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Writing about People -- Expressions
11 Apr 2015 11:40 - 11 Apr 2015 11:49 #41429
by AuGoose
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Writing about People -- Expressions was created by AuGoose
I wanted to share a couple of images I've found very inspiring both for my recent scribbling and as implements in the toolbox for future work.
Read the captions closely, because even as still photos, this is what acting, what perfectly capturing a feeling is supposed to look like. Thinking about how to describe these pictures in words has been very helpful to me. Taking note of the crinkling of the eyes or the flair of a nostril. As people ourselves, we are highly tuned to the nuances of expression. Its the reason they use portraits on money - because casual observers can spot an error in a familiar picture of a person's face more quickly than any other way of preventing counterfeiting.
I hope you enjoy these as I have, and I look forward to seeing more from the many great writers here!
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Read the captions closely, because even as still photos, this is what acting, what perfectly capturing a feeling is supposed to look like. Thinking about how to describe these pictures in words has been very helpful to me. Taking note of the crinkling of the eyes or the flair of a nostril. As people ourselves, we are highly tuned to the nuances of expression. Its the reason they use portraits on money - because casual observers can spot an error in a familiar picture of a person's face more quickly than any other way of preventing counterfeiting.
I hope you enjoy these as I have, and I look forward to seeing more from the many great writers here!
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Last edit: 11 Apr 2015 11:49 by AuGoose.
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13 Apr 2015 11:28 #41456
by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
Non-verbal language is, at leats in my opinion, one of the most important and most forgotten skills of a writer. I remember a psychological research from the '60s, which stated that there are a small number of facial expressions that universal to the whole humankind and that equates to some basic insticts drilled in our psyche, but every other expression is a byproduct of a specific cultural background. Adding details such as these, not taking them for granted, helps enourmously with the immersion of the reader.
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25 May 2016 18:54 #48073
by AuGoose
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Replied by AuGoose on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
I wanted to add a little animated gif that I found interesting. A lot of our work focuses on our characters being excited (or outright aroused) and understanding the body language of those feelings can help enliven any text description. While this clip is a cartoon, that just means the markers are even more exaggerated and easy to pick up on.
An example of plugging some of those behaviors into a scene with a recently transformed uber-girl~
An example of plugging some of those behaviors into a scene with a recently transformed uber-girl~
Warning: Spoiler!
Her elbows clung tight to her sides, her hands clasped between the impossible globes of sweatshirt-wrapped flesh jutting from her chest. She spread her fingers, unable to fully encompass them... Those mounds couldn’t be hers... and yet she could feel small hands groping her chest, lifting, rubbing, pressing into the deep softness until curious fingers began to trace the outlines of stiff nipples rising from their peaks. Those couldn’t be hers... they were as big as the last joint of her thumb. They were arrogant. Extravagant. And completely undisguised by the stretched grey fabric clinging to them. They mocked any attempt to hide her rising excitement. They practically begged to be tweaked...
Her eyes widened in shocked surprise and her mouth opened as if to cry out... then her eyes narrowed as a shuddering, jittery ripple of pleasure bounced around her body until it seemed to sparkle at the top of her skull, caught in her long hair. Her elbows ground tiny circles into her ribs as her chest heaved. She tried to gasp, but the indrawn breath caught in her throat, her arms and neck clenching tight as the feeling shook her without signs of stopping. She hung there quivering for several agonizing moments before she realized she was literally hanging, her tightly scrunched toes inches above the glass-speckled carpet. How... Why... Could she actually have had a boob-gasm? And was she FLYING?!?
Her eyes widened in shocked surprise and her mouth opened as if to cry out... then her eyes narrowed as a shuddering, jittery ripple of pleasure bounced around her body until it seemed to sparkle at the top of her skull, caught in her long hair. Her elbows ground tiny circles into her ribs as her chest heaved. She tried to gasp, but the indrawn breath caught in her throat, her arms and neck clenching tight as the feeling shook her without signs of stopping. She hung there quivering for several agonizing moments before she realized she was literally hanging, her tightly scrunched toes inches above the glass-speckled carpet. How... Why... Could she actually have had a boob-gasm? And was she FLYING?!?
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25 May 2016 22:00 #48075
by Sarge395
Replied by Sarge395 on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
Looking forward to the new scene!
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26 May 2016 02:10 #48082
by circes_cup
Replied by circes_cup on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
Nice!
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06 Jun 2016 05:59 #48298
by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
A brief aside about setbacks - and why they make you better, delivered brilliantly.
Narrative GOLD, right there.
Narrative GOLD, right there.
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06 Jun 2016 14:25 #48301
by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic Writing about People -- Expressions
Another relative quicky and point blank bullseye for the things I was looking at in the original post.
(Please excuse the subtitles)
Such a fun show (Lie to Me). It's like a library filled with interesting nuances of expression and a vocabulary to put them into text form.
(Please excuse the subtitles)
Such a fun show (Lie to Me). It's like a library filled with interesting nuances of expression and a vocabulary to put them into text form.
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