Animal expressions

[Clitemnestra]

Hi i'm a relatively new artist doing comics and i need help with animals.
I had written the first part of a dramatic comic of a human girl and an ermine, with the ermine as the protagonist / point of view.
The point is that my style is not cartoon, it is semi-realistic, and that makes it difficult for me to create animal expressions. I have been advised to find out the communication of the stoats and I have done it but it is still very limited for everything it has to transmit.
So I want to ask around here if you can recommend artists and comics with realistic animals and if any comic has stoats, or ferrets by default (there are a lot of mice but very few of stoats).
Thanks.

 

[MissNook]

Hi @Clitemnestra
That's just my guess here, or how I would do it. Since the ermine aren't really expressive in nature, I would accentuate a bit the eyelids to give it a little more possibility around the eyes and I would also use a lot of open mouths when drawing it. It's easier to give a subtle expression to an open mouth than a closed mouth for an animal with such a little mouth.
The other possibility is to keep its face expressionless but adding expression symbols like the example bellow. You can play with calligraphy, shapes of bubbles, symbols (like ? ! ...) and even do more artistic inputs like for example bubbles with drawings on them to describe its state of thinking. Just to say it's a possibility here ^^

I also found this picture: https://www.deviantart.com/kaprriss/art/Dark-Ermine-714706743 which can give you inspiration about what I said about eyes and mouth. Here the eyes have been made with more visible eyelids, which could led to stronger possibilities of expressions or at least to making the eyes standing out more.

I hope it helps!

 

[Darknessis]

Good day) can you show an example of a sketch of an ermine? or where can I see it? maybe I can help you)

 

[Clitemnestra]

Good day) can you show an example of a sketch of an ermine? or where can I see it? maybe I can help you)

Sure.
This is one of the ermine draws i did

Thanks for the help

 

[Darknessis]

Sure.
This is one of the ermine draws i did
View attachment 116204
Thanks for the help

tried to portray your ferret in a more or less realistic way, but so that emotions are visible). the miniature is more cartoonish. In general, I tried to show that due to: brow arches, eyes (whites, glare, shape of the eyes), facial muscles, the emotions of the heroes are transmitted.

especially the eyebrows and eyes enliven animals - even in dogs, eyebrows are considered more pronounced than in wolves. as if this is a consequence of their living next to people. it's a good idea to spot them on wilder species, if required.)

the eyes are white (due to it, the gaze can be guided), the eyelids and (as it seems to me) - glare.

hope at least something will be useful to you.)

 

[Clitemnestra]

Thanks