A comparative analysis of the faces of characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some might call this a bit preemptive, myself among them, but since I'm drawing for fun what does it matter? A few days ago I was flipping through the book comparing the look of Shinji's face to Misato and Asuka and Rei's. "This is kinda fun," I thought. I find I like looking for differences in how characters are implemented, and even swapping features between them. What makes Asuka, Asuka? What is the conciet, the intent behind the features? What makes a face masculine, feminine, old or young? So I tried to compare a few of the faces of Evangelion.

Top to bottom left column, then right column: Shinji, Misato, Rei, Asuka, Gendo, Ritsuko and bottom rightmost, Kumiko.

Starting with Shinji, I noted that the eyebrow line marks the halfway point of the face. The face can be drawn by starting with a circle which the eyes occupy the very bottom of. The eyebrow line is then partway into the circle, as is indicated on the left of Shinji, and extending a line from the eyebrow level down, equal in length to a line from the top of the head to the eyebrow, properly forms the length of the face, ending with the pointed chin. This goes as well for Misato, Rei, Gendo and my abated attempt at Ritsuko. It also goes to Kumiko and seems like a good rule of thumb for characters in anime!

Rei is the exception. As indicated in the drawing, the lower part of her face as extended from the eyebrow line is less than half. The way I draw the sphere for her head, though, runs down to her nose. This is because of her bowl-like hair, which lends itself to a sphere which expands beyond the structure of her face. But Rei aside, everybody follows this regular structure.

The arrangement of the noses, ears and angles and placement of the jaw differ slightly, as well as the arc and tilt of the eyebrows. This, surprisingly, accounts for most of the variety between Shinji, Misato and Asuka. Eyes are also another factor, though one I have not examined in much depth. Ritsuko and Gendo are markedly older and it shows in the angularity of their faces. Also, while other characters tend to offset the mouth below the jawline (where the side of the face changes angle), these two have their mouths more in line with the jaw. Similarly, Gendo–and Ritsuko particularly–have their eyes slightly higher up in the circle then the more youthful characters. Gendo has lines above his eyebrows which I think indicate age, and in the non-front-facing views, you sometimes see these on Ritsuko as well.

Gendo has by far the smallest eyes, the effect of which is offset by his glasses. His eyes are also further into his face and his ears are higher up, these features also facilitating his glasses. I think in the show, Gendo seems a bit naked without his glasses on, and this design may be part of that reason.

Interestingly, Rei is the only character (of the examined) whose eyebrows slope inward. She also has a bit of a flat chin. More than Misato, Asuka or Shinji. Asuka, on the other hand, is notable for her curved facial structure, with the eye bones moving in and out, and the jaw doing similarly. Compared to her ilk (not the old people), the rest have much smoother faces. Guess it's the foreigner in her.

Not exactly a riveting read, was that? But establishing these regular relationships is a boon to those who draw, I imagine, and for that reason it's worth bringing up. At a brief glance, the brow-face length relationship works well for a variety of anime (the top of the eyelid also seems to be used as a middle line), but fails often with manga. I imagine the mass production of anime drawing demands this lesser individuality of drawing–it is a medium of time, after all. Questions of individuality or artistry in drawing aside, it's exciting to be able to find and use patterns like this. Anime has a grammar, as mentioned in an earlier chapter, and to be an animator it seems to me one must be a linguist for oneself.