Surprised Anime Face Drawing: Make Expressions More Expressive

Artist @kezia shared a quick sketch of a surprised anime character with a simple question: how can the expression feel more expressive instead of looking blank? The artist felt the facial anatomy and proportions were too stiff, especially around the eyes and mouth. The feedback offers a useful reminder that small facial changes can make a big difference.

Insights shared in this blog post are by: @gabrielle34427. You can also request feedback on your artwork in Artwod’s Art Community.

In the Artwod Community Tool submission, @kezia wrote:

"I'm trying to quick sketch a surprised anime character, but the expression still looks pretty blank. I feel like my facial anatomy and proportions are too stiff, especially around the eyes and mouth. Using procreate, any idea?"

That gives us a very specific drawing problem to work with.

The character already has several recognizable surprised-expression elements: very large eyes, a small open mouth, raised-looking eye shapes, and a simple frontal pose. But the overall expression still feels relatively restrained.

This is useful because it shows that having the right facial features is not always enough. Their shape, emphasis, and relationship to one another also determine how strongly an emotion comes across.

For a surprised anime face, the eyes are one of the strongest tools for communicating the emotion.

@kezia's original sketch already uses large, round eyes. That establishes a surprised or curious quality, but the paintover pushes the eyes further by adding stronger highlights.

Those highlights make the eyes feel more lively and focused. They also give the expression a little more emotional energy without requiring a major anatomical change.

When drawing surprised anime eyes, try thinking about three layers:

1. Overall eye shape — open the eyes enough to communicate surprise.

2. Pupil and iris placement — keep them aligned with the character's gaze.

3. Highlights — use small, intentional highlights to bring more life to the eyes.

If I wanted to push the expression more, say this character sees something VERY shocking. You can reduce the size of the pupils, push the eyelids up more, and give the eyebrows a more dramatic curve. If you wanted to express a mix of disgust and surprise, you could use blue or black lines over the top of the face.

The goal is not simply to make the eyes bigger. It is to make them feel more alert and emotionally engaged.

In another feedback submission by the same artist asking for help with a “stronger angry expression”, we can say a few things could help sell the anger. In the paintover, we can see the pupils being made smaller already makes a huge difference in the emotions intensity. 

The character's small rounded mouth already communicates a basic surprised reaction. You do not necessarily need an exaggerated open mouth to make the expression work.

Instead, consider how the mouth relates to the eyes.

A very open eye combined with a tiny, rounded mouth can create a softer "oh!" reaction. A larger open mouth would push the expression toward a stronger shock or shout. I find it all depends on what you’re trying to show with their reaction. Are they shocked by something positive or negative?

So when practicing surprised expressions, experiment with the relationship between these two features rather than changing them independently. Personally I see expressions as a collaboration between all the features of the face. A question you can ask yourself - do all your facial features tell the same story?

This is especially useful when the goal is a quick anime sketch. A few deliberate changes can communicate more than extensive rendering.

In this other art submission which features the subject with a intense expression, while the mouth is more exaggerated here, other features still lend to the expression: the open eyes, raised eyebrows, and agape mouth all work together to show a level of concentration. 

@kezia specifically mentioned feeling that the facial anatomy and proportions were stiff.

That is worth addressing before adding expressive details.

A simple way to check the face is to look at the relationships between the major features:

• Are the eyes positioned consistently on the face?

• Are both eyes responding to the same head orientation?

• Is the mouth positioned naturally beneath them?

• Does the jaw support the placement of the features?

• Does the face still feel balanced when the expression becomes more exaggerated?

Anime allows considerable stylization, but the features still need to work together as a structure.

If the proportions are slightly off, adding more highlights, blush, or line detail will not necessarily solve the underlying problem.

Here in this art submission, “I'm trying to create an anime character; I'm having a bit of trouble with the mouth,” While the feedback question does not concern the expression, it shows a core concept. Fixing the facial structure first is important to focus on before adjusting select features. In this paintover, I tried to fix some of the structural issues of the face. This is important to address first, to ensure the expression looks right it needs a good baseline.

The paintover makes relatively subtle changes rather than completely redrawing the character.

The most noticeable additions are brighter highlights inside the eyes and light blush marks across the cheeks. From my experience, I find Anime in particular is known for using eye highlights to convey emotional storytelling. Informally called “Dull eyes of unhappiness” if a character lacks them it can mean they have undergone an event to cause a visceral emotion change, or could be used as a character design trait to show deep trauma. To indicate wonder, adding a bit of sparkle makes a difference.

These details are small, but they help the character feel more expressive.

This is a useful lesson for quick sketching: you do not always need a major redraw to strengthen an expression.

Once the main anatomy and proportions are working, small accents can help reinforce the intended mood.

Blush, eye highlights, eyebrow position, and mouth shape can all contribute to the final read.

Try drawing the same anime face four times.

Version 1: Neutral

Keep the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth relaxed.

Version 2: Mild surprise

Open the eyes slightly more and make the mouth a little more rounded.

Version 3: Strong surprise

Push the eye opening and mouth shape further.

Version 4: Refined surprise

Keep the strongest features from Version 3, then add small details such as eye highlights or blush.

This exercise helps you understand which changes actually create the expression instead of relying on a single exaggerated feature.

It is also a good way to practice expressive drawing without getting stuck on rendering.

A few habits can make a surprised expression feel flatter than intended:

• Making the eyes large without changing their emotional quality

• Focusing on one feature while ignoring the rest of the face

• Adding details before checking facial proportions

• Keeping the mouth too neutral for the intended emotion

• Making both sides of the expression feel overly rigid

• Assuming more detail will automatically make the character more expressive

If the face still looks blank, simplify it first. Check the eyes, mouth, and proportions before adding additional rendering.

• Expression is about relationships. Eyes, mouth, and facial proportions need to support the same emotion.

• Small changes can have a strong effect. Eye highlights and blush can add life without requiring a complete redraw.

• Stylization still needs structure. Anime proportions can be exaggerated while remaining internally consistent.

• Quick sketches can still be expressive. You do not need extensive rendering to communicate surprise.

• Push the emotion deliberately. Compare mild and exaggerated versions to understand what actually changes the expression.

These ideas can be applied to other anime emotions as well, from curiosity and embarrassment to fear and excitement.

Expression is one of those areas where another pair of eyes can be especially useful. An artist may know that a face feels "blank" without being able to identify whether the problem is the eyes, mouth, proportions, or smaller expressive details.

That is exactly the kind of question @kezia brought to the Artwod Community Tool.

When sharing an expressive anime face, it helps to explain what emotion you are trying to communicate and what currently feels wrong. Fellow artists can then focus their feedback on the specific features that are preventing the expression from reading clearly.

That makes feedback more practical and gives you something concrete to apply to the next sketch.

Start with the eyes and mouth, then make sure their shapes work together to communicate surprise. Check the facial proportions before adding smaller expressive details.

Push the features that communicate the emotion, especially the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth. Small details such as eye highlights or blush can then reinforce the expression.

The individual features may be present without working strongly together. Check whether the eyes, mouth, and proportions are all communicating the same emotional intensity.

Begin with the overall eye shape and pupil placement, then use controlled highlights to add focus and life. The size and openness of the eyes should also match the intended emotion.

Yes. Even highly stylized anime faces benefit from consistent relationships between the eyes, nose, mouth, jaw, and overall head shape.

Draw the same character with different levels of the same emotion. Comparing neutral, mild, and exaggerated versions helps you understand which facial changes create the strongest expressive effect.

@kezia's surprised anime face shows that expressive drawing does not always require a dramatic redraw. The character already has the basic ingredients for surprise; the main opportunity is to make the eyes, mouth, proportions, and small expressive details work together more deliberately. Figure out what level of emotions you’re trying to express. From there you can decide how to use each feature to convey the emotion.

If your own anime expression feels a little blank, try simplifying the problem. Check the major facial features first, then use small accents such as eye highlights or blush to push the emotion further. Remember there are plenty of great official anime archives you can get references from if you need help starting.

And when you are unsure what is holding an expression back, sharing the sketch and explaining the emotion you are trying to communicate can make peer feedback much more useful.  The anime category under the feedback tool is the perfect place to get advice on how to improve your anime artwork!