Free Guide

How to Draw Happy Anime Expressions: A Step-by-Step Guide by Japanese Pro Artists

The short answer: A happy face comes from three parts: the eyes, the eyebrows and the mouth. Raise the brows and let their tails drop, push the lower eyelids up so the eyes turn into crescents, and lift the corners of the mouth. The stronger the joy, the higher the brows go, the wider the mouth opens, and the more the head and neck move.

If your smiles look stiff, or every happy face you draw looks the same, this guide walks through a real Anime Art Academy lesson by a Japanese pro: why faces change, which muscles move, and three levels of happiness, from a quiet smile to full joy.

Three anime characters smiling: a girl laughing with her eyes closed, a girl with a gentle smile and a boy shouting with joy — Three levels of joy from the lesson: a big smile, a gentle smile and full joy.

The five stages at a glance

Six simple round faces from the lesson showing anger, surprise, fear, joy, sadness and disgust

Eyes, brows and mouthSix simple faces show that three parts carry every expression.

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle, with the lower eyelid muscle in red and the cheek muscle in blue

The smile musclesWhere the face actually moves when a character smiles.

An anime girl with a gentle smile, with the brows, lower eyelids, crescent eyes and mouth corners marked in color

A gentle smileSmall changes to the brows, lower eyelids, eye shape and mouth.

An anime girl laughing with her eyes closed, with the brows, eyes, mouth and a neck arrow marked in color

A big smileHigher brows, crescent closed eyes, a moving neck and a wider mouth.

An anime boy shouting with joy, with the brows, small eyes, blush, wide mouth and an upward head arrow marked in color

Full joyEvery part goes further: brows, eyes, blush, mouth and head.

Step 01 · Eyes, brows and mouth

What makes an anime expression easy to read?

Three parts: the eyes, the eyebrows and the mouth.

An expression shows up whenever the face muscles move. A feeling can do it, so can a change in temperature or how you feel physically, even the moment you take a bite of food. In the lesson, six faces drawn with very simple lines still read clearly as anger, surprise, fear, joy, sadness and disgust. Each one has eyes, eyebrows and a mouth, and that's enough.

Look at the happy face, bottom left. The brows sit higher, and both the brow tails and the outer corners of the eyes drop. The muscles under the eyes push up, so the eyes curve like crescent moons. That's why even a one-line, cartoon-simple eye still reads as a smile. The cheek muscles lift too, which raises the corners of the mouth.

Red-pen checkBefore you add hair, shading or details, cover everything except the eyes, brows and mouth. If the feeling doesn't read from those three, it won't read from the finished drawing either.

Six simple round faces from the lesson. Top row: anger, surprise, fear. Bottom row: joy, sadness, disgust — The six faces from the lesson. Top: anger, surprise, fear. Bottom: joy, sadness, disgust.

Step 02 · The smile muscles

Which face muscles move when a character smiles?

The lower part of the muscle around the eye, and the cheek muscle that pulls the mouth up.

In this lesson image, one half of the face is drawn as skin and the other half as muscle. The red part is the lower half of the orbicularis oculi, the ring of muscle around the eye. When we smile, this part relaxes and the lower eyelid rises. That's the whole trick behind a smiling eye.

At the mouth, the muscles in blue do the work. The zygomaticus major gets pulled upward, the corners of the mouth rise, and you get a smiling mouth. So the two places to change your lines are the lower eyelid and the corners of the mouth.

Red-pen checkIf only the mouth changes and the lower eyelid stays where it was, the smile looks forced. Check the eyes first.

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle, next to a full muscle chart. Red marks the lower eyelid muscle, blue arrows mark the cheek muscle pulling the mouth corner up — Red: the lower part of the orbicularis oculi lifts the lower eyelid. Blue: the zygomaticus major pulls the mouth corners up.

Step 03 · A gentle smile

How do you draw a gentle, quiet smile?

Lift the brows a little, raise the lower eyelids, curve the eyes into crescents, and tip the mouth corners up just slightly.

This is joy turned down low. Red: the eyebrows sit a little higher than usual, and their tails drop. Blue: the lower eyelids rise above their usual spot. That alone starts the smile. Yellow: the eye becomes a crescent. If you remember one thing from this guide, make it "a laughing eye is a crescent moon." Green: the corners of the mouth go up just a touch. That's all a soft smile needs.

The diagonal lines on the cheeks show a blush. They come from the time when most manga were drawn in ink alone, and artists used hatching lines to show darker and lighter tones. A healthy flush of color makes the joy feel even stronger.

Red-pen checkIn a quiet smile, the changes are small. Raise the lower eyelids before you touch the mouth, and keep the mouth corners low enough that it still feels calm.

An anime girl with a gentle smile. Red marks the raised eyebrows, blue the raised lower eyelids, yellow the crescent-shaped eyes and green the slightly lifted mouth corners — Red: brows. Blue: lower eyelids. Yellow: crescent eye shape. Green: mouth corners.

The same anime girl with pink blush and diagonal hatching lines on her cheeks — Diagonal lines on the cheeks show a blush, a habit from ink-only manga.

Step 04 · A big smile

How do you make a smile look happier?

Raise the brows higher, keep the narrowed eyes crescent-shaped, and add movement to the neck.

This face shows stronger joy than the gentle smile. In red, the eyebrows are lifted a lot, which pushes the feeling further. Even with the eyes squeezed nearly shut, drawing them as crescents keeps them reading as smiling eyes.

The blue arrow shows the neck moving, and that movement makes the feeling stronger. In green, the corners of the mouth still go up. As long as they do, you can change how far the mouth opens to show how strong the happiness is.

Red-pen checkWhen the eyes are narrowed or closed, check the curve. They still need the crescent shape, or the face stops reading as a smile.

An anime girl laughing with her eyes closed. Red marks the raised brows above the crescent eyes, a blue arrow shows the head tilting, green marks the open smiling mouth — Red: brows lifted higher. Crescent eyes even when closed. Blue arrow: neck movement. Green: mouth corners up.

Step 05 · Full joy

How do you draw a really excited, overjoyed face?

Push every part further: high brows with low tails, small eyes, flushed cheeks, a wide-open mouth and a face turned up.

This is the shonen "we did it!" face. In red, the eyebrows go way up to stress the joy. Keep the brow tails down here: that's what makes the happiness read as honest and open. In yellow, the eyes. The lesson draws them small, which pushes the feeling even further.

In orange, diagonal lines show the face flushing. In yellow-green, the mouth corners go up while the mouth opens wide, and that big opening says the joy is big. The purple shadow and arrow show the face turned upward. The bigger the movement of the neck and body, the stronger the emotion reads.

Red-pen checkBrows up, tails down. If the brow tails rise as well, compare it with the angry face in Step 01: brows and eyes that slant up read as anger, not joy.

An anime boy shouting with joy. Red marks the raised eyebrows, yellow the small eyes, orange the blush lines, green the wide-open mouth and a purple arrow shows the face tilting up — Red: brows way up, tails down. Yellow: small eyes. Orange: blush. Green: wide-open mouth. Purple: face turned up.

Same joy, different strength

Both of these characters are happy. The gentle smile changes only a little. Full joy moves the brows, the eyes, the mouth and even the head.

An anime girl with a quiet, gentle smile and a light blush

A gentle smile: small changes to the brows, lower eyelids and mouth.

An anime boy laughing with his mouth wide open, brows raised high

Full joy: high brows, small eyes, a wide-open mouth and a face turned up.

Where people usually get stuck

My smile looks creepy or forced.

Usually only the mouth is smiling. Raise the lower eyelids, curve the eyes into crescents, and let the brow tails drop. A smile starts in the eyes.

All my happy faces look the same.

Change the strength, not just the face. A gentle smile moves the brows and mouth a little. A big smile lifts the brows higher and moves the neck. Full joy opens the mouth wide and turns the face up.

When I close the eyes, it stops looking like a smile.

Closed or narrowed eyes still need the crescent curve. Draw them as an arch that bends up in the middle, like the laughing girl in Step 04.

Happy anime expression FAQ

What is the most important part of a happy anime face?

The eyes. When a person smiles, the muscle under the eye relaxes and the lower eyelid rises, so the eye turns into a crescent. Add brows that rise with their tails dropping and mouth corners that lift, and the face reads as happy even in a one-line sketch.

Why do anime characters have diagonal lines on their cheeks?

The lines show a blush. The habit comes from the days when most manga were drawn in ink only, and artists used hatching lines to show darker and lighter tones. A flushed face makes joy look stronger.

Which face muscles make a smile?

Two areas do most of the work: the lower part of the orbicularis oculi around the eye, which relaxes so the lower eyelid rises, and the zygomaticus major in the cheek, which pulls the corners of the mouth up. Other muscles shape the rest of the face, such as the frontalis that raises the eyebrows and the corrugator that pulls the brows together.

How do I get feedback on my facial expression drawings?

When you join an Anime Art Academy course, a professional Japanese artist gives you personal advice and draws red-line corrections directly on your drawing. There is no limit on how many times you can submit. The only rule: post one drawing at a time, and wait for your teacher's reply before posting the next.