How to Draw a Mouth Easy Tutorial

Alexia Young 04/09/2023

4 4 minutes read

Table of Contents

Introduction

Welcome to our comprehensive tutorial on drawing mouths! The mouth is an incredibly expressive facial feature and mastering its depiction is crucial for creating lifelike and captivating portraits. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of drawing different lip shapes and provide valuable tips to enhance your overall drawing skills.

Check out this simple mouth drawing tutorial!

Why Drawing a Mouth Matters

This article serves as a comprehensive resource for learning mouth drawing techniques and achieving realistic effects. By the end of this tutorial, you will have gained the necessary skills to confidently draw various types of lips and incorporate them into your own human face portraits. Whether you are a budding artist or simply looking to improve your drawing abilities, this post is a perfect fit for you.

Drawing a mouth offers numerous benefits. It adds depth and authenticity to portraits, allowing you to convey a wider range of emotions through facial expressions. By mastering basic shapes and following simple steps, you can significantly enhance your drawing skills and create captivating art. So grab your pencils and let’s get started!

Easy Mouth Drawing

Drawing a mouth can be done anywhere, whether you are at home or in a studio. All you need are some paper and pencils, and you’re ready to go! Whether you are a novice or an experienced artist, this post will help you improve your drawing skills and create more realistic portraits.

Essential Drawing Supplies for Drawing a Mouth

Before you begin your mouth drawing, gather the following art supplies:

Sketching Pencils
Kneaded Rubber Eraser
Sketch Pad
Erasable Colored Pencils
Fine Markers
Sketch and Drawing Art Pencil Set
Artist Drawing Set (An excellent gift for both new and experienced artists.)

Step-by-Step Mouth Drawing Tutorial

Step 1: Drawing Guidelines

To start, let’s draw some guidelines to establish the mouth’s shape.

Begin by drawing a long horizontal straight line in the center of the page.
Next, draw a shorter vertical line that intersects the horizontal line in the middle.
Finally, add two parallel horizontal lines at the top and bottom. The bottom line should be slightly longer than the top line.

Mouth Drawing - Step 1 - Guidelines
Guidelines to get us started.

Step 2: Adding Curved Lines

Now, we’ll add some curved lines to refine the mouth’s shape.

Starting from the left side of the middle line, draw an upside-down semicircle using the bottom guidelines as a reference. Make sure to extend the semicircle more on the right side, as shown in the reference photo.
Draw a short line with a slight curve at the top to form the bottom of the top lip.

Mouth Drawing - Step 2 - Top and bottom lip lines
The beginnings of the top and bottom lips.

Step 3: Connecting the Lines

Next, connect the ends of our lines to complete the mouth’s shape.

On the left side, connect the end of the slightly-curved short line at the top to the center line below with a curved line that extends to the left. Repeat this on the right side, creating slightly more stretched-out lines to define the corners of the mouth.
Underneath the smaller top and bottom horizontal guidelines, draw curved lines that bend slightly downward to represent the bottom and upper teeth.

Mouth Drawing - Step 3 - Mouth shape
Now our mouth is starting to take shape.

Step 4: Defining Lips and Adding a Tongue

Let’s refine the shape of the lips and include a tongue in our drawing.

Above and below the center horizontal guideline, draw smooth lines that follow the shape of the mouth. Pay attention to the dip at the top-center of the lip, creating space for the cupid’s bow and achieving realistic-looking lips.
Draw a tongue in the bottom half of the mouth. Use upward curves that bend to the right, with a slight indentation in the center.

Mouth Drawing - Step 4 - Teeth and tongue
Thick lips and a tongue.

Step 5: Finalizing the Drawing

You have now completed your open mouth drawing.

Use an eraser to remove the guidelines.
Trace the remaining lines with a marker to make your drawing stand out more.

Mouth Drawing - Step 5 - Outline
Our completed mouth drawing.

Adding Depth and Detail

If you desire a more vibrant drawing, consider adding color and shading. Follow these additional steps:

Select colors for a cartoon-style mouth drawing.
Apply a slightly darker tone than the base color of the lips along the edges to create a shadow effect.
Darken the area around the mouth, particularly at the corners of the lips, to add depth and emphasize the meeting point between the lips and the skin.

Remember to consider the direction of the light source, as it will determine which areas of the lips should be shaded and highlighted. This attention to detail will elevate the realism of your mouth drawing.

Explore Further

Don’t stop at drawing just one style of mouth! Experiment with different lip designs, such as thick or thin lips. You can also challenge yourself by drawing the rest of the face to create a complete portrait.