How to Draw Mouths

If you're drawing a person's face, the mouth can make or break your sketch. It's possibly the most important feature of the face. In combination with the eyes, the mouth can tell you if the person is happy, sad or angry.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Paper

Instructions

1. When you draw a mouth, make sure it is relative to the face. That means finding the proper place on the face for it. The easiest way to figure out where the mouth goes is to draw a shape of a face, then fold the paper in half one way and then again the other way. Another way is to measure your picture and draw a vertical line, then a horizontal one. The nose usually fits where the lines meet in the middle, and the mouth will be placed directly beneath that.

2. Draw a horizontal oval. This is the most common and basic shape for a mouth. You can make the oval as wide as you want depending on your sketch and the mood you are trying to portray. If you are going to draw an open mouth, make the oval a little wider, with a heavier curve on the bottom and a lighter curve on top.

3. Add basic features to the mouth. In the center of the oval going horizontal, draw a line extending from one end of the oval to the other. This will be the part between the lips. If you are drawing an open mouth, draw a line just above the bottom curve extending from one side of the oval to the other. For the top lip, go from one side of the main oval to the other with a little curve pointing downward.

4. Now that you have your basic shape, fill in some details and make your mouth come to life. For a closed mouth, draw indentations on the upper lip around the center of the mouth. Some mouths are more pronounced and look almost like a heart. The depth of the indentation is up to you. The lower lip for a closed mouth is fairly simple. Just adjust the thickness of the lip, remembering that lower lips are usually thicker than upper lips. For an open mouth, make the same indentation on the upper lip. Adjust the thickness of each lip depending on your preference and smooth the curves. You can also adjust the width of the oval, making it wider or smaller depending on the emotion of the face.

5. Add teeth to your mouth. When drawing an open mouth, usually the upper teeth are all that you need to draw. Be sure to draw the spaces for the gums, as well and keep the two front teeth spaced evenly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you decide you want to color or shade the mouth, keep in mind that the upper lip is usually darker than the lower lip.

Resources

• Video of drawing a mouth
• Steps for drawing a mouth
• Tutorial on drawing a mouth