How to Draw Lips from the Side

To give you in-depth knowledge of creating profile portraits, here we will show you how to draw lips from the side. This tutorial is part of our series on drawing facial features from different angles.

The ability to draw lips, like other parts of the face, is important for any artist. This skill is especially useful for portraits and other drawings that include people.

To better understand the anatomy of the lips and draw them in a convincing way, we advise you to read our article on anatomy of the mouth.

How to draw lips from the side step by step

Step 1: Sketch the guidelines

First, sketch a vertical line. It will serve as a guideline that will help you keep the lips correctly aligned. Use a short horizontal line to mark the mouth opening.

Step 2: Outline both lips

Using the guidelines from the first step, draw the outlines of the lips. Start with the upper lip by drawing its curves, then sketch the lower lip.

Step 3: Define the lip edges

Now draw the edges of the lips that separate them from the rest of the face. At the corner of the mouth, sketch a short line where the lips meet.

Step 4: Clean up the outlines

Erase all the construction lines and give your lips a clean, finished look. Be sure to check the drawing for any mistakes by looking at it in a mirror or stepping back a short distance.

Step 5: Add shadows with hatching

Now give the sketch more volume by adding shadows with hatching. First, lightly mark the boundary between light and shadow, keeping the direction of the light source in mind. Then begin adding even hatching to fill in the shadow areas.

Step 6: Refine the final shading

Check the lips drawing, find any mistakes or inaccuracies, and correct them. You can make the lips look even more realistic by adding additional layers of shading. You can also draw the background, or simply shade the area behind the lips so that the lips themselves gain additional volume.

Lips are a fairly complex subject to draw. Of course, they can be drawn as a simple line, but this will make the drawing look less realistic.

To draw lips correctly, you should first study their anatomy, at least in general terms. It is necessary to understand how they look in reality and what affects their appearance.

It is also necessary to understand how shadows work and how to draw them in order to add volume to this area.

This will take some time, but the result will be a better understanding of drawing lips rather than simply copying a reference.

After that, you will need to reinforce your knowledge. As we have said many times, it is necessary to draw the subject as often as possible until the process becomes natural and familiar.

Of course, features such as the nose and other parts of the face are rarely drawn separately. It is important to know how to construct the whole face correctly.

So, be sure to try drawing a side-view portrait while keeping the principles from this tutorial in mind. Above the mouth, draw the nose, and then add the eye from the side above it.