEMRAU•AGE32

ARTINSPIREDBYLISA’SPHOTOS

LORIMOORE•AGE32

ARTINSPIREDBYLORI’SPHOTOS

PenandmarkeranimaticillustrationsbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

PencilstoryboardillustrationbyMarkSimon

JACKXIE•AGE33

ARTINSPIREDBYJACK’SPHOTOS

KAYSAL-ATRAKCHI•AGE33

ARTINSPIREDBYKAYS’SPHOTOS

TRAVISBLAISE•AGE33

ARTINSPIREDBYTRAVIS’SPHOTOS

DAVIDSEMRAU•AGE34

ARTINSPIREDBYDAVID’SPHOTOS

PencilstoryboardsbyMarkSimon

DENNISGATTS•AGE34

ARTINSPIREDBYDENNIS’SPHOTOS

ANDREAJABITZ•AGE35

ARTINSPIREDBYANDREA’SPHOTOS

TINAPINTO•AGE36

ARTINSPIREDBYTINA’SPHOTOS

VIKANETANE•AGE36

ARTINSPIREDBYVIKA’SPHOTOS

PenandmarkeranimaticillustrationsbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

LYNDONDUPONT•AGE38

ARTINSPIREDBYLYNDON’SPHOTOS

ALICIADUPONT•AGE39

ARTINSPIREDBYALICIA’SPHOTOS

GILLIANHAGLUND•AGE39

ARTINSPIREDBYGILLIAN’SPHOTOS

PencilstoryboardswithPhotoshopcoloringbyMarkSimon

MARKSIMON•AGE39

ARTINSPIREDBYMARK’SPHOTOS

PencilstoryboardsbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

SALLIEGLANER•AGE39

ARTINSPIREDBYSALLIE’SPHOTOS

PencilcaricaturebyEnocCastaneda©2005

Acrylicpainting

KARLHAGLUND•AGE40

ARTINSPIREDBYKARL’SPHOTOS

PencilandmarkerstoryboardbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

PencilstoryboardbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.


PencilstoryboardbyAlexSaviukofAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

KIMMCINTYRECANNOLD•AGE40

ARTINSPIREDBYKIM’SPHOTOS

TOMCANNOLD•AGE43

ARTINSPIREDBYTOM’SPHOTOS

HOPESHERMAN•AGE45

ARTINSPIREDBYHOPE’SPHOTOS

LOUDIFAZIO•AGE45

ARTINSPIREDBYLOU’SPHOTOS

MARTYSHERMAN•AGE45

ARTINSPIREDBYMARTY’SPHOTOS

EDWARDWIESCHOLEK•AGE47

ARTINSPIREDBYEDWARD’SPHOTOS

RICHARDBRELSFORD•AGE47

ARTINSPIREDBYRICHARD’SPHOTOS

ROSHAN•AGE47

ARTINSPIREDBYROSHAN’SPHOTOS

ROSSCIBELLA•AGEOVER50

ARTINSPIREDBYROSS’SPHOTOS

BILLSUCHY•AGE52

ARTINSPIREDBYBILL’SPHOTOS

CHARLOTTEROMAGNA•AGE52

ARTINSPIREDBYCHARLOTTE’SPHOTOS

GENEROMAGNA•AGE52

ARTINSPIREDBYGENE’SPHOTOS

PencilsketchesbyTonyMorgan©2005

MOHAMMED•AGE54

ARTINSPIREDBYMOHAMMED’SPHOTOS

PencilstoryboardbyAlexSaviukforAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

DIANAPAPPASBOOTH•AGE65

ARTINSPIREDBYDIANA’SPHOTOS

LENAKOZIELSKI•AGE67

ARTINSPIREDBYLENA’SPHOTOS

TEDSIMON•AGE67

ARTINSPIREDBYTED’SPHOTOS

InkandmarkeranimaticillustrationsbyAlexSaviukforAnimatics&Storyboards,Inc.

JOANNEROSS•AGE69

ARTINSPIREDBYJOANNE’SPHOTOS

LARRYKOZIELSKI•AGE69

ARTINSPIREDBYLARRY’SPHOTOS

GEORGEBOOTH•AGE76

ARTINSPIREDBYGEORGE’SPHOTOS

DOTTIEPETERMAN•AGE78

ARTINSPIREDBYDOTTIE’SPHOTOS

JOIEAXELSON•AGE83

ARTINSPIREDBYJOIE’SPHOTOS

SEQUENTIAL-EXPRESSIONSGALLERY

ANIMATORSCANMAKEUS BELIEVE that a drawing actually comesalive.Andindeeditdoes,whenaseriesofillustrationsaresequencedsoskillfully that they fool the eye into thinking that continual action istakingplace.

Whenanimatorsneedtocreatesuchaseamlessseriesofdrawings,theyoften refer to videotaped or live models going through a series ofmovements.Thesepagesprovidesequentialreferencephotosforyou.Byvideotapingmodels(onehappenstobeme)actingoutaseriesoffacialexpressions, I came upwith a gallery of photos that lets you see howfacial features transition fromoneexpression toanother.These imagesare thekeystill frames taken fromthevideo, showingmanysubtletiesalongtheway.Someof thephotos in thisgalleryalso letyouseehowheadandshouldermovementmayaccentuateafacialexpression.

SEQUENTIALEXPRESSIONS

KISSINGGALLERY

INTERSECTINGFACES,otherwiseknownaskissing,isahardreferencetoviewwhenyouworkaloneinastudio.Ifyoutrykissingyourselfinamirror, all you’ll see is your flattened nose against the glass, soonclouding up from your breath. So when your assignment calls for

depictingthepassionatemeetingoftwofaces,turntothisphotogalleryforreference.

The images here show deep kissing, light kissing, and tender, face-to-face embraces, mouths just about to connect. There are even a few“Eskimo”nose-to-nosesmooches.

Asintheothergalleries,eachpositionisshownfrommultipleangles—includingsomeaerialviewsoftheguy’sbaldingcrown.(Hewon’tmindifyoufillitinwithhair.)

KISSINGGALLERY

PHONEMESGALLERY

ALLANIMATORS—whetherworking in2Dand/or3D—have theneedforphonemereference.Fortheartist,phonemesarespeechsoundsthatmustbetranslatedintothemouthshapesandexpressionsweusewhenwe speak. If you’re animating dialogue, it’s important to shape the

phoneticsoundsofthewords,notthelettersthatspellthewords.

Forinstance,ifyouneedtoanimateacharactersayingthewordride,thephonemeswouldbeR-I(alongIasinice)-D;theEontheendmakesnosound. If you had your character use the E phoneme at the end, thecharacterwouldbesayingrid-ee.

Whilemanyanimationbooks show illustrated styles of phonemes, thisbookusesphotographicreferencesofmouthpositions.Whenyouconsultthisgallery, insteadofbeing influencedbyanotherartist’s renditionofspeaking mouths, the drawing you make is completely your own,designedinyourowncreativestyle.

Note that stylistic animation may not make use of all the phonemesshown here; many animators only use eight mouth positions. On theotherhand,highlyrealisticanimationmayusetransitiondrawingsthatbridgethephonemes.

Alsonotethatinthesephotos,thenoseisalwaysinthesameposition.The jawhinges inbackand lowers thebottomof themouth.Thenosedoesnotrotateup.

Themouthpositions,orphonemes,shownhereinorderare:

A,IEOU

C,D,G,K,N,R,S,TH,L(sometimesTH)

M,B,PF,V

W,Q,OOShLoudClosed

PHONEMES

A,I

E

O

U

C,D,eh,G,K,N,R,S,TH,Y,Z