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How to Draw Faces and Expressions Step-by-step – Easy Emotion Drawing for Kids

This portrait sketching lesson is a fun way for kids to explore emotions while building their artistic skills. If you enjoy creating character designs with distinct facial features, you can also explore our guide on how to draw eyes to add more depth and detail to your characters' expressions. This easy step-by-step drawing lesson shows young artists how to create simple facial features and different expressions, from happy and excited to surprised and thoughtful, using clear, beginner-friendly stages, making this a wonderful addition to our easy drawing tutorials for kids collection. Printable PDF worksheets are included, giving children plenty of opportunities to practice each expression, improve facial proportions, and experiment with a variety of emotions.

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Want to learn how to draw eyes, noses, and mouths? Monkey Pen has an easy lesson on how to draw faces and expressions.

Step 1: Give the girl some sharp hair to begin with.

Step 2: Draw the ears and the face.

Step 3: Draw the face.

Step 4: Draw two ponytails on each side of the head.

Step 5: Include inner ears and round eyes along with eyelashes, nose and a wide mouth.

Step 6: Draw tiny eyebrows using dash like lines and shade the eyeballs, that are tiny circles inside each eye.

Step 7: You have sketched a happy girl face. Now let’s draw another face that begins with the hair that is spiky.

Step 8: Below the hair, draw a U shape.

Step 9: Add ovals on either side of the head, for the ears.

Step 10: Draw the head outline with an upside down, wide U.

Step 11: Include tiny spikes to complete the hair dropping on both the sides.

Step 12: Eyes, along with eyelashes, nose, ears and curved mouth are added.

Step 13: Draw half-moon-shaped eyebrows and circles for eyeballs.

Step 14: A sad face drawing is over. Now let’s make another expression on a face.

Step 15: Draw a round face with oval-shaped ears on both sides.

Step 16: Complete the head above with an upside-down C.

Step 17: Add a ponytail at the back and tie it with a butterfly-shaped hairband.

Step 18: Create raised eyebrows with eyes lying below, inner ears, a nose and a mouth on the face.

Step 19: Include eyeballs using round shapes.

Step 20: Thus, an angry face is made. Now let’s move on to the next face that begins with spiky hair.

Step 21: Draw the head below, and don’t forget to add outer ears.

Cartoon Faces drawing for young artists

Step 22: Draw the outer head, which has few spikes.

Step 23: Give eyes, a nose, oval-shaped mouth and inner ears.

Step 24: Remember to add pupils and eyebrows.

Step 25: A surprising face drawing is completed. Let’s draw the next face that starts with a head built with many ‘U’-shaped curves.

Step 26: Sketch the head that looks like a ‘U’ and ears which are small ovals.

Step 27: Draw the head above having curly hair using more ‘u’s.

Step 28: Provide eyes, a nose and a big mouth. Make sure you add inner ears, too.

Step 29: Now draw half-moon-shaped eyebrows and round pupils.

Step 30: A fearful face is completed. Create the next face that starts with hair.

Basic emotion expressions coloring sheet for kids

Step 31: Draw the face outline along with the ears.

Step 32: Add the inner ear on each ear. Also, draw round eyes, a tiny nose and a flat mouth.

Step 33: Darken the eyeballs inside, which are little circles.

Step 34: Draw the neck for every person, which looks slightly like a rectangle from one angle and almost an oval from a different angle.

Step 35: Sketch the shoulders for each person that starts with curved lines on both sides of the neck. Also make an outline for the neck, which is the attire.

Step 36: You have completed the drawing of different faces and expressions successfully.


How to Draw Faces and Expressions for Kids

Did you know people can easily recognize an emotion from a face in not more than one second? A tiny smile, raised eyebrows, or wide-open eyes can instantly tell a story. That is why learning how to draw faces is one of the interesting art subjects for children. Faces are not simply drawings, they are made of feelings, imagination, and personality. 

It is no matter whether the kids like to sketch cartoons, superheroes, or real people. If they know about facial expressions, then their drawings will become easy and fascinating.
For drawing, children need neither expensive materials nor great drawing skills. A pencil, paper, and creativity are enough to start exploring.

Why Drawing Faces Is So Much Fun

You can see faces everywhere. They are seen in movies, cartoons, books, games, and even emojis. But have you ever noticed that any two faces that look similar? Each one is unique and that is what makes face drawing so engaging for children. 

When kids learn how to draw facial expressions, they also understand how emotions work. The curved eyebrows and smiling mouth make a joyful face, the astonished face frequently has wide eyes and an open mouth. These tiny changes can completely transform a drawing.

Drawing faces also improve observation skills. Small ones start noticing details they’ve never seen before, such eyelashes, dimples, freckles or distinct smile shapes. This helps them become more creative and more confident artists in the long run.

Start with Eyes, Nose and Mouth

Many beginners think drawing faces is hard, but every face starts with a simple shape. A circle becomes the head, rounds or ovals become the eyes, and tiny curves create expressions. 

The eyes are often called the “windows of emotion.” Large round eyes can make cartoon characters look cute or surprised. Smaller eyes can create calm or serious expressions. This is why kids learning how to draw cartoon faces often experiment with eye shapes first.

Next comes the nose. Surprisingly, noses do not need many details in children’s drawings. A tiny curved line or soft triangle is enough to make a character look complete.

The mouth is where emotions truly shine. A smile with a curve is a joyful face; a zigzag mouth is an anxious or scared look. Kids learning to sketch face expressions rapidly learn that adjusting one little line may change a character’s mood completely.

Curious children can learn how to draw human faces or how to create realistic using shading methods and softer lines.

Making Cartoon Faces Look Happy, Sad, or Surprised

Have you ever wondered why cartoon characters look so expressive? The artists inflate emotions to make them more understandable. This is a technique that can help children learning how to draw different expressions create realistic and memorable characters.

For example:

Happy faces have elevated cheeks and a smiling lips. 

Sad faces feature lower eyebrows, smaller grins.

Angry faces have pointy eyebrows and pursed mouths.

Surprised expressions, mouths open, eyes wide.

Kids exploring how to draw angry expressions can practice drawing eyebrows because tiny eyebrow movements can change the entire emotion of a face.

Little Details That Make Faces Amazing

The smallest details always make the biggest difference. Hair, freckles, dimples, and even tooth gaps can provide characters unique personalities. 

Children practicing how to draw better expressions should pay attention to eyebrows and eyes as they carry more emotions. Even a tiny eyebrow tilt can make a character look confused, excited or sleepy.

Your Fun Face Drawing Adventure Begins Here

Learning how to draw people faces is not about making perfect art. It’s about finding feelings, telling stories, and playing with creativity. Every face can turn into a distinct character with its own personality and mood. 

Want to explore more drawings? Visit the Monkey Pen website, which features various easy-to-draw sketches and step-by-step illustrations. You can also download and print their free worksheets for use.

 

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