There is so much great illustration out there. But the one thing I feel like I really have a good grasp on is facial expression, and I really think that is because of all the years that I have been lip reading.
I have been lip reading for 40 of my 45 years on this planet, and that’s a long time. And lip reading doesn’t just mean I’m looking at the person’s mouth. Lip reading means I’m looking at everything that’s going on in their face. And I need more clues than just lips. I need to know are they angry, are they happy, are they furious, are they maybe just a little bit mad, are they annoyed but really they kind of like being annoyed.
I mean there’s all these levels of stuff that you need to take in account. So I think all that is in my brain I have this encyclopedia of expressions, and I don’t even need to look at something. I just draw it, and sometimes, you know, I mess around with it and keep working and working until it looks right, but I really think that’s one thing that I do well and with very little — with very few lines.
You know, I don’t — I like simple lines, direct lines. And so, you know, a happy face is basically two dots and a mouth, but then if you just add a few extra lines, the eyebrows, some other things, you have so many different emotions that you can show. So I think that’s probably what I’ve got in my personal toolbox that — sometimes I do need to look at photos or just reference of people’s faces a little bit. But most of the time, you know, I know what mad looks like. I know what annoyed looks like. So that’s one way I think I’m a strong illustrator that way.
