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Lesson 3 of 6

Analyse a facial expression through drawing

I can draw and analyse facial expressions to understand emotions.

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Lesson 3 of 6
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Analyse a facial expression through drawing

I can draw and analyse facial expressions to understand emotions.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The position of the eyebrows, mouth and eyes helps to identify emotions.
  2. Facial expressions convey emotions and can be captured through art.
  3. Understanding proportions and basic shapes of the face.

Keywords

  • Emotion - A strong feeling such as happiness, sadness, or anger.

  • Feature - A part of the face like eyes, mouth, or nose.

  • Analyse - To examine something in detail to understand it better.

  • Detail - A small part of something that adds to its overall appearance.

  • Proportion - How big or small parts of something are compared to each other.

Common misconception

All types of smile indicate happiness in a person.

There are many nuances in smiles, such as a polite smile versus a genuine smile, which can convey different feelings.

Encourage pupils to practise drawing each of the main facial features while expressing different emotions to help build their confidence before drawing a full portrait. The “I do/we do” drawing exercises are an opportunity to practise observational skills through drawing without pressure.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Reference images of different facial expressions. Mirrors. Pencils, rubbers, sketching paper. Whiteboard for teacher demonstration of changing facial expressions.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A facial __________ is the appearance of the face that shows feelings and emotions

experiment
experience
Correct answer: expression

Q2.
Which facial feature often changes shape with different emotions?

Ears
Nose
Correct answer: Mouth

Q3.
What might a raised eyebrow indicate?

Correct answer: Surprise or curiosity
Sadness
Tiredness

Q4.
What shape is often used as a base for drawing faces?

Correct answer: Oval
Square
Triangle

Q5.
A __________ representation of something is accurate and true to life.

exaggerated
expressive
Correct answer: realistic

Q6.
Analysing something means …

breaking it apart into smaller parts
Correct answer: examining it in greater detail to understand it better
starting a sketch with the details first

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the first step in drawing a face?

Correct answer: Drawing the overall shape of the face
Adding shading
Sketching the mouth

Q2.
How might you show happiness in a portrait drawing?

Draw a frown
Correct answer: Draw a smile
Draw a straight line

Q3.
What effect does changing the line weight have on a sketch?

It adds colour
Correct answer: It emphasises emotion
It reduces detail

Q4.
What is the role of proportion in sketching facial expressions?

It adds colour
It simplifies the drawing
Correct answer: It makes it more realistic

Q5.
What is the purpose of analysing portraits in art?

To count the number of features
Correct answer: To understand how emotions are expressed
To decide if the artist has used a range of colours

Q6.
What role does context or environment play in understanding facial expressions?

Correct answer: It affects their meaning
It has no role
It makes expressions uniform

Lesson appears in

UnitArt and design / Photography and painting: facial expressions in portraiture

Art and design

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