How about a few more words on how laughter happens? I'm obsessed with finding out why the cheek enlarges so much, even for a smile as shown above. Mark Mayerson says the cheeks enlarge to accommodate the extra skin which is pushed out of the way by the smile. He's almost certainly right, but...well... where's the wrinkles you'd expect to see if skin was being packed that way? And why don't you see the skin traveling upward in steps, into the cheek?
I really shouldn't pursue this. The answer is probably obvious and I'm just being dense.
Here's a picture (above) that seems to confirm Mark's opinion. The cheeks don't bunch up much, maybe because the skin is spread all over the side of the face. Boy, this face resembles a screaming baboon!
The small picture on the lower left (above) is interesting. It shows the lower jaw receding backwards into the face as the woman laughs. The upper teeth don't seem to move much.
Of course it's an effort to hold a smile very long. You get tired of keeping the cheeks up. When the strain becomes unbearable (above) you stop supporting the cheeks and the meat collapses downward, back into it's home in the muzzle.
I've seen lots of flabby muzzles, especially on middle aged men and Star Wars fans.
15 comments:
nice stuff man
eddie, maybe you should check this.
Uncle Eddie, can you recommend some exercises for us middle aged men to do to avoid flabby cheek muzzle meat? (Thankfully, I know that Stars War sucks.)
See ya
Steve
And star wars fans! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
You should do a post on people who've endured years of dental work. By the time they reach about 35, their facial muscles have a hard time keeping their mouths open from sheer dread. Then the orthodontist ripoff quacks come along and prescribe that their jaws absolutely need to be surgically broken and re-set, correctly! Dentistry is Civil War surgery. The world demands your theories on this subject, which touches many people where it hurts.
This made me laugh outlowd...and I thank you.
Eddie --
Where's the skin go? One BIG wrinkle, the big furrow at the corner of each cheek. The muscles bunch up, but the skin kind of turns inside-out, into that concave well that occurs right where the lips meet the cheeks. The cheeks don't really enlarge because of extra SKIN, just extra muscle that's piling up underneath. That's why the cheeks get shiny and sort of tight, because they're stretched out over the extra muscle.
HHAHAHAHA your drawings are hilarious !!!! HAHHAHAAA i'm always excited to see your sketches on here, it's a treat. Thanks for these posts, they are fascinating- gonna practice some expression drawings.
glad to be back on blogger eddie! thanks for urging me to return and thanks for your comments, yours are always my favorites!
xo marlo
Gabriel: Many thanks!
Steve: Check out Gabriel's link to the vintage face exercize video!
Zoe: Boy, the cheeks must really be rubbery! Your theory sounds right, though!
Jorge: Of course! All advanced men revere Wolverton!
Marlo: Thanks and it's great to have you back!
Hmmm. I like Star Wars :). But then again I do have flabby Jowels :). Oh well to each his own. Great post Eddie! :) (Note: you won't see me in a Sci-fi or Star Wars convention).
You should of experimented with Ren struggling with pain in Stimpy's Invention having to keep a smile up so long. Those cheeky smile drawings are amazing. My favorite kind of drawings. Well observed, funny commentary, specific, and unique.
Maybe the extra skin usually lies dormant under and behind the cheekbones, and in smiles rides up over them, adding its mass to the bones instead of being parallel to/beneath them.
The very muscles which cause the edges of the mouth to lift also take care of the extra skin. The muscle becomes engorged with blood, growing and stretching the skin over it.
Imagine an elastic band stretched between your fingers, if you draw your fingers together it loosens, but if you push up on the center at the same time then the tension remains more constant.
Skin being somewhat elastic gives is a little leeway, but as a person ages their skin loses its elasticity and will begin to bunch up or wrinkle further.
Hope that makes sense. Great blog!
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