Unusual Eyebrows

"Charisma oozes out of people without eyebrows, you know! Hot damn! I don't have eyebrows either!"

- Second Mizukage, Naruto

Need a striking, original character design, but only know how to draw about six faces? Why, give them a pair of Unusual Eyebrows, of course!

Apart from hair, giving a character a pair of not-quite-standard looking eyebrows is an easy way to make them physically stand out without making them more difficult to draw. Best yet, there's an easy selection of potential eyebrow styles to choose from:


 * Kinked/Squiggly Eyebrows - a pair of thin eyebrows with one or two "kinks" near the end. Usually used to make the character just eye-catching enough without being overly jarring. More extreme examples might resemble scythes.
 * Fiery Eyebrows - usually found on Hot-Blooded characters, these eyebrows are thicker than normal (though not quite a big as the Big Ol' Eyebrows. Usually), and spiky or forked at the ends. They're often paired with Hotblooded Sideburns.
 * Swooped Eyebrows - eyebrows that curve upwards rather than arch like normal eyebrows. Typically used for otherworldly or "alien" characters, though they do occasionally show up on normal (if often strange) humans. This is also the most likely example to appear on Live Action TV characters.
 * Lightning Eyebrows - Eyebrows shaped like lightning bolts; Exactly What It Says on the Tin, in other words. Have similar connotations as Fiery Eyebrows, but are usually found on secondary/supporting characters instead.
 * No Eyebrows - a complete lack of eyebrows, typically used to give the individual a more brutish, Neanderthal look. Alternatively, they deliberately throw the character into the Uncanny Valley.

Some styles have become so common that they've earned their own tropes:


 * Big Ol' Eyebrows
 * Big Ol' Unibrow
 * Disembodied Eyebrows

Make the character's eyebrows odd enough, and you might find fans obsessing over them as much as the Memetic Outfit.

Not related to either Oddly Visible Eyebrows or the Fascinating Eyebrow.

Anime and Manga

 * Shigure Kōsaka from Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple. Damn, are they squiggly.
 * Rob Lucci from One Piece. Crosses over into a reverse of Swooped Eyebrows, and distinctly scythe-like.
 * Roger Smith from The Big O. They're sort of...windshield wiper-shaped.
 * Emiya Shirou from Fate Stay Night. They're actually a rather subtle hint as to
 * Shuda, the initial dragon from Rave Master. To show that his Dark Bring gave him a fire power not only did he get red hair that shot up like fire, he got eyebrows that did the same thing.
 * Kid from Eyeshield 21 has eyebrows that are squiggly at the ends. In fact Hiruma's nickname for him is "Fucking Eyebrows".
 * While not as emphasized as most examples, Fangfang from Rosario + Vampire has such eyebrows.

Video Games

 * Sarutobi Sasuke from Sengoku Basara.
 * Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney.
 * Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes.

Western Animation

 * Mako and Lightning Bolt Zolt from The Legend of Korra

Anime and Manga

 * In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Domon Kasshu's eyebrows are a relatively subtle example (or at least more subtle than the rest of him, anyway). The real winner, however, is Argo Gulskii, who looks like he set his eyelids on fire.
 * Kittan Bachika from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann—a show that overflows with Hot Blood and Rule of Cool—is easily recognizable by his Fiery Eyebrows and giant shock of two-toned hair.
 * Mobile Suit Gundam Wing's Dorothy Katalonia has a pair of the most prominent eye brows ever (just look up above again). Her possible idol was Victory Gundam's Katejina, hers being not as weird but still kind of prominent.
 * Her cousin Treize has the same kind of eyebrows, just not as prominent.
 * The majority of characters from Outlaw Star—Gene, Jim and Aisha in particular.
 * Maiza Avaro and Szilard Quates from Baccano!!
 * [[media:epicsideburnsareepic.png|Ryoma Nagare]] in any incarnation of Getter Robo
 * The Raikage from Naruto has forked eyebrows which go with his forked mustache, dagger-like beard, and pointy slicked back hair. Given his fighting style and title they're probably meant to be more like lightning than fire, but not lightning eyebrows because that wouldn't really fit with the art-style.
 * Daigo Ikari of Eyeshield 21 is probably the most hot-blooded character in a series full determinators and manly men. As if to prove how hot-blooded he is, he has flame brows drawn where his eye brow should be, apparently using black eye grease.

Live Action TV

 * The "Low" version of Cat in the Red Dwarf episode "Demons and Angels" has forked eyebrows that meet in the middle.
 * Turlough in Doctor Who was deliberately given combed-up, sharp, ginger eyebrows to look more alien.

Video Games

 * Yet another feature to add to the walking bundle of HotBlooded tropes that is Bang Shishigami
 * Hot-Blooded Sanada Yukimura from Sengoku Basara combines these with Hotblooded Sideburns.
 * The The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks does this quite literaly with the demon train.
 * Ryu and Ken, and Fei Long too.
 * Darmanitan of Pokémon Black and White, quite literally.
 * The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages doesn't do fine detail in-game, but character art shows that Ralph and Queen Ambi of (past) Labrynna have similar red, forked brows. Ralph turns out to be Ambi's descendant.

Western Animation

 * Aku from Samurai Jack has literal Fiery Eyebrows
 * Or rather GREAT FLAMING EYEBROWS!!
 * Lion-o and Panthro, as well as many other male Thunderians, from Thundercats.

Anime and Manga

 * The Big Bad from Tekkon Kinkreet.
 * In One Piece, Sanji's right eyebrow is not only swooped, but twirly. We do not ever see his left eyebrow -- or eye, for that matter.
 * Inspector Runge from Monster.
 * Inspector Runge from Monster.

Comic Books

 * Most characters illustrated by Charles Vess.

Film

 * Jareth from Labyrinth.

Live Action TV

 * Spock and other Vulcans in Star Trek. Also Romulans.

Video Games

 * In some incarnations, Dan Hibiki is pictured with eyebrows that curve upwards.
 * Ishida Mitsunari from Sengoku Basara has dramatically swooped eyebrows, making him look angry and thinner than ever.

Western Animation

 * The Copper Kidd from Silverhawks.

Anime and Manga

 * Klan Klang from Macross Frontier.
 * Akisame from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple.

Video Games

 * [[media:Axel.png|Axel]] from Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories.

Web Comics

 * Ples from Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name.

Web Original

 * A popular Rule 63 version of Rainbow Dash named Rainbow Blitz has these.

Western Animation

 * Mekt from the Legion Of Superheroes cartoon has these.

Anime and Manga

 * Gustavo Ragetta and Keith Gandor from Baccano!!
 * Gaara from Naruto doesn't have any. Probably to make him look unnerving. His father, the Fourth Kazekage, didn't either.
 * Zabuza usually has eyebrows, except in a few scenes in the anime, but they're incredibly thin and short, which was enough for Naruto to call him "eyebrowless freak" a couple times.
 * The Second Mizukage didn't have any either, which he claims are a sign of charisma.
 * L doesn't have any in Death Note; this was carried over in the live action movies, though it's not that noticeable until he goes outside into the wind. The manga artist said it was intended to make him look "dead-eyed." A couple of minor characters (like Ide) are also browless, but for no good reason.
 * Though the manga artist indeed wanted a "dead-eyed" look, for about six panels in the manga, L actually did have eyebrows. Interestingly, for about four of said six panels or so, one eyebrow was raised, as if to say "Are you guys really that stupid?"
 * Level 3 Super Saiyans in Dragonball Z.
 * Android 20, Dr Gero.
 * Elfman and Gajeel from Fairy Tail.
 * The sinister Yokoya from Liar Game.
 * Kenpachi from Bleach

Film

 * The "Mystery Man" played by Robert Blake in David Lynch's Lost Highway.
 * Grima Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings.
 * The Terminator starts out as a young, good-looking Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed into the Uncanny Valley by a pointed lack of emotion. The attractive appearance falls away quickly over the course of the movie, culminating in the Nightmare Fuel skeleton. The first thing to go, however, are its eyebrows, giving it a more brutish appearance.
 * Dracula's old form in Bram Stoker's Dracula completely lacks eyebrows, in odd contrast to the book where bushy eyebrows are one of his most noticeable features.

Literature

 * In the second book of The Pendragon Adventure, all of the characters residing in the eponymous underwater city lack eyebrows. Bobby mentions that it's quite unsettling, and that one doesn't normally consider eyebrows carefully (unless one is One of Us, naturally,) until they're not there.

Video Games

 * Claudia of Silent Hill 3, in order to invoke the Uncanny Valley.
 * Guile. He's American like that.
 * In Tales of Monkey Island, Gaffer Crimpdigit has no eyebrows as a result of one accident while on his glassblowing job. He even lampshades this a few times in Chapter 1.
 * Cyrus found eyebrows unnecessary for his perfect world.
 * Captain Ventralis, head of security on the Rift Station on Noveria, in Mass Effect, is missing eyebrows, along with the rest of the hair on his head. Whether this is the consequence of days of fighting crazy, murderous aliens, or the result of standing too close to a Bunsen burner, is anyone's guess.

Western Animation

 * Cheetara from Thundercats. Or at least they're completely hidden by her facial markings. Some of the villains as well - Tugmug (or possibly they're hidden in the black circles around his eyes), Slythe and Vultureman of the mutants (of course, neither of them are mammals, so lack of hair is to be expected), and Mumm-ra.
 * The Simpsons, although some like Milhouse have huge eyebrows.
 * Henry and June on KaBlam!!.

Real Life

 * The Mona Lisa
 * Actually, Mona Lisa originally did have eyebrows, but all the cleaning and restoration works scrubbed the eyebrows (and a lot of details) out.
 * Queen Elizabeth I
 * Whoopi Goldberg
 * Martin Luther McCoy
 * David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust phase.
 * The WWE's current World Heavyweight Champion Kane has no eyebrows.

Anime and Manga

 * Abarai Renji from Bleach, with whom it's hard to tell where the tattoos start and his eyebrows begin.
 * Similarly to the above example, Paradox from the Yu-Gi-Oh Tenth Anniversary Movie.
 * Hughes from Fairy Tail has arrows for eyebrows.
 * Raimon "Monta" Taro of Eyeshield 21 has your standard Big Ol' Eyebrows, except for the fact that they somehow go through over his hairline in Captain Crunch-like fashion.
 * Hoover Kippenburg from the Area 88 manga has extremely arched eyebrows.

Live Action TV

 * Wynn Duffy from Justified.

Music

 * Andrew has triangular eyebrows. Impressive stuff.

Theater

 * Most of the characters from Cats have various types of Unusual Eyebrows, made even stranger by the obvious fact that cats don't have eyebrows.

Video Games

 * In Psychonauts, Coach Oleander has spiral eyebrows.
 * In Apollo Justice, the eponymous character has forked eyebrows.

Western Animation

 * The Monarch from The Venture Bros has long, thin eyebrows that jut out from his face by half a foot and curl at the end.
 * Tygra from Thundercats has extremely arched eyebrows. Latter Alluro shows up with even more dramatically arched brows (with blue eyeshadow, no less).
 * Everyone on Total Drama Island has a different set of Unusual Eyebrows, ranging from dots, to straight lines, to unibrows, to dashes, to barely visible curls to perfect arcs.
 * Starfire from Teen Titans has very strange ovals for eyebrows, as do other Tamaraneans.
 * In Aladdin, Jafar has...very bizarre eyebrows; they're extremely thin and arched beyond the point of belief. (Iago has nearly matching ones, which may be even weirder, because, well, he's a parrot.)
 * Before there was Total Drama Island, there was The Pirates of Dark Water, with a similar array.
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender gives us Jet and his eyebrows; shaped like long, skinny tildes whose curves are slightly pointed. They're difficult to describe - [[media:jet-avatar.jpg|you almost have to see them]] to believe them - and the completely unexplained contrast between him and every single other character on the show has led to his eyebrows becoming a Memetic Mutation within the fandom.

Web Comics

 * Ai in Ronin Galaxy possesses the old-fashioned Heian eyebrows from Japan.
 * In Nectar of the Gods, the protagonist, Bacchus Vindread, bares naturally lifted eyebrows in the shape of large arcs... or should I say unnatural lifted eyebrows, these eyebrows achieve such great heights that if they were any higher they'd be floating off of his face.

Real Life

 * Amanda Palmer paints them on in fancy patterns, and has joked that they're actually alien barcodes.