Welcome to this tutorial on drawing different types of lips! In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of drawing lips using pencil and provide you with eight variations to explore.
The main objective of this tutorial is to assist you in achieving the correct shape of lips. This knowledge is particularly valuable when drawing from real-life observations or photographs, as it ensures that your drawings resemble the lips of the person you are depicting.
Before we begin, remember to use light lines during the initial construction stages of your drawing. These lines can be easily erased later on.
Step 1 – Establishing the Proportions of the Lips
To start, draw a pair of intersecting lines—one horizontal and one vertical. The vertical line helps maintain even width on both sides of the lips, while the horizontal line ensures the lips are not skewed to one side.
Next, add several additional lines to indicate the height and width of the lips. Draw lines on the top, bottom, and sides, as shown in the examples.
Step 2 – Adding to the Construction Drawing
Based on the proportions established in the previous step, create a construction drawing of the outer shape of the lips. While the examples use straight lines for simplicity, you can incorporate curves when necessary.
Step 3 – Completing the Construction Drawing
To finalize the construction drawing, add a few additional lines to define the “M” shape of the upper lip, as shown in the examples above.
Step 4 – Creating a Line Drawing
Within the construction drawing, outline the organic shape of the lips. Once completed, erase the construction lines, leaving behind a clean outline drawing of the lips.
Step 5 – Getting Started with Shading
When shading, it’s essential to consider the lighting conditions in which the lips are depicted. In this tutorial, we will shade the lips as if they are in well-lit surroundings, such as a bright room or daytime outdoors.
Keep in mind that lips naturally have a darker appearance.
Begin the shading process by making strokes that loosely follow the shape of the lips. For different stroke techniques, refer to our “Shading Techniques and Stroke Types Drawing Tutorial.”
During this initial shading stage, keep your pencil strokes lighter, establishing an initial layer that outlines the light and dark areas of the lips.
In the described lighting conditions, the main highlights will be on the bottom lip, with a secondary highlight on the top lip caused by light reflecting from the bottom lip.
Step 6 – Finishing the Lips Drawing
Refine the shading by darkening the shadows and creating smooth transitions between the shadows and highlights. In most lip types depicted in this tutorial, the darkest areas will be along the bottom of each lip. However, some lips may have the entire upper lip (excluding the highlight) fairly dark, depending on their shape.
Conclusion
By following the step-by-step approach provided in this tutorial, you can ensure the accurate portrayal of lips that resemble those of the person you are drawing. This method also helps minimize mistakes and the need for backtracking.
For more tutorials, check out the following:
- How to Draw a Smile Step by Step
- How to Draw Eye Expressions Step by Step
- How to Draw Lips From 3 Different Views
- How to Draw Different Eye Types Step by Step
- How to Draw Different Nose Types
