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.
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Here is your PDF download link:
Click here to download the PDF version of this tutorial :)
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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.
Sweet mother of Jesus, you’re amazing! I have never seen such realistic lips with such simple steps. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks great! But now I have to find tutorials on drawing triangles and cupid bows.
So funny LOL.!!!
PS. I hope you were joking,you were right……….
RIGHT?
tank you so much i really like all these and all the steps are clear
you’re such an incredible artist. i am in awe! thanks for sharing your talent. once i read your tutorial on drawing eyes, i literally draw them everywhere! thanks so much. so helpful! i have attempted a face but its the hair that i get stuck on. do you have any tips?
Thank you Kerry :) I have a full tutorial on hair here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGcOEkl1coU&lc=Ugyl2EQkosfeS6b4KCJ4AaABAg
Hope that helps!
thanx so much. i am doing gcse art and the topic i choose was human figure and i would like to study you as part of my artist research. would you mind if i used your images in my art book?
I would be honored :) Please feel free to use any of the images for your research project :)
am just a beginner and am still schooling at a high school so i need someone to help me
Hi
I recently gave a pair of pens and some paper to my girlfriend, she is more talanted then i guess she is aware of herself. I see her creations and i am amazed by her skills, after just a few days she is drawing eyes that litterarly stares at me from the paper. She is amazingly good. Im so proud of her!
My question to you is how do i keep encouraging her when she comes to that moment when nothing works and you cant get those lines to find that spot (been there myself) and thus putting down the pen and letting it simmer for a while?
What would you consider would be a good way to keep motivating her to push her limits?
And thank you for putting your skills out here for us to enjoy and learn from, you are extremely talanted and blessed. I love your work!
Hi Jorge, I think it’s good to put the pencil down every one in a while because I notice that forcing myself to draw can sometimes backfire. I went on a year-long hiatus because of that. I understand you used the word “encourage”, which is great because everyone can use some encouragement. So happy that you’re helping her to create and realize her talents! I think a good way to encourage her would be to observe what makes her excited to draw and what gets her in the mood to create and then expose her to more of that. It’s different for everyone. For me, it’s seeing a piece of artwork in the style that I love or walking through an art store and discovering new tools.
If she’s discouraged because her lines aren’t coming out the right way, it’s completely normal. I get that a lot when I’m tired or run out of patience. Drawing takes a lot out of you physically and mentally, so rest is actually a good thing :) For me, drawing while I’m frustrated does not help and discourages me even more. Nowadays, I just accept that today is not my day and I need to give myself a little break.
Hi Darlene.
Thanks sooooooooooooooooooooooo Muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!.
You are GREAT!!! Easy follow up technich.
I have trouble drawing side mouth showing teed on mouth smiling. Do you have any advice on this situation?
Thanks for you help and all the best.
Regards.
Goni
Hmm, I would be able to give you some pointers if you send me a picture :)
Hello Darlene, first let me say unequivically that your amazing. That your drawings are fantastic and your tutorials are a real blessing. i did tweet and like the page but i havnt seen the pdf pop up. i truly need that if it wouldnt be any trouble. I hate to ever ask for help or anything for that matter. the world today always has its hand out. Nice people like yourself and humbly myself also get treated badly. but im at my wits end. its 653am and another night passes with me trying to become a viable artist. im physically unable to do anything else. nor would i wish too. i started with the airbrush and realized i woould never be great if i didnt learn to draw. i got pretty decent for self taught. my painting got better but then i lost time. And im just not where i need and want to be. I DONT KNOW WHAT IM ASKING! But i know that all i do is try to learn and improve every single day. im painting a 8 foot mural of Muhammed Ali right now. Well Darlene, im sorry for this. you put out a great help for us and u dont deserve to be pestered. thank you for all you do
Hmm, this error has happened more than once. Let me check to see what I can do about it. I’ll send the PDF to your email, no worries :)
Wishing you the best with your project! Would love to see it if you don’t mind sharing once you’re done!
btw, sorry for the trouble!
The pictures of the steps are not showing on the web page. Please fix
Hi Lisa, the images are showing up for me in chrome and explorer. Can you try a different browser or clearing your cookies?
So awesome, I have been creating portraits EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past week with your tutorials. I might send you some of the artwork…. if that’s okay??
That’s awesome, Tristan!! I’d love to see your artwork. Feel free to email or msg me on FB :)
I could email, as I don’t have FB
I don’t remember this, so this may be a different Tristan. But it may be me!?
u rock
oh wow this really helped for my art project
I loved your eye tutorial and so I was excited for the lip one because I think that is where I have the hardest time, but for some reason the photos for the lip tutorial won’t appear for me. I can’t see them on a pc or on my phone! Do you have any idea as to why this would be?
Hi Brittney, the images show up for me in Chrome and Firefox. Have you tried viewing in different browsers? Perhaps you should try clearing your browser’s cache.. Not sure why it’s not showing up for you, sorry!
god bless u this tutorials
how long have you been doing this? your INCREDIBLY good at it