Choose the kind of pain you want to depict: physical, emotional, or psychological
Decide on a visual symbol for pain: cracks, spikes, shadows, tears, wounds, chains, or distorted shapes
Use tense body language: curled posture, clenched hands, hunched shoulders, or a bowed head
Add facial tension: furrowed brows, narrowed eyes, grimacing mouth, or a vacant stare
Distort proportions slightly to create discomfort or unease
Use sharp, jagged lines instead of smooth curves
Apply heavy contrast between light and dark areas
Use dark, muted, or cold colors to suggest suffering
Add texture such as scratches, smudges, or rough shading
Show pressure or impact through broken forms, fractures, or collapsing shapes
Include surrounding elements that reinforce the feeling: storm clouds, empty space, thorns, or debris
Emphasize isolation by leaving negative space around the subject
Layer overlapping marks to create visual tension
Use repeated motifs like stitches, barbed wire, or dripping forms
Focus on asymmetry and imbalance
Simplify details if you want the pain to feel abstract and universal
Intensify the drawing with expressive line weight and uneven shading