How to Draw Faces With Different Facial Expressions

Drawing a happy face is more than two dots and a curved line.

To draw different facial expressions, it helps to look into a mirror to see how your face moves when you make different expressions. The eyes convey emotion, and focusing on the details of eyelids and eyebrows will help drawings come to life. The shape of the mouth and the cheeks will change depending on what emotion you are trying to depict. The shape of the mouth will influence how you draw the cheeks and the face shape. Making faces in the mirror will help you create a reference from which to draw believable expressions.

Print this article

Paper
Pencil
Eraser
Mirror
Colored pencils or markers

Instructions

Happy
- 1
  
  Draw a medium-sized, wide, upside down egg shaped oval. Sketch a guide line about two-thirds of the way down the oval for placement of the eyes. Draw a C shape on each side of the oval, at the guide line for the ears.
- 2
  
  Draw two horizontal ovals just above the guide line for the eyes. Draw a circle toward the lower middle edge of each eye for the pupil. Keep the center of the pupil lighter than the edges. Add two lines, slightly curving up, underneath the eyes for smile lines. Sketch in the uplifted eyebrows above the eyes.
- 3
  
  Sketch in an oval-shaped nose centered on the guide line.
- 4
  
  Draw in a curved line for the smile, with a short curved line at each end to denote the cheeks. Shade around the left side of the face and around the nose.
- 5
  
  Thicken any pencil lines you would like and erase guide lines. Add color as desired.
Angry
- 6
  
  Draw a medium-sized, wide, upside down egg shaped oval. Sketch a guide line two-thirds of the way down the oval for placement of the eyes. Draw a C shape on each side of the oval, at the guide line for the ears.
- 7
  
  Draw two horizontal ovals, angling in, just above the guide line for the eyes. Draw a dark circle in the inner corner of each eye for the pupil.
- 8
  
  Draw in a slightly curved line, sharply angled inward for the eyebrows.
- 9
  
  Draw a C shape centered on the guideline for the nose.
- 10
  
  Draw a small, sharp, upside down U for the frown. Erase guide lines and color as desired.