Soulburn Studios Art Lessons

Shape Language As It Relates To Emotion
By Neil Blevins
Created On: Apr 15th 2026
Updated On: Apr 15th 2026
Software: None

There are many ways with which you can stir a particular emotion in a viewer with your art. A common one is color which we explored in the tutorial Color As It Relates To Emotion And Culture, but another way to connect with a viewer's emotions is with the sorts of shapes you use, frequently referred to as the shape language of a character, environment or prop. This lesson will discuss a few tips on how shape language connects with emotions.

Shapes / Emotion

While there are many exceptions to these rules, there are some large scale generalities that can be said about the association certain shapes have as they relate to emotion. It's important to understand these are generalities, not hard and fast rules. So try them out, but let your artistic instinct tell you if they're working for your particular situation.

Now lets discuss each in more detail...

Circle / Oval

Associated With:

Friendly, Safety, Softness, Huggable, Friendly face in cartoons
Unity, Harmony, Infinity, Cycles
Femininity (Western)

If you have a character that you want to feel friendly, give it a rounder face (this happens very frequently in animation). Circles and Ovals are good for kid friendly items. In Western Culture, the shape is often associated with femininity, especially the oval.

Square / Rectangles / Straight Corners

Associated With:

Stability, Dependability, Strong, Reliability
Balance, Order, Trust, Logic, Security
Rigid, Control, Rules

If you want to create a logo for a business like a bank, something more square makes it feel like it's a powerful and trusted institution that's been around forever. The downside is you can also use it to show something that is rigid and controlling.

Triangle / Angles

Associated With:

Energy, Motion, Dynamic
Progression, Innovation
Masculinity (Western)

Angles shapes often give a feeling of movement. If designing a character in the west, giving them a more angular face (instead of round) will tend to feel more masculin.

Triangles come in many different sub-types, and each type can evoke their own set of feeling and emotions.

If it has a wide / horizontal base, it feels very stable and ever lasting (like a pyramid)
If the edges are all the same length, feels regular which gives the triangle more of the square properties (Balanced, order, etc)
If it's thin, it feels more like a spike, which gives the impression of danger
if an irregular triangle, or upside down, gives the impression of danger or off balance.

Tall / Vertical Shapes

Associated With:

Awe, Wonder
Power, Dominance, Authority

A tall shape can feel powerful and imposing, especially if you are low looking up at it.

Organic Shapes

Associated With:

Nature, Flowing
Emotion, Irregularity

A shape that feels organic (like a flower, a tree, a big rock) can feel comforting because people tend to respond positively to nature.

Geometric Shapes

Associated With:

Mechanical, Precise, Symmetrical
Predictable, Innovation

When we use geometric shapes (which have straight lines, precise angles), we get that high tech feel, this has been manufactured, this is processed. Can be a positive emotion, like innovation, the future! Or negative, its sterile, too orderly.

Curves

Associated With:

Comforting, Happiness
Flowing, Graceful

Curves can make us feel happy due to their connection with nature. Also associated with movement, we generally like seeing movement that follows a curve as opposed to something more random / jerky.

Sharp

Associated With:

Dangerous, Scary
Unapproachable, Keep Away

Anything with sharp points will give the impression of danger. It's telling you to stay away, like a porcupine.

Conclusion

Obviously there's so many different types of shapes out there, but most shapes will fall into one of more or these 8 categories. Say you have a character you need to design. Ask yourself what emotional response you want from people when they see this character, then pick a shape that falls into one or more of these categories that relates to what you're trying to say. The same with environments, props, logos, products, vehicles, etc.

And finally, for more info on shape language, check out some of my book recommendations, especially the books from Molly Bang and Andrew Loomis. And here's a great link to a Disney related document on the subject: "The Walt Disney Family Museum: Shape Language".