Micro gestures and expressions are a very interesting layer you can add to your animation to add more life and character.
In essence, micro movements are very small movements in the face or body that indicate the emotions and thoughts that a character is concealing. These are most famously used for detecting lies in a criminal investigation, and are also interestingly applicable to people across cultures.
This is a very useful tool if they can be read properly, since these movements are involuntary and can't be concealed, especially when the emotion is intense. However, they're also very difficult to interpret, since they are only visible on the face for less than half a second (as opposed to the normal 0.5 - 4 seconds for the average facial expression).
Micro Expressions
When trying to conceal an emotion, this often flashes across the face as an involuntary micro expression. Micro expressions can also occur when the speaker is unaware of how they're feeling (Conscious Suppression vs. Unconscious Repression). In other words, micro expressions can be caused by an intentional or unintentional concealment of emotions.
A micro expression can consist of either a movement isolated to one area of the face or a full expression that only appears for a short period of time.
There are 7 types of micro expressions:
Surprise
Fear
Disgust
Anger
Happiness
Sadness
Contempt
Recognizing Micro Expressions
There are specific features that might be visible for different micro expressions, and you can use these to identify them. You can even use these guidelines for creating general emotions in your facial expressions.
Surprise
raised, curved eyebrows
skin below brow is stretched
horizontal wrinkles on forehead
widened eyes with lots of white visible
jaw dropped with no tension
Fear
eyebrows raised and drawn together (usually in a straight line)
forehead wrinkles centered between brows
eyes wide, but tension in lower eyelid
mouth open and lips tensed/drawn back
Disgust
upper lip raised, maybe exposing teeth
nose wrinkled
cheeks raised
Anger
brows lowered and drawn together
frown lines between brows
lower lid tensed
lips pressed together with corners down
nostrils dilated
jaw stuck out
Happiness
corners of the lips drawn back and up
wrinkle from outer nose to outer lip
cheeks and lower lids raised
crows foot near eyes
Sadness
inner brows are drawn in and up
skin below brows is triangulated
lip corners drawn down and jaw up
lower lip pouting
Contempt
one side of the mouth raised
wrinkle near nose
Real World Examples
Most of the time these traits are very subtle and not all of them may be displayed, which makes it hard to recognize or identify a micro expression. This video below is a very cool example showing some real life people, and explains how to identify their micro expressions.
Micro Gestures
Micro gestures function very similarly to micro expressions, with some being easier to read than others. It also has a lot to do with behavior and personality. It can be something as simple as nervous habits or extend to the gestural differences between the way different people approach a situation.
These motions are unconscious, which is why they can be good for showing a character's personality. Examples would be jiggling your foot when you're anxious or fiddling with an objects. The amplification of these motions can also be telling about the character's mental state.
Incorporating these gestures and micro expressions in your animations will add great subtle acting and will really take your work to the next level.
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