Iconography in this context, refers to symbols drawn to express things that cannot be easily shown in a static visual medium, or, more often, to reinforce something that is also being conveyed by a character's pose or expression.

Iconography may be used to represent movement, a character's physical status, or as abstract representations of emotions. As a tag, this primary focuses on abstract emotions, and concepts that do not easily fall into other categories like pictographics, motion lines, or emanata.

Some iconography is used interchangeably with onomatopoeia, or is often depicted alongside related onomatopoeia, such as the iconographic snot bubble and onomatopoetic zzz, both for sleeping.

Iconographic Tags

These are often depicted on or around a character's head or face

• cross-popping_vein – anger
• frustration_cloud – frustration
• giving_up_the_ghost – trauma, exhaustion
• gloom_lines – anxiety, depression
• idea – getting an idea (lightbulb lighting up)
• seeing_stars – disorientation
• snot_bubble – sleeping
• skull_symbol - death, anger, malicious intent
• skull_and_crossbones - similar to the above
• squean – swirls, popping bubbles, squiggles - indicates dizziness, intoxication, sickness, among other ideas
• steaming_mad – anger
• sweatdrop_(iconography) – nervousness, embarrassment, confusion
• flying_sweatdrops – nervousness or physical effort, sometimes known as "plewds"
• x_eyes – indicates a character being dead, unconscious, dizzy or intoxicated
• spiral_eyes – indicates a character hypnotized, unconscious, dizzy or intoxicated
• spiral_pupils

Iconographs that should not use this tag

• breath_cloud - sighing, relief, snorting through nose,
• emanata – radiation of emotion such as surprise or anger
• grawlixes - a string of symbols representing swearing or anger ($#@*!!)
• motion_lines – motion
• musical_note - whistling, singing, music, happiness
• speed_lines – motion

See also

• tag_group:narrative_elements

• pictographics
• symbol