It is known that emotions – these are subjective human reactions to external or internal (psychological) stimuli, which are manifested by the expression of feelings at the somatic level. These manifestations are expressed by a person’s “signalling” about his condition during communication in the form of gestures, rapid breathing, changes in skin color, increased sweating, trembling and a certain facial expressions faces. It is the face that is the part of the body that fully reflects the emotions experienced. Emotions are expressed on the face through contractions of the facial muscles, most of which are located under the skin. Certain muscles are “responsible” for specific facial expressions. For example, the zygomaticus major muscle is the smile muscle. Contracting, it pulls the corner of the mouth outward and upward. The brow muscle, contracting, gives the face an expression of dissatisfaction and aggression. The frontalis muscle gives an expression of surprise or condemnation.

Facial expressions can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, and sometimes one-sided (with facial paralysis). In addition, the expression of “primary” emotions (in newborns) belongs to the category of innate, unconscious ones. They are characteristic of all people, regardless of ethnicity and social origin.

It is not uncommon to encounter “combined” facial expressions that reflect several emotions simultaneously: fear and surprise, anger and disgust, joy and amazement. The degree of expression of emotions on the face can be different - from “neutral” to pronounced, expressive, as well as natural (sincere) and artificial (tight). In addition, the face reflects not only emotional, but also physical state human: fatigue, drowsiness, anxiety, melancholy, suffering.

The facial expressions of men and women are basically the same, but still, there are certain differences: women show irony weaker, but at the same time express pain and disappointment more deeply. There are some differences in facial expressions between representatives of different races, which are explained by differences in the structure of the skull and facial muscles.

The most dominant possibilities for expressing feelings are the eyes and lips. Just by moving your eyebrows and lips you can express a whole range of feelings. Frowning, downturned eyebrows cause the formation of vertical wrinkles in the bridge of the nose, above the root of the nose. The result is an impression of aggressiveness towards other people. Raised eyebrows can convey surprise, amazement, expectation, anxiety, and bringing them closer can convey anxiety and pain. Raising one eyebrow reflects surprise, doubt, question, and the simultaneous raising of eyebrows at the bridge of the nose - suffering, prayer, ecstasy. The facial expressions of the lower part of the face are controlled by the lips, which are driven by many muscles.

Different types of facial expressions

Schematically, three main types of facial expression can be distinguished (Fig. 49). Each one has a certain dominant.

Neutral Expressions faces. Muscle contraction and, accordingly, “expressive” skin folds are absent. Serenity, determination, weakly expressed attention.

Expressing Positive Feelings. The face is smoothed out as if under the influence of centrifugal forces. For example, lips stretch, eyelids smooth, eyebrows lengthen. Thus, optimism and positive emotions appear on the face: laughter, smile, admiration, joy. It seems that a person is in complete harmony with the world around him, he is “open” to it.

Expressing negative feelings. The face “shrinks”, its features are concentrated, as if under the influence of centripetal forces. This is expressed in the lowering of the eyebrows and eyelids, and the stretching of the nose. Pessimism and negativity appear on the face: suffering, pain, pity, disgust, sadness, skepticism, threat, anger.

Rice. 49 Schematic representation of the three main

types of facial expressions

A person experiences fear of the aggressiveness of the surrounding world or threatens the people around him. He “closes himself” for self-defense. Under the influence of strong emotions: anger, suffering, horror, enormous physical effort - the nostrils widen and the mouth opens slightly. This is due in part physiological reasons– in such a state a person needs air flow. Threat or distress appears on the face.

Many specialists involved in research in the fields of anatomy, ethology and psychology have attempted to classify the main types of emotions, their characteristics and their manifestations on the human face. The most famous is the Ekman-Friesen classification (1976-1984). According to this classification, there are six main emotions: pleasure, anger, fear, surprise, disgust and sadness, as well as interest and pain.

The term "basic" emotions suggests that they are "innate", "involuntary", characteristic of all people from birth. They appear gradually as life experience is gained, literally from the first months of life. For example, by three months, dissatisfaction and sadness are visible on the child’s face, and a smile is indicated. Between three and six months, expressions of anger also appear. Between five and nine months, an expression of fear can be seen on a child’s face.

In today's post, I will give you some tips to help you portray emotions on your face.

Observation

Let's make the most important thing clear. Best advice on this issue - or on any issue related to drawing - this is one small but strong word: observation. Yes! It always comes down to observation.

Forget about what you think you see and focus on what is actually in front of you. And don't just observe while you draw and then throw the drawing out the window at the end of the day. Even when you're not drawing, get into the habit of paying close attention to the details, as if you were drawing what's in front of you. Think about the lines and shadows you would use to draw what you are looking at.

Start looking at people's faces and notice how their features distort depending on how they feel. I like to look at people's faces and expressions when I'm standing in line at a store or anywhere else. Make notes in your head about how someone's eyes look when they're tired, or how they squint a little when they smile genuinely. Muscles clench, stretch, and twist in the face every time we show emotion, so pay attention to these movements and learn how they interact as a whole to express something.

Sketches from life

Sit in a crowded place, with a sketchbook and pencil in your hands, and sketch, drawing people and their expressions. Try to figure out what they are feeling through the way their faces contort and draw it.

This method is better than drawing from someone specific because it allows you to see genuine and revealing facial expressions. But despite this, it is very useful to have someone pose for you and express different emotions on demand. If there is no model nearby, the mirror will be your best friend!

Sketches from photographs

There are great websites that offer photographs of gestures and poses for artists to teach their own drawing lessons and practice in the comfort of their own home. A great resource is the website Figure and Gesture Drawing’s expression practice (lessons for drawing gestures and emotions). You can select the type of expression, gender and duration of the lesson.

Practice

No matter which drawing method you prefer, the key is practice. Keep a sketchbook nearby, take it out and practice drawing the facial expressions of the faces around you whenever you have at least five minutes.

A person's face can be compared to an open book. It conveys all the emotions and feelings experienced in this moment. Some people are able to control them, but most emotions are spontaneously expressed through facial expressions and hand actions.

Everyone knows the saying: “Know a liar by his facial expression,” which became the title of a best-selling book published by American psychologist Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen. According to the authors, the ability to read the emotions of an interlocutor is necessary for each of us. Especially those whose work involves people.

After all, in addition to lies, facial expression can also tell about experiences, negative emotions, mental anguish - about everything a person thinks. Let's find out?

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What does a smile tell you?

You can tell what a person is thinking by his smile. It reflects not only joy and love of life. Some types of smiles can also reveal less pleasant motives.

For example, excessive smiling is a signal given by a person in the hope of approval of his words or actions; the curvature of the lips when smiling indicates skepticism and nervousness brought under control.

• Raised eyebrows when smiling - manifestation of desire to obey, and when omitted - a signal of superiority. If the lower eyelids do not rise, then the smile is a sign of insincerity, mistrust. A smile with widened eyes in an open position conceals a threat.
• A slight smile with a closed mouth and raised lower eyelids tells the interlocutor about the listener’s distrust of him. A small yawn and the same type of smile confirm boredom.

What do the eyes hide?

Human eyes cannot lie. To lie, a person needs to work hard. It is from them that one can easily recognize hidden secrets and desires.

• Eye contact interrupted for a long time indicates an unwillingness to carry on a conversation. A wandering eye will tell about it. The interlocutor catches your gaze with his eyes, but does it infrequently - he wants to establish eye contact, to get you to communicate.
• Aggression is confirmed by direct eye contact. Looking into the eyes is unacceptable. This causes aggression because it violates a person’s personal space.
• Looking away left side, and then to the right - the person remembers something. If scratching the nose, chin or ears is added to this action, in most cases the interlocutor is trying to lie or hide something.
• Dilated pupils indicate excitement, constricted pupils indicate anger. However, they will narrow or expand depending on the light. Increased blinking is another sign of excitement.

Reading thoughts by facial expressions

To create a facial expression, emotions under the influence of certain factors can display the following:

• Fear, and it can be controlled and real. Not controlled emotion characterized by raised straight eyebrows, shifted to the bridge of the nose, tense lower eyelids and upper - raised, widened eyes. Controlled when only eyebrows are involved.
• Redness of the face, clenched teeth, lips turning into a thin strip, a frowning expression in the eyes - this is anger. A top-down look, a raised chin and eyebrows - contempt.
• A lowered head, closed eyelids, sometimes a red face, the corners of the lips are somewhat downturned, and they themselves are tightly compressed, eyebrows are drawn together, the gaze is lowered or wandering from side to side - expression of grief or shame.
• The corners of the lips are slightly raised and pulled back, calm eyes promise the happiness being experienced. If a wrinkled mesh forms around the eyes, then this is a sign of joy.
• Widened eyes, raised eyebrows - interest or surprise. The latter emotion is often accompanied by the appearance of horizontal folds on the forehead. Intimate interest– the interlocutor’s gaze wanders at chest level, sometimes rising to the lips.

There are many more different ways to recognize what the other person is thinking about. The above are emotions that are often expressed in facial expressions. They belong to the group of less controlled feelings and often involve other parts of the body. For example, the same boredom will be indicated not only by a wandering gaze, but also by marking time, sorrow is expressed by drooping shoulders, joy - by open shoulders.

Speaking of the face, the first thing that comes to mind for almost every person is the emotions that appear on it. It is very important, when correcting age-related or any other changes in the face, to maintain its natural appearance and natural facial expressions.

However, in aesthetic medicine there is another view on the emotional component. In an exclusive interview for the site, dermatovenerologist Roman Romanovich Yaremkevich spoke about what facial psychoaesthetics is and how a person’s emotions affect his appearance.

What does the concept of “facial psychoaesthetics” mean?

Psychoaesthetics, not only of the face, but in general, is a new modern concept that actually does not appear anywhere in other literature.

Roughly speaking, psychoaesthetics is an interaction, a game between the patient’s mental state and skin dermatoses. Some kind of close relationship exists between these concepts, and we are trying to explain it from a scientific point of view.

Are a person's emotions related to his appearance?

Definitely emotional condition patient is associated with his appearance. We can see this in existing examples of depressed people who are wrinkled, whose facial expression immediately speaks for itself. We see such a patient already at the door; the diagnosis is made when the latch is opened.

And vice versa, we are pleased to communicate with people who constantly smile, although sometimes this is pseudo, that is, a person can smile, but in fact be rotten inside. But, in fact, it is difficult for a person to keep such emotions inside himself, and, sooner or later, they come out in the form of skin manifestations. Therefore, skin is an extension of our soul; we perceive people with it.

The predominance of which human emotions most affects the condition of the skin?

I can’t say that only a person’s negative emotions are reflected on the skin. If we are talking about facial skin, these are, first of all, those wrinkles that reflect the patient’s dissatisfaction.

But a person’s joyful emotions are also reflected on the face over time, therefore, in smiling people you can see crow's feet near the eyes from a constant smile and goodwill.

How important is the collaboration of dermatologists with psychologists and neurologists?

This is a very important question today. Unfortunately, in modern realities, most doctors of aesthetic medicine and not only, when they have contact with a strange patient, especially with mental illnesses, and not with neuroses and neurosis-like conditions, try to send him as soon as possible to another specialist, to their competitor or simply get rid of him.

Therefore, conflicts begin between the patient and the doctor, which can compromise both the doctor himself and the clinic in which he works. And we know that such patients like to tell stories, and doctors understand that the patient really has some kind of mental problem, and those around him perceive him as he is, and have known him for a long time, so they perceive this as the norm and bad things can happen kudos to the doctor.

In this regard, we need to work closely with specific psychologists, psychiatrists whom we know, and guide the patient only carefully and competently, so that he does not run away, gets lost and does not wander to other doctors, but gets to where he was destined to go with from the very beginning.

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