Funny Face Drawing: Exaggerated Eyes and Mouths

Object Drawing Lessons

Funny face drawing starts with choosing one or two features to exaggerate while keeping the rest simple. This lesson focuses on eyes and mouths because they carry most of an expression. You will use a convention for placement, practice three expression boxes, and finish a blank outline face. The goal is a readable, original funny face, not a realistic portrait or a known cartoon character. All measurements are examples you can adjust to your paper and tools.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Reference illustration

Use the stated measurements and conventions for each exercise.

Set a Simple Face Map

Draw a light oval for the head. Mark a vertical midline and a horizontal midline. In this lesson, the horizontal midline is the eye line. Place two eye shapes on that line, spaced about one eye-width apart. This spacing is a convention, not a rule; you may widen or narrow it for effect.

Add a nose mark halfway between the eye line and the chin. Place the mouth below the nose mark. Keep these guide marks light so you can erase or cover them. The face map helps you exaggerate one feature without losing the overall structure.

1. Draw a light oval about 10 cm tall and 7 cm wide on plain paper.
2. Mark a vertical midline and a horizontal eye line at the middle of the oval.
3. Place two eye shapes on the eye line, leaving about one eye-width between them.
4. Mark a nose point halfway between the eye line and the chin.
5. Mark a mouth line below the nose point, leaving space for the chin.

Exaggerate Eyes with Purpose

Choose one eye change: size, shape, or direction. For a surprised face, make both eyes taller than wide and add small pupils near the top. For a sleepy face, use half-closed lids and place pupils near the bottom. For a silly face, make one eye a circle and the other a narrow oval.

Keep the pupils consistent with the expression. Large pupils can look excited; tiny pupils can look shocked. Draw the eye outline first, then the pupil, then any lids or lashes. If you change eye size, keep the eye line as your anchor so the face still reads as one face.

1. Pick one eye change: taller, wider, half-closed, or mismatched.
2. Draw the eye outlines on the eye line.
3. Add pupils that match the chosen expression.
4. Add lids or lashes only if they support the expression.
5. Check that both eyes still sit on the same eye line.

Vary the Mouth for Comedy

The mouth can be a line, a curve, an open shape, or a wavy shape. A wide open mouth with a visible tongue suggests laughing. A tiny pursed mouth suggests confusion. A lopsided curve suggests a smirk. Choose one mouth variation and make it clearly different from a neutral line.

Place the mouth below the nose mark. If the mouth is open, keep the opening shape simple: an oval, a rounded rectangle, or a crescent. Add teeth as one or two simple blocks, not detailed rows. The mouth should be readable from a distance of about one meter.

1. Choose a mouth type: wide open, tiny pursed, lopsided, or wavy.
2. Draw the outer mouth shape below the nose mark.
3. Add a simple tongue or teeth shape if the mouth is open.
4. Keep the mouth centered or deliberately off-center for effect.
5. Step back one meter and check that the expression is clear.

Use Expression Practice Boxes

Divide a practice sheet into three boxes, each about 6 cm by 6 cm. In box one, draw a surprised face with tall eyes and an open oval mouth. In box two, draw a sleepy face with half-closed eyes and a tiny mouth. In box three, draw a silly face with mismatched eyes and a wavy mouth.

Each box uses the same face map but different eye and mouth choices. This shows that exaggeration is a set of decisions, not a single correct drawing. Keep your lines light until you are satisfied, then darken the final lines.

1. Draw three boxes about 6 cm by 6 cm on a practice sheet.
2. In box one, draw a surprised face using tall eyes and an open oval mouth.
3. In box two, draw a sleepy face using half-closed eyes and a tiny mouth.
4. In box three, draw a silly face using mismatched eyes and a wavy mouth.
5. Label each box with the expression word.

Worked example

Draw a surprised funny face on a 10 cm by 7 cm oval. Use tall eyes, small pupils near the top, and an open oval mouth. Describe the placement and the final check.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Exaggerating every feature at once, so the face looks cluttered. Choose one or two features to exaggerate and keep the nose, ears, and hair simple.
• Placing eyes far off the eye line, making the face look broken. Keep both eyes on the horizontal eye line unless you deliberately tilt the whole head.
• Making the mouth too small to read as an expression. Increase the mouth size or change its shape so it is clearly different from a neutral line.
• Copying a known cartoon character instead of making an original face. Change at least two features from any reference and combine your own eye and mouth choices.

Self-check rubric

• The face uses a clear oval head and a visible eye line.
• At least one eye feature is exaggerated in size, shape, or direction.
• The mouth is clearly varied from a neutral line and supports the expression.
• The face is original and does not copy a known cartoon character.
• The final drawing is readable from about one meter away.
• Valid alternatives are accepted: mismatched eyes, wavy mouths, or off-center features are allowed if the expression remains clear.

Questions and answers