Day 12 // How to Draw an Angry Expression

Anger is a powerful emotion used to cause a reaction in others. Anger is the “fight” part of the fight or flight response and can trigger a person to try to defend or protect. Anger wants to intimidate, antagonize, and show hostility.

Today we are drawing angry faces! Learn more below and check out the Table of Expressions to see all the emotions and how they can be depicted at a glance.

Emotion

Angry

A low level of anger can come across as upset or distressed. The person becomes focused and intense. The head tilts down and the heart rate elevates.

Facial Features

EYE SHAPE: inside corners sloping down

PUPILS: dialated, touching upper lid but not lower lid

EYE GAZE: Looking straight ahead as to intimidate

BROWS: lowered, arches up, inner corners down, brow furrowed

MOUTH: frowning, lip pursed, corners visible

OTHER: head tilted down, features appear closer together vertically

Intense Emotion

Furious

Someone furious tries to make themselves physically larger. They may be screaming or charging toward the source of their anger. The blood rushes to their head, causing the face to get flush and veins to pop out.

Facial Features

EYE SHAPE: eyes wide with inside corners sloping down

PUPILS: constricted and small

EYE GAZE: Looking straight ahead as to intimidate

BROWS: lowered, arches up, inner corners down, brow extremely furrowed

MOUTH: wide open, snarled, screaming, lines around mouth

OTHER: features appear farther apart vertically and veins in the head may protrude

Homework

Draw a face that conveys anger. Determine your character’s neutral expression and then use the guidelines on this page to manipulate those feature into a angry expression. Draw the emotion as well as the intense version of that emotion, furious and everything in between such as impassioned, annoyed, fierce, irritated, enraged, and more. Look up reference photos of angry and infuriated faces and figure out as many ways as you can to depict expressions of anger.

Keep researching, observing and learning! I’ve made a Pinterest board full of additional resources to help you learn more about drawing expressions.

This lesson is a part of a month-long series that will get you you familiar with the basics of drawing humans, and help you develop your own people-drawing style. To learn more, check out the People Skills Intro, or continue on to the next lesson below.