Over the years a handful of readers have written me to ask why Tina looks sad. She never smiles, they write, She looks despondent, or worried. What’s wrong, people say, Is she depressed?
No, Tina’s not depressed — no more than any other person. When I started the strip I didn’t know a lot about her, but I did know what I didn’t want her to be. I didn’t want my main character to be sappy and sickeningly sweet. I wanted to write her as a girl who had real-world traits who just happened to be nice in a normal, non-mushy way. I gave Tina a few of my own traits, and many others that I myself am not fortunate to have (for one, I’m way less tolerant than she is!)
Also over the years, I’ve analyzed the smile matter and made a discovery that may explain Tina’s “sad look”. It’s the character’s design — how she’s drawn — that I believe is causing Tina to look less cheery than what she may be feeling below the surface. What I hadn’t anticipated was the effect of how I designed Tina’s hair — in particular, her bangs. (This will be a good example of how a few lines can alter a character’s expression.) Look at these sketches:
The hair bangs are drawn downwards at the same angle that you’d use to draw a “worried eyebrow” expression. So when there is no clear smile drawn on her face, and I need her to be in a neutral expression, like in sketch #2, then the result is that she looks slightly worried, or, you might say, even sad.
I never anticipated this. The thing is, I don’t want Tina to be smiling in every situation — that would be sappy — and so many times she wears the expression you see in sketch #2, which gives her the look people are asking about.
It’s amazing what a couple of small ink lines can do. They’re capable of changing a reader’s perception about what a character is feeling. Now that puts a smile on my face. Isn’t this stuff great?
I think the hair and bangs give Tina an exasperated look. Given the usual nuttiness that constantly occurs around her, it is a perfect look. The few times she does smile, it’s as tho’ she’s smiling, in spite of all that has occurred!
Bottom line: Tina is designed perfectly for the role she plays.
Tina may not look obviously “happy” in that she’s not smiling, but to me she does look relatively at ease. I get the impression Tina is usually thoughtful about most things, she knows her friends well enough to know what they’d say or do in most situations (altho Monica is often a surprise). Also she”s probably been broken in by now as a waitress to be able to deal with the fact that most customers can be real jerks. If anything, Tina looks like she’s accepted most of the quirks in her life, still hopeful but realistic about her friends, her job, her offbeat boyfriends; she often has this “Why am I not surprised?” attitude.
For the record, I don’t smile naturally either; I can relate.
Rina, thank you for analyzing Tina’s smile or non-smile. I agree with reader Tom Stemmie that TIna’s look is perfect for her. I also agree with Panda Rose’s analysis. I think what you’ve got here is a present-day Mona Lisa, a mystery that people will study and wonder about forever. Keep her just like she is. I’d lke to meet her in real life and have dinner with her (in some restaurant other than where she works.)
I wonder how she’d react to a truly funny situation that absolutely cracked her up? Like watching a comedy movie or listening to a comedian on stage?
I’m a participant of a comics forum where the subject of Tina’s worried/sad look has been discussed quite a bit – thanks for the explanation! Very cool, it’s always nice to find out that something I enjoy is the result of some deliberate creative thought. Also, someone had just posted a link to your webcomic Velia, Dear – it’s really fantastic – too bad that our american sensibilities won’t allow for that kind of comic in our newspapers.
So glad to clear some mysteries up! Thanks for all the comments!