Angry expression

Tension gathers around the brow, eyes, and mouth so a strong emotion reads from the face.

Visual traits

• Drawn brows
• Tense eye area
• Set or open mouth

Expected changes

• Tension is more likely to appear in brows and eyes
• Mouth and jaw are more likely to support the emotion
• The face is more likely to become the emotional focus

Definition

An angry expression is a visible display of anger in the face, such as drawn brows, an intensified eye area, or a set mouth. Bodily pose, aggressive action, and a hostile mood across the whole scene are specified separately.

In more detail

When the face remains large enough to read, anger can be conveyed through tension in the brows, eyelids, mouth, and jaw. It does not determine a cause, target, age, clothing, or cultural setting. It is unsuitable when the face is too small to read or when a subject does not show anger facially.

Includes

• People or animals whose anger is visually readable from the face
• Close or medium views showing tension in brows and mouth

Excludes

• Scenes with angry action but no visible face
• Ominousness across the whole scene
• Subjects with neutral expressions

What this does not imply

• Violence or threat
• A cause or target of anger
• A particular pose
• medium
• or era

Variability

Anger can range in intensity through the amount of tension in brows, eyes, and mouth. Keep the face unobscured when the expression must be readable.

Usage

• Keep the face readable and specify any cause of anger separately

Distinguish similar expressions

• Specify bodily stance separately as a pose
• Specify scene-wide tension separately as mood

Typical uses

• Show a person's or animal's emotion clearly through the face
• Compose a portrait for a tense conversation or confrontation

Possible failure modes

• The face is too small for the expression to read
• Only body movement signals anger
• The expression becomes surprise or pain