Comic Artist - Volume 3 2016

VIDEO

AVAILABLE

Artist Q&A

Step-by-step: Conveying specific emotions

1

A tense person will be a little hunched
and have uneven shoulders, because
the body is gearing up to have to either
protect itself or run. The jaw will usually
be clenched and
the eyes wide. I
emphasise this by
making the iris/
pupil a little smaller.
There might also be
a hint of disgust in
their expression, to
suggest their sense
of nauseous anxiety.

2

Laughter is often involuntary. While

people in the throes of hilarity may

open themselves up by leaning back and

dropping their shoulders, the body will

often sense its

vulnerability and

shield the face and

vital organs with

the hands. The

nostrils will flare,

the fat of the face

converge around the

eyes, and teeth and

gums be on show.

3

When your character is exhibiting an

aggressive emotion such as rage, the

head and hands will typically be projected

forward. Tendons and muscles will be

tensed and the lips

curled inward to bare

the teeth – these are

primal intimidation

tactics. Be careful

not to exaggerate

the mouth too far,

though: doing so

can dehumanise

the character.

Question

How can I give my comic characters convincing body language?

Hamilton Maddock, US

Answer
Tom Foster replies
Good reference material is a
must when you want to convey
a specific emotion in your
characters, but I often find it
difficult to source pictures of people
emoting convincingly. Stock photography
is often very obviously staged and using
myself as a model relies too heavily on
my own, pitiful acting ability.
A few canny changes in my image search
criteria can make all the difference. For
example, footballers are almost always
either wildly elated or incredibly angry.
This affords a tremendous opportunity
to the student of human behaviour, as
photographs from football and other
sporting events often provide a unique
glimpse of raw, unfiltered emotion. For
subtler expressions, I turn to screen actors.
I try to think of a memorable performance
that conveyed the emotion I’m trying to
relate and seek out screenshots from that
film, or pause the DVD, if I have it.
I try to track down at least two pictures
of different people for each expression.
I then look for the commonalities, to divine
what is universal about how a certain
emotion affects the face and body. Once
I isolate those visual cues, I apply them
to my character.

Your characters have a potentially limitless range as
actors, but utilising it can require a bit of homework.
I used seven photographs for reference here.