Free Guide

How to Draw Sad & Disgusted Anime Expressions: A Step-by-Step Guide by Japanese Pro Artists

The short answer: A sad face starts at the inner ends of the eyebrows: lift them and pull them together, let the eyes start to close, and turn the mouth corners down. A disgusted face scrunches the middle instead: the brows drop at the inner ends, the eyes narrow, and the cheeks, nose and upper lip all rise. How far you push each part sets how strong the feeling reads.

If your sad characters just look tired, or your disgusted faces look angry, this guide walks through a real Anime Art Academy lesson by a Japanese pro: the muscles that move, sadness from a quiet frown to full despair, and disgust from fed-up to contempt.

Anime characters from the lesson: five sad faces, from a quiet frown to wailing, next to four disgusted faces — From the lesson: sadness and disgust.

The five stages at a glance

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle, with red arrows lifting the inner brows and green marks around the eyes

The sadness musclesThe frontalis, eyes that start to close and the mouth corners.

Two anime characters with quiet sadness, with red circles between the brows, green arrows on the eyes and purple arrows tipping the head down

Quiet sadnessRaised inner brows, downcast eyes and the head tipped down.

An anime boy in despair with his eyes hidden in red shadow, streams of tears, a wide-open mouth and blue arrows pointing outward

Tears and despairTears, a raised face, eyes in shadow and a wailing mouth.

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle, with the cheek muscle in red lifting the upper lip and blue arrows lifting the cheeks and nose

The disgust musclesInner brows down, narrow eyes, a lifted lip and cheeks.

Two anime characters showing strong disgust, with light blue arrows lifting the cheeks, red and green marks on the lips and a purple arrow for a sigh

Disgust and contemptLooking away, looking down and a fed-up sigh.

Step 01 · The sadness muscles

Which face muscles move in a sad face?

The frontalis lifts the inner ends of the brows, the muscle around the eyes starts to close them, and the depressor anguli oris pulls the mouth corners down.

In this lesson image, one half of the face is drawn as skin and the other half as muscle. In red, the frontalis pulls up and raises the inner ends of the eyebrows, so the brows slope down toward the outside. The inner ends also draw together, and vertical wrinkles form between the brows, shown by the blue line. In green, the orbicularis oculi contracts, as if the eyes are trying to close.

At the mouth, in the second image, the corners first spread to the sides while the nostrils widen (red). Then the depressor anguli oris pulls the corners down (blue), and the mouth bends into a downturned curve. With the corners pulled down, a wrinkle forms under the lower lip (green).

Red-pen checkLift the inner ends of the brows, not the outer ends. That one change is what separates a sad face from an angry one.

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle. Red arrows lift the inner ends of the brows, a blue line marks the wrinkle between them, green marks the eyes starting to close — Red: frontalis lifting the inner brows. Blue: wrinkle between the brows. Green: the eyes starting to close.

The same half-muscle face. Red arrows spread the mouth corners, blue arrows pull them down and green marks the wrinkle under the lower lip — Red: mouth corners spreading. Blue: depressor anguli oris pulling them down. Green: wrinkle under the lower lip.

Step 02 · Quiet sadness

How do you draw a quietly sad face?

Pull the inner brows together and up, let the eyes look down, turn the mouth corners down and tip the head forward a little.

In the red circles, both characters draw their brows together and lift the inner ends. The muscle around the eyes contracts as if trying to close them (green), so the eyes look downcast.

The blue lines show the mouth corners turned down. The purple arrows show the head tipped slightly down. That small tilt tells the viewer the character's mood is sinking. No tears needed.

Red-pen checkKeep it small. Downcast eyes and a slight head tilt already read as sadness.

Two anime characters with quiet sadness. Red circles mark the raised inner brows, green arrows mark the eyes starting to close, blue lines mark the mouth corners and purple arrows show the head tipped down — Red: inner brows up and together. Green: eyes starting to close. Blue: mouth corners down. Purple: head tipped down.

Step 03 · Tears and despair

How do you draw stronger sadness and despair?

Add tears and let the mouth corners drop. For despair, hide the eyes in shadow, make the tears stream and open the mouth wide.

In the first image, both characters raise the inner ends of their brows (red). Their eyes are trying to close (green), and on the left, the downcast eyes make the eyelashes stand out. Tears, in light blue, push the sadness further. In the second image, the mouth corners are down (red). The boy on the right clenches his teeth a little, which can show frustration. Turning the face up, as the green arrow shows, signals an even stronger feeling.

The third image is despair. This is the full-on wailing scene. In red, the eyes are hidden and shaded over, which shows hopeless grief. In light blue, the streaming tears are exaggerated to show deeper sorrow. In purple, the mouth opens wide, with wrinkles drawn where it stretches, so the face looks like it's sobbing out loud. The blue arrows show the face raised and the shoulders opened, so the feeling bursts outward.

Red-pen checkMatch the tears to the strength. A few drops for a sad moment. Streams and a wide-open mouth for despair.

Two crying anime characters. Red circles mark the raised inner brows, green marks the eyes trying to close and light blue marks the tears — Red: inner brows up. Green: eyes trying to close. Light blue: tears.

The same two crying characters. Red marks the downturned mouths, the boy clenches his teeth and a green arrow shows his face turned up — Red: mouth corners down. Right: slightly clenched teeth. Green arrow: face turned up.

An anime boy in despair. Red shadow hides his eyes, light blue marks streaming tears, purple marks the wide-open mouth and blue arrows point outward — Red: eyes hidden in shadow. Light blue: streaming tears. Purple: a wide-open mouth. Blue arrows: face up, shoulders open.

Step 04 · The disgust muscles

Which face muscles move in a disgusted face?

The brows pull together so the inner ends drop, the eyes narrow, the levator labii superioris lifts the upper lip, and the chin muscle pushes the lower lip up.

The lesson also covers disgust. When the brows draw together, the inner ends drop, as the red arrows show, and vertical wrinkles form between them. In blue, the orbicularis oculi contracts and the eyes narrow. Wrinkles form around them, shown in green.

In the second image, the cheek muscle in red, the levator labii superioris, contracts and lifts the upper lip (red arrow). The cheeks and the sides of the nose rise with it (blue arrows). In the third image, the muscle at the tip of the chin contracts and pushes the lower lip up (green).

Red-pen checkIn disgust, the middle of the face scrunches up. The cheeks, the sides of the nose and the upper lip all rise together.

A face drawn half as skin and half as muscle. Red marks the brows pulled together with the inner ends down, blue the narrowed eyes and green the wrinkles around them — Red: brows pulled together, inner ends down. Blue: narrowed eyes. Green: wrinkles.

The same half-muscle face with the cheek muscle in red lifting the upper lip and blue arrows lifting the cheeks and the sides of the nose — Red: levator labii superioris lifting the upper lip. Blue: cheeks and the sides of the nose rising.

The same half-muscle face with green marking the chin muscle pushing the lower lip up — Green: the chin muscle pushing the lower lip up.

Step 05 · Disgust and contempt

How do you draw disgust and contempt?

Narrow the eyes, lift the cheeks and the sides of the nose, shape the mouth, and use the eyes and head so the character avoids looking straight at what they dislike.

In the first image, both brows pull together, both pairs of eyes narrow, and the lower eyelids tense as the face grimaces. The light blue arrows show the cheeks and the sides of the nose rising. Now the mouths, in red: on the left, the mouth corners drop, which reads as fed up. On the right, the lower lip is pushed up, which adds more disgust. The eyes do work too (green arrows). The girl on the left looks away or sideways, keeping what she dislikes out of view. The girl on the right looks down on it.

In the second image, the disgust is stronger. Both characters frown with vertical wrinkles between the brows, the eyes narrow, and wrinkles form under the eyes. The light blue arrows show the cheeks and the sides of the nose rising and the nostrils widening. The upper lip lifts (red) while the chin pushes the lower lip up (green). The girl on the right tips her face forward with a sigh (purple). A move like that shows a fed-up or contemptuous kind of disgust.

Red-pen checkDon't let the character stare straight at what they dislike. A sideways glance or a look down does half the work.

Two anime girls showing disgust. Light blue arrows lift the cheeks and nose, red marks the mouths and green arrows show one girl looking away and the other looking down — Light blue: cheeks and nose up. Red: the mouth. Green: looking away, and looking down.

A man and a girl showing strong disgust. Light blue arrows lift the cheeks and nose, red marks the upper lip, green the lower lip and a purple arrow shows the girl tipping her face forward with a sigh — Light blue: cheeks and nose up, nostrils wide. Red: upper lip up. Green: lower lip pushed up. Purple: face tipped forward with a sigh.

Same sadness, different strength

Both are sad. Quiet sadness stays in the brows, the eyes and a small frown. Despair hides the eyes, streams tears and opens the mouth wide.

Two anime characters with quiet sadness: raised inner brows, downcast eyes and small frowns

Quiet sadness: raised inner brows, downcast eyes, mouth corners down.

An anime boy in despair with his eyes in shadow, tears and a wide-open mouth

Despair: eyes in shadow, tears, a wide-open mouth.

Where people usually get stuck

My sad face looks angry.

Check which end of the brows moves. Sadness lifts the inner ends, so the brows slope down toward the outside. Anger pulls the inner ends down toward the eyes.

My sad characters just look tired.

Add one clear sign: turn the mouth corners down, tip the head down, or add tears. For deeper sadness, hide the eyes in shadow or open the mouth wide.

My disgusted face looks angry.

Disgust scrunches the middle of the face. Lift the cheeks, the sides of the nose and the upper lip, and have the character look away or look down instead of glaring straight ahead.

Sad and disgusted anime expression FAQ

What is the key to drawing a sad anime face?

The inner ends of the eyebrows. When we're sad, the frontalis lifts them and they draw together, so the brows slope down toward the outside and vertical wrinkles form between them. Add eyes that start to close and mouth corners pulled down, and the face reads as sad.

How do you draw an anime character crying?

Start with raised inner brows, eyes trying to close and mouth corners pulled down, then add tears. For a stronger feeling, turn the face up. For despair, hide the eyes in shadow, exaggerate the streaming tears and open the mouth wide, with wrinkles where it stretches.

What is the difference between disgust and anger in an anime face?

Both pull the brows together, but disgust scrunches the middle of the face: the eyes narrow, and the cheeks, the sides of the nose and the upper lip rise, while the chin pushes the lower lip up. A disgusted character also tends to look away or look down instead of staring straight at what they dislike.

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.