Agression vs Fear in Wolves cheat sheet: Snarls

edit 8:20pm: o god, 260+ favorites in 5 hours is alarming orig08.deviantart.net/4dd8/f/2…

I've been wanting to put something like this together for a while! There are already a few good illustrations of wolf behavior but I decided to make one specifically for the face. 

It's easier to understand the information when paired with writing, I think! Hope it's useful to some of you  


When trying to draw an aggressive or angry wolf, try to avoid the "aggressive fear" smile. This implies that the animal's afraid or submissive as well as angry, which might conflict with the scene you're trying to show. The horizontal smile is not some kind of super-rage form, it means they're under a lot of pressure from someone/something and might snap or fight back if pushed further. 

Real photos showing the difference:
Afraid, feeling pressured, threatened but scared: img11.deviantart.net/28bf/i/20…
orig12.deviantart.net/4e73/f/2…

Agressive, confident intent: img05.deviantart.net/c798/i/20…
orig02.deviantart.net/2248/f/2…


My very helpful reference: rogerabrantes.files.wordpress.…
From "Dog Language", by Roger Abrantes 

Other relevant work: