Rhetorical question ...

[unixronin]

...But one I am somewhat curious about.  Why is it that so many girls in anime-styled webcomics have perfectly normal-looking faces (allowing for artistic style) when seen full face, but have protruding muzzles when in profile?

This page from Angels 2200, is a particularly, um ... illustrative example.

Comments

[meglimir.livejournal.com]

i dunno ... why do anime characters all have big square-ish eyes? ... style ...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, the eyes I can sort of see as a stylistic thing. But a protruding muzzle...?

[otherbill.livejournal.com]

I honestly think the muzzle is just another stylistic thing, along with the big eyes, the expressions on their foreheads, and the schoolgirl uniforms and/or sailor suits. It would be interesting to trace and follow the evolution of the muzzled profile, as I suspect that it's now a gross overexaggeration of something that once made sense; then again, I guess that's fashion for you.

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

Perhaps because the face is not supposed to be the center of attention?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Heh, you might have something there.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Maybe it started as an exaggeration of the protruding Western nose?

[johnkzin.livejournal.com]

Not just nose. Some people describe an asian stereotype of having flat faces. The contrast is that europeans have protruding noses, protruding cheeks, and sometimes a slightly protruding mouth.

So, instead of individually protruding them, you just stylistically make all of them protrude as a unit ... and then exaggerate that, you might get something like that comic. I think I've seen a less exaggerated version of that in other places, where the nose sticks out a little more than the rest (less than in that comic, and then the cheeks/mouth stick out a little less than the nose).

But I can easily see this being the flip-side to "flat faces" -- the western face has all of these bulges on it.