Game mod for Project Zomboid · Commission
Dynamic Facial Expressions
A Project Zomboid mod that shows on your survivor’s face what they’re going through. Panic, pain, sickness, exhaustion and sleep appear as the moodles rise, and death and zombie drag-downs get faces of their own.
4,400+ downloads · 650+ likes

What the client needed
In Project Zomboid your survivor keeps the same calm face whether they’re asleep, bleeding or being pulled down by a horde. The client wanted the face to show what the character is going through.
What I built
A Build 42 mod that reads the moodles and paints the matching expression onto the 3D character. Eight expressions, all five vanilla skin tones, separate female faces, and other players see them in multiplayer.
The result
Done in one to two weeks. It works in single player and multiplayer and is safe to add to an existing save.
Client review
“I commissioned a mod for Project Zomboid adding character expressions. It was done within 1 or 2 weeks and very reasonably priced. It worked extremely well and I was very satisfied with what I got.”
Expressions
- Panic: raised brows, wide eyes, open mouth.
- Pain: squeezed eyes, clenched teeth.
- Sick: a pale green tint, heavy eyes.
- Exhausted: flushed cheeks, drooping eyes, panting.
- Tired: heavy eyelids.
- Sleeping: closed eyes.
- Dead: pale skin and blank eyes. The corpse keeps the face.
- Dragged down: screaming and tears when a group of zombies pulls you down.
The face follows the strongest moodle and changes at most every 1.5 seconds, so it never flickers. Death, drag-downs and sleep switch instantly.
How it looks right
- The face is painted over the skin the same way the game adds stubble, so hair, skin tone, beards, blood, dirt and clothing stay as they are.
- Every face comes in all five vanilla skin tones, plus a neutral version for skins from other mods.
- Female characters get their own versions of every face except the dead one.
- In multiplayer, other players see your face change.
Good to know
- Safe to add to an existing save or remove from one. It adds no inventory items and no world objects.
- Build 42 only (42.21 or newer). In multiplayer, the server and every player need it.
- Mods that replace the player model or the head texture may put the faces in the wrong place.
Screenshots
Next project: Fabrication Magrails and Leaf Affinity