In this tutorial I will teach you how to draw lips in 10 easy steps using a simple triangle shape. You can create different kinds of lips by making small changes in the first step. I came up with this method one day by somehow associating a pair of lips with a bow and arrow haha.
I always receive messages from readers who have tried this tutorial and say it works great for them. I hope it works for you too! Enjoy!
I will be using the following materials for this tutorial:
– Mechanical Pencil with 0.5mm HB Ain lead
– Derwent Graphic 6B Pencil
– Kneaded Eraser
– Blending Stump (learn how to use a blending stump here)
– Smooth Bristol Paper
How to Draw Lips
Step 1: Draw a Triangle
Draw a long isosceles triangle. Partway down draw a curve (similar to a “u” shape). Draw a straight horizontal line between the “u” shape and the base of the triangle. The longer you draw the horizontal line, the wider the lips will be. The shorter the line, the more plump they will be.
“But what if I want to draw this on a face, Darlene?” Check out my tutorial on drawing faces to find out where you should place your triangle. It covers proportions and will help you determine how long the triangle should be as well as how wide the lips should extend taking other elements of the face into consideration.
Step 2: Draw a bow
Create the outlines for the top lip by making a shape that looks similar to a cupid’s bow.
Step 3: Draw the bottom lip
Create the bottom lip by drawing a curved line which goes no further than the triangle’s base. Complete the opening of the mouth by using the horizontal line as a guide.
Step 4: Decide on the light direction
After erasing the triangle, determine where the light source is coming from. For this example, the light source is coming from the top right. I’ve outlined the areas I want to highlight as well as added a cast shadow on left side of the bottom lip.
Step 5: Shade the top and bottom lip
Shade both the top and bottom lip leaving the areas mentioned in STEP 4 the lightest. As you can see there is a dark shadow under the bottom lip. It starts to fade on the right side to show that the light source is coming from the upper right.
Step 6: Add lip wrinkles
Create some lip wrinkles using a 0.5mm HB pencil. You don’t want to press too hard or else it will be difficult to achieve the effect in the next step.
Want to find out how to incorporate lip wrinkles in your drawing without making them look unnatural? Try the contour shading technique as mentioned in my shading tutorial :)
Step 7: Blend the bottom lip
Using a blending stump (learn how to use one here), smooth out the shading on the bottom lip. Avoid areas mentioned in STEP 4. Those areas will make the lips appear more plump and round. You will notice that the lip wrinkles slowly start to blend in with the shading. But they shouldn’t disappear!
Step 8: Clean up highlights
Go over the lighter areas with the pointed end of a kneaded eraser and clean up the highlights to create the glare effect.
STEP 9: Repeat
Repeat STEP 7-8 for the top lip.
Step 10: Touch ups
Using a 6b pencil, darken the shadows in areas such as the outer edges of the lips, under the bottom lip, the wrinkles and the corners of the lips.
You can change the size of the lips by moving the horizontal line up (to make the upper lip thin) or down (to make to make the upper lip thicker). Also, adding more glare will make the lips look even more plump.
Have any questions or requests? Let me know in the comments!
Don’t worry if your drawing doesn’t turn out the way you expected on the first try. Keep going at it and you will understand and grasp each step. It will become much easier! Also, don’t forget to experiment with different triangle shapes and positioning of the guides in STEP 2.
If you enjoyed this easy step-by-step tutorial on how to draw lips, please share this post to support RFA :) Thank you!
Click here to learn how to draw 10 different kinds of lips (smile, frown, smirk, etc).
More Lip Tutorials:
Darlene created RFA In 2013 with the goal of sharing simple yet detailed drawing tutorials with other artists on the world wide web. She is a self taught pencil portrait artist and Youtuber.
This does not work for me, I need some Hong more detailed in explaining things. If you could do that’ll be great. Thanks
Hi, which steps are you stuck on?
I found your site 20 min ago and already extremely excited. Been drawing for years but fell I reached a stopping point and need directions to move forward. I look forward to working with u and your site. Into portraits right now, but hair is kicking my butt, and making me wanna pull mine out…..What I’ve seen so far your site is great and helpful to artist at all levels of experience. Thank you, Dave or Late nite lol
Thanks for the tutorial! I really appreciate it. You’re an amazing artist, keep it up!
Hi! I’d just like to say that your tutorials have really helped me. This is the best I’ve drawn in years! Maybe if you’re experienced with drawing in color you could make a video about it? I’ve only ever drawn in black and white! Once again, thanks for the amazing tutorials :)
Hi Phoebe, I’m actually really awful with colored pencils. If I ever learn to use them right, I’ll make a tutorial on it for sure :)
I like the technique you’ve shown here I will give it a try :)
Thanks for sharing!!
Could you do a tutorial on how to draw lips from the side vuew? Thanks
It’s on my to-do list :)
Hey, I’m only 13 but I like your technique it really worked for me. I’m used to sketching animals like horses and I can almost do a fair side view of a persons face. But the point is that I really love your works that you post on here and I’m looking forward to another one.
Thanks for your comment Tommi. I’m glad you enjoyed the tutorial!
Hey I’m only 13 but I used your technique and it works really well for me. I don’t have all of the different pencils or paper but with what I had it at least didn’t turn out terrible lol.
Wow I fifnd these soooo helpful! The lips didnt turn out as they were supposed but I am still new to half of this stuff. Do post a tutorial on how to shade with color pencils!
Hi Haniya, please feel free to send me your drawing via the contact page. I can give you some constructive feedback.
Sorry, I’m not very experienced with drawing in color. Maybe that’s a tutorial I can make in the future :)
Hey i m trying to drwa dignol lips of a smiling face but nothing it was so tough
I’ve always had a calculated way of doing portraits (specifically when scaling and placing) and things like eyes and lips always had no emotion and plumpness, but your tutorials have made my portraits more natural. Thank You so much. I will definitely be emailing you for more advise!
I’m happy to hear that Lehakwe :)
I look forward to your hearing from you!
Thank you for this amazing tutorial! Lips has always been a weakness in my portrait. I would literally spend hours just on the composition of lips and never seem to get them to look the way I intended them to be. So far I’ve tried this method on 2 types of lips and I’ve managed to get them right in just 1 try. It’s very effective! Thank you! :)
That’s great!:) I’m so happy this method works well for you Seth!
Is my eyesight failing me, or did you miss out on a couple of steps in this tutorial ?
Hi Leonie, can you kindly point out those areas to me? I tried to include as few images as possible to keep the page load time reasonable. If you find that the content is lacking clarity, I will try my best to make it better :)
Thank you so much for this tutorial, it’s a life saver. I used to be hesitant and very much afraid to draw lips, but now I feel I can do great :)
Glad I could help, J.C! :) Thanks for dropping by!
Hi darlene,
I tried to do this but it didn’t work out. The picture came out arkward and I can think of better things for me to draw! Like eyes! Would you mind if I emailed you a picture of it so you can give me some tips?
XxX Abby :) ♥ ♡★☆★♡♥ (:
Please feel free to email me! I’ll do my best to help you out :)