Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Facial Expressions - For character portrayal

Most of us can recognize the facials expressions of emotions such as anger, fear, surprise and so on when we are talking to people, but how many of us can portray those expressions easily when we are writing about our characters? I use a tiny mirror inside my desk and mimic the character's feeling while looking at the mirror, but that isn't quite enough either. The expressions we are trying to show have to be recognizable by the readers.

Luckily, I came across a website in which there is some reference to basic facial expressions. I guess I could put that page in my favorites on the browser, but the problem was the whole thing was eight pages, with very little info in each page, which meant excessive page-opening burden on one's time. So I copied the info into a note-pad file, thinking it might come in handy when I'm stumped. Then I thought other writers can use it, too. So here it is, if you wish to refer to it.

"
Happy:

Crow's feet
Crinkled eyelids
Raised lip corners

Raised lip corners and crinkled eyelids indicate that the person’s happy. Look for crow’s feet to indicate whether a smile is genuine or not. True smiling, like all expressions, involve muscles beyond our control, so a trained eye can tell the real from the fake simply by noting whether the muscles surrounding the eye socket are in use.

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Fear

Raised eyebrows
Wide-open eyes
Parted lips

Fear is often characterized by parted lips, wide-open eyes, and raised eyebrows that bunch together. However, thinly-stretched lips on a closed mouth can also mean someone is nervous or scared about something.
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Anger

Furrowed eyebrows
Frowning mouth
Chin Jutting out
Narrowed eyes

Anger’s not too hard to recognize—furrowed eyebrows, a frowning mouth, chin jutting out, and narrowed eyes all suggest that the person’s mad.

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Sad

Creased forehead
Downturned mouth
Wavering chin

Sad people have downturned mouths, but also a wrinkled, wavering chin (think of what happens to it when you’re trying not to cry), and a wrinkled, creased forehead.

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Contempt

Slight sneer
Raised side of mouth

Did you detect a slight sneer or did the side of his or her mouth raise a little? That could mean he or she’s feeling contempt.

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Surprise

Eyebrows raised
Eyes wide
Mouth open

Surprise looks similar to fear, but the mouth and eyes are open a little wider and the eyebrows are raised without being bunched up.

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Disgust

Narrowed eyes
Wrinkled nose
Parted mouth

Someone who’s disgusted wrinkles his or her nose and has narrowed eyes. Usually the mouth parts somewhat because of the nose wrinkling.

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More to Watch Out For
Beyond microexpressions, there are a few telltale signs that someone’s not being genuine. For example, most real expressions last a few seconds—four or five, tops. If someone’s huge smile or scared look lasts longer than that, it’s suspect. Some also believe that eye movements during story-telling say something about truthfulness. Eyes moving upward and to the right when explaining something might mean the person’s searching through his or her brain bank for details, whereas looking up and to the left suggests a deceptive tale. (This would be reversed if he or she’s left-handed.)

According to Ekman, it’s better to look at the upper part of the face because it’s harder to control our impulsive facial expressions in that area, such as narrowed eyes or raised eyebrows. So if you’re watching someone’s face for signs revealing their inner thoughts, focus on that area first.

One Piece of the Puzzle
Even the most educated experts at lie detection can’t get it right every time and that’s because humans are complex creatures with a multitude of mannerisms that vary in meaning. We can learn to recognize facial expressions—and even to see the flashes of expressions that give away our inner thoughts—but that alone won’t tell us what’s behind the hidden emotions.

In other words, seeing a significant other’s half-second fearful look while they’re explaining why they were out so late is significant, but it doesn’t indicate that they’re lying. If anything, they might just be afraid you won’t believe the truth. Either way, you’ll know there’s an issue worth exploring. Reading faces may not be foolproof, but at least it gives us something to work with. "

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The words and writing are copied exactly from the website Care2, and the link to the page is:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/read-7-facial-expressions.html?page=1