Current mood:	warm and toasty
Current music:	Katie Melua - "My Aphrodisiac Is You"

Big Eyes, Small Mouths. It's a style, baby.
Of all things Westerners pick up on in anime and manga, the first thing they tend to point out is a style that favors overly large eyes and undefined, tiny mouths. There are other facial features that tend to carry over. Lack of definition in the nose. Simple face outline with a lack of heavy shading.

Of course, there are numerous anime/manga artists who don't draw the huge saucer-sized eyes of the shoujo manga we're used to, but even then there is something similar in this style an artist can pick up on; lack of definition. Take a look at most Western comics (particularly superhero comics) and you'll notice that the artists tend to focus on photorealistic detail rather than stylized. Even the facial features of an untraditional manga tend to be simplified.

As much as new Western manga artists hate to admit it, the facial features of characters ARE a major part of what makes up the visual style of manga. Though it certainly isn't all of it (as seen by many poorly executed titles on the shelves).

So, what's the point? Take a look at the following two sets of pictures:

Set One:
http://cyberspace-market.com/xtremexmen/gallery/X-Treme-X-Men-36.jpg
http://cyberspace-market.com/xtremexmen/gallery/X-Treme-X-Men-46.jpg
http://cyberspace-market.com/xtremexmen/gallery/X-Treme-X-Men-5.jpg
http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/images/lmx.jpg (http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/xmen.shtml)
http://www.blue-elf.com/comic.jpg (http://www.blue-elf.com/nightfactoidshistory.html)
(reference: http://cyberspace-market.com/xtremexmen/story.html)

Set Two:
http://cupped-expressions.net/rod/die/manga2/manga01_page093.jpg
http://cupped-expressions.net/rod/die/manga2/manga03_page154.jpg
http://cupped-expressions.net/rod/die/manga2/manga03_page088.jpg
(reference: http://cupped-expressions.net/index2.php)


It's pretty easy to tell which we would traditionally call 'manga' and American 'comics,' even if all you look at are the faces. Now tell me . . . which characters would you find easier to relate to?

In Scott McCloud's "Reinventing Comics" he makes a point of the fact that many people find it easier to relate to comics because the facial expressions are so undefined, it's easier to place ourselves in the characters' position. We literally see ourselves in place of the characters. The more simple the expression, the easier it is to see ourselves as the character, but also . . . the more EXPRESSIVE you can make the characters.

The open features of the "big eyes, small mouths" makes it very easy to draw expressions that hit right to home. Traditional western comics tend to be more subtle. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. In a traditional western style, it's a little more easy for artists to create characters with defining features that fans will recognize anywhere. However, it may also be a little more difficult for a lot of people to relate to characters because they can't place themselves in the characters' shoes. With manga, it may be easier to relate to the characters due to the openness and lack of detail in the face (because to a degree, the complaint that 'they all look the same' IS true), but it's also more difficult to trademark the particular look of a character. Perhaps that is why you see so many characters with outrageous hairstyles, costumes, and brilliant colors in manga/anime; it's the one thing the artist really has to mark their character as THEIRS. (is there a synonym for 'character' btw? lol)

To get a real feel for the difference between the two, take a look at the Sunday funnies. Peanuts. Calvin and Hobbs. For Better For Worse. Family Circus. Etc. Strip comics are notorious for simplification, but . . . it makes it easier for people to focus on the JOKES and to place themselves in the life of the character. Perhaps this is why when there's a humorous scene in manga, you'll often see chibi versions of the characters; more focus on the expression of the moment and the joke, rather than the art.

As much as artists hate to admit, facial features play a large part of certain styles of illustration/comics. Are you more concerned with realism or expression? A lot of the Indy comics I've seen seem to focus more on expression. Superhero comics tend to focus on realism (or exaggerated realism). Manga tend to focus on expression and simplification, with detail for emphasis. Strip comics on simplification and the weekly punch line.

This is, of course, all just speculation before I start my work for the day (yes, I work on holidays, too). I draw the 'big eyes, small mouths' because I feel it's a very expressive and effective form of art. I also realize that this isn't all that makes my characters. Composure, body language, dress, style, and movement all go into creating your characters. Some walk tall and proud. Other hunch over, hiding from themselves. The face is a tool to relate emotion, but emotion is also shown in the hands, the twist of the torso, a curled toe, a stray strand of hair. You can't make a pinup and expect them to come to life. There's a history behind those eyes. There's a reason she's dresses the way she does, why she avoids skirts and heels, preferring to don tennis shoes and sweats, why he brushes his hair over one eye, why she runs her fingers through her hair when she's nervous, and why he's suddenly still when he's angry. Characters are as complex as ourselves, and you have to pretend they've been alive just as long, otherwise they will never be real.