Cool All Right Guys, Let’s Talk About How to Draw Lips

Alright guys, how’s it going today? We’re going to be talking about how to draw lips. Get your sketchbooks, get your iPads, and let’s get you educated. There are just a couple of things that you’ve gotta know to draw beautiful, scrumptious lips. People tend to overcomplicate this process.

Understanding the Shape of Lips

First thing, we gotta know the shape of the lips. Most of us have two lips, some of us have four. The shape of the upper lip is what confuses people the most. But here’s how I like to think about it.

Remember how you used to draw seagulls? Well, lip shapes are going to be different from person to person, but if you can simply follow this basic principle of the elegant seagull – there’s the upper lip, there’s the bottom lip – now you’re already one step ahead. If you have trouble remembering this, just think about what a mouth does. It talks, it doesn’t stop making noise like a seagull. So now that you have that down, well, we can’t just keep the opening of the mouth as a perfectly straight line either because it usually isn’t.

What we’re going to do is we’re going to mirror the curve at the opening of the mouth. For most lips, you’ll see where it bulges on the reference image. There’s a straight and in the middle, there’s a bulge. It’s as though the seagull ate too much garbage and has gotten kind of fat. Seagull shape for the upper lip, bulge in the middle, get a nice curve there. It’s very simple. And then as you get to the corner of the mouth, you’re probably going to see a little area of darkness there. That’s where the skin kind of folds in on the corners.

One thing that I like to do is accentuate this with a slightly darker dot. Clean up these construction lines, add a very small line at the bottom lip. You’re also going to see artists adding line weight to the mouth, where the lines are thicker, darker, and heavier in certain areas. If you observe certain artists, they don’t even draw the connecting lines because these lines are really all you need to convey the shape of a mouth.

Rendering the Lips

No two lips are ever exactly the same, but they all follow the basic structure and concept. When you’re drawing the face from any angle, pay attention to the curvature of the mouth. Keep in mind where the corner of the mouth is and look at the curvature of the mouth. The opening consisting of a straight, a bulge, and another straight, just like a fat seagull. The bottom lip is always going to be an oval shape that tapers towards the corner.

To render the lips, start with a skin tone base color. Use an airbrush to add a gradient and then outline the areas where the opening of the mouth is apparent. Blend out the edges with a smudge tool to make it look more natural. Add shadows under the bottom lip to give it three-dimensionality. Remember where the light source is coming from and add highlights accordingly. Blend and soften edges for a more realistic look.

Once you’ve learned and studied these principles, you can apply them to anything. Practice drawing lips from different angles, shapes, and colors to improve your skills. Remember to keep it simple and focus on one thing at a time. With practice and observation, you’ll be able to draw beautiful, realistic lips effortlessly.