Facial Expressions

Remember this scene from Shrek I? Shrek just heard from Fiona that she's got a "big" day ahead of her but Shrek knows she's about to meet "short" King Farquardt. He looks at Donkey with a face that says, "I don't know whether to break the news to her or not...should I?"

Out of context it's not that funny (although it is a fabulous digital drawing). In the film this facial expression triggered a big laugh. It was a non verbal gag. I aspire to the same heights of subtlety as these animators.


Ergo, I just ordered on Amazon a book entitled, "Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists" by Mark Simon. I'm hoping when I start drawing I'll benefit from this guide. 

This morning I began writing dialog for chapter 11; I'm almost done with the first draft! Once completed I'll review the entire collection of accumulated pages (about 400 by my reckoning; the files are separated and I don't have an accurate page count just yet). The wait is killing me! I'm so eager to wed text with images.

PS: I have a friend about to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and he's currently in the "accumulating gear" stage. In like manner, this stage of creating my first graphic novel is in the accumulation stage. My friend is eager to walk; I'm eager to draw. But beginning either project ill-prepared would mean disaster. Without proper gear he'd get cold, wet, tired, and hungry. Without my proper gear (dialog, references, commentaries, etc) I'd produce a less than sterling bit of art. I want sterling!