COMMUNICATION, BEHAVIOUR & ART

 

FACIAL EXPRESSION COURSE FOR ARTISTS & The Curious

 
Sophie Zadeh, Artist & Nonverbal Communication Specialist

Welcome, and thank you for visiting!

Drawing on my unique experience in nonverbal communication and the arts, this course is specially designed for artists and anyone curious about the fascinating world of facial expressions.

In this course, you’ll gain a solid foundation in the mechanisms behind facial expressions. You’ll learn how to accurately recognise, capture, and convey emotional expressions in your artwork—no matter the medium you work with.

If you’re not an artist but want to deepen your understanding of facial expressions and emotions, this course will also help you enhance your empathy and improve your ability to communicate and respond to others effectively.

—Sophie

GAIN ACCESS ↓

IMPORTANT

This course is not art tuition. It is designed to teach both professional and amateur artists about facial expressions, helping you enhance your artwork by applying your existing art knowledge and skills.

 

Facial Expression Course for Artists: Course Details

WHAT YOU GET

This course includes a rich mix of pre-recorded video explainers with transcripts, visual examples through videos and images, detailed descriptive text, creative challenges, downloadable cheat sheets, and other helpful resources.

If you have any questions, need clarification, or want advice and feedback on your artwork while taking the course, you can contact me directly for personalized support.

WHO IS THis COURSE FOR?

This course is primarily designed for artists who want to accurately capture facial expressions in their work. However, it is also ideal for anyone interested in understanding facial expressions and emotions, helping you better read and interpret the emotional states of others.

COURSE AIMS

Art schools and university programs rarely cover the science behind facial expressions—this course fills that gap by helping artists and hobbyists accurately capture emotional expressions. It aims to enhance your artwork, whether in portraiture, sculpture, or other mediums, by deepening your understanding of core human emotions.

Learning about facial expressions not only improves artistic technique but also fosters emotional and creative expression. Based on scientific research, this unique insight boosts your ability to recognize emotions, understand others, and develop greater empathy—empowering you to communicate and respond more effectively.

This course is ideal for both beginners new to facial expression science and experienced professional and amateur artists seeking to enrich their skills.

CONTENT

Rooted in the science of facial expression, this course explores seven universal expressions linked to our core emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, and contempt.

For each emotional expression, you will find comprehensive content including:

  • Video Explainer: Detailed information about the emotion and its associated facial expression (with transcript)

  • At a Glance: Visual summary of the expression

  • Expression in Action: Video demonstration

  • Creative challenge 1

  • In Detail: Breakdown of the expression, covering:

    • The facial muscles and action units involved

    • Specific facial movements

    • Subtle appearance nuances

  • Action Units: Isolated muscle movements

  • Examples: Photographic illustrations with descriptions

  • Additional Insights: Fascinating facts about the emotion or expression

  • Art challenge 2

  • Artistic Examples: Depictions of the expression in various artworks

Course fee

€175

Sadness Expression in Art, Online Course for Artists: Facial Expressions
Happiness Expression in Art, Online Course for Artists: Facial Expressions
 

If you have any questions before, during, or after the course, please feel free to contact me here, or email sophie@sophiezadeh.com

ADDITIONAL COURSE MODULES ARE SHOWN BELOW.

If you’ve already booked this course, you can access it via the image/module links below.

Featured
Introduction
Introduction

This page provides an overview of emotional expression, with a video explainer (plus transcript) and key points.

Emotion and Expression
Emotion and Expression

On this page, you’ll learn some fascinating secrets about emotion and expression.

Watch my TED-Ed lesson for an overview of emotional expression and learn about our core emotions. Then read about the brief history of facial expression and the discovery or microexpressions and a potential 8th expression–The Not Face.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Facial feedback hypothesis and the body-brain feedback loop is an area that fascinates me. I leverage my understanding of this by switching my mental state to more positive emotion as and when I need to. Yes, that’s possible and very empowering. Enjoy learning about this!

Facial Proportion
Facial Proportion

As an artist, you may already be familiar with facial proportion–or maybe the myths surrounding it. On this short page, I clarify which art principles come closest to being a rule.

Action Units
Action Units

This page provides an overview of the Facial Action Coding System, action units, emotion and expression.

It then provides video examples of the action units associated with universal expressions. Dip into this section in the future, using it as a resource if you need to.

Happiness
Happiness

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of happiness. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Sadness
Sadness

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of sadness. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Fear
Fear

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of fear. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Disgust
Disgust

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of disgust. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Anger
Anger

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of anger. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Surprise
Surprise

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of surprise. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Contempt
Contempt

This page gives a brief video explainer of the emotion and expression of contempt. Followed by information about what the facial expression looks like–at a glance and in detail. There are video and example images, as well as the action units involved in the associated expression. You can then use each emotion/expression page as an at a glance reference in the future, as and when you need to.

Resources
Resources

This page has downloadable cheatsheets and other documents which you may find useful.