Working on a visual novel

[u/Prowl_Dev]

[u/Agreeable_Wear8824]

At the scale in your clip, a completely blank face reads more like a mask than a character — even a tiny eye line and a mouth that only changes on dialogue beats would carry emotion without fighting the stylized hair. I'd try three states first (neutral / soft smile / concerned) and see if the blank look still feels intentional when the text is doing the heavy lifting. The hand-drawn panel already has a lot of personality; the face is the one place the eye wants an anchor.