10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

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For a video version of this tutorial visit www.proko.com/how-to-draw-lips-anatomy-and-
Recent Posts structure

Draw Jack Skellington

http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/07/draw-lips/ 1/18
10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog
Halloween Special This tutorial is a continuation of How to Draw the Head from Any Angle. I will cover the
VIDEO How to Draw Ears basic forms of the mouth, some anatomical information, and the key information about
Anatomy and Structure
the minor planes. At the end, I will show a step by step drawing of the lips.
VIDEO How to Draw Lips
Step by Step
VIDEO How to Draw Lips Basic Forms
Anatomy and Structure
VIDEO How to Draw a Nose
One of the most overlooked ideas of the mouth is the cylindrical tooth cylinder
Step by Step
underneath. The lips are not flat on the face, but rather get pushed outward by the
VIDEO How to Draw a Nose
Anatomy and Structure teeth. The tooth cylinder can be simplified to an inflated tuna can.
VIDEO How to Draw an Eye
Step by Step

You can see here how this inflated cylinder affects the surface forms of the lips:

Major Planes

The major planes of the lips are very simple. They are very
much like a staircase of 3 steps from the base of the nose to
the chin. In fact, if you look at the head from profile, the
entire front of the face is like a staircase. The major planes
alternate from top plane to bottom plane.

When drawing from a front view, this staircase is indicated by alternating dark and light
shapes. Dark, light, dark, light etc..

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Anatomical Information

I wont go into too much detail about all the muscles of the lips and their functions
because thats not the intention of this tutorial. That information is important when
studying facial expressions and Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form is a
great resource for anatomy. I will briefly touch on it though, since being familiar with at
least the basic mechanics is useful.

A. Levator Labii Superioris Alaeque Nasi

B. Levator Labii Superioris
C. Zygomaticus Minor
D. Zygomaticus Major
E. Levator Anguli Oris
F. Orbicularis Oris
G. Node
H. Risorius
I. Platysma
J. Depressor Anguli Oris
K. Depressor Labii Inferioris
L. Mentalis

The red portion of the lips and the part directly above and below is called the
orbicularis oris. It originates at the corners of the lips called the nodes. These nodes
are visible as bumps since so many muscles meet and overlap here. All the other
muscles of the lips pull at either the orbicularis oris or the nodes to form various
expressions.

For example, the Levator Labii

Superioris muscles pull the
ends of the upper lip upward
during a sneer to express
disgust.The lips attach to the
tooth cylinder at the base of
the nose and the top of the
chin.

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Minor Planes

The Red Portion of the Lips

The top lip has three forms and the bottom lip has two. These forms are like pads
covered by the skin. The rounded form in the middle of the top lip (called the tubercle)
wedges between the two forms of the bottom lip. When looking at the lips from an
angle, these forms overlap each other adding depth. When drawing a foreshortened
object, I always look for overlapping lines to show a form is in front of another. This
overlap gives the illusion of depth on a flat piece of paper.

The forms of the lower lip are usually fuller then the upper lip. Sometimes, the red
portion of the upper lip is completely hidden and nonexistent.

The Upper Lip Region

The edge of the upper lip has a small top plane that
sometimes catches light. I try to play down this effect
and only look for areas to indicate it, rather than
drawing a white outline along the entire lip.This upper
region of the lips usually has a gradation revealing the
rounded tuna-can shaped tooth cylinder underneath.

The philtrum is a concave depression in the upper lip.

The inside is composed of two planes which soften
towards the top and bottom. Try to look for the value difference between the two
planes.

The Lower Lip Region

The ridge that borders the bottom of the red portion is steep towards the center and
softer towards the edges. The center of this lower lip region is called the pillar of the
mouth, since is has two pillars that angle inward at the top. The pillar is usually in
shadow (since light is commonly placed above the head) because it faces downward.
This shadow shape softens left and right.

The Node

The nodes in the corners of the lips are very important players. You can see in the
anatomical information section above, that many of the muscles attach at the node.

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog
These muscles pull on the node to form expressions. Look in the mirror and smile
slightly. Then frown. Most of the change occurs in the nodes. Pay close attention to this
shape when trying to capture a particular expression.

The volume of the nodes is similar to a bean. When

shading, make sure to think about the fact that it is
round. At the corners of the lips, all the forms are
pinched inward.

Drawing the Lips

The reference photo

1. I start by finding a few landmarks such as the

corners of the lips, top of the top lip, bottom of the
bottom lip, and the center division between the lips.
Make sure that the angle between the two corners is
consistent with the angle of the face. If the face is
tilted, the lips must tilt with it. To find the corners, Ill
judge the angles from the nostrils. The bottom of the
bottom lip will usually be halfway between the base of
the nose and the bottom of the chin.

2. The center line this is a common mistake among

students. When the lips are viewed from straight on,
the center line will be in the middle. BUT, when the face
turns left or right, one side of the lips will be
foreshortened. In my drawing, the face is turning
towards the right, so the center line will be closer to
the right and slightly curved, making the right side of
the lips foreshortened. The center line tells me where
to place the V shape on the top lip.

3. At this point, I lay-in all the shapes and indicate

plane changes and shadow information. Remember to
stay light.

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog
4. When beginning to shade, the first thing I do is
separate the lights from the shadows. Stay simple
and dont lose control of your values.

5. I finish off the rendering with subtle halftone shifts in the light areas and reflected
lights in the shadows. I look for areas around the lips where i can soften or even lose
some edges. A hard outline around the lips makes it look as if they were glued on to the
face. Softening edges will connect the lips to the face. I also make sure to keep some
hard edges, usually in the corners and center of the lips. The highlight on the bottom lip
gives it some shine. The harder the edge around the highlight, the wetter the lips will
appear. Lipstick exaggerates this effect.

UPDATE 10-10-2012

Made a video version of this tutorial. Visit Proko.com for more videos.

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

How to Draw Lips - Anatomy and Structure

Related tutorials: How to Draw the Nose, How to Draw Eyes and How to Draw Ears

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Categories: Portrait, Tutorials

Summer Classes at the Watts Atelier How to Draw Ears

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Llewellyn Skye
Posted July 21, 2009 at 12:36 am

Fantastic tutorial. A really talented person to learn from, thank you.

Stan Prokopenko
Posted August 5, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Thanks Llewellyn! Ill keep the tutorials coming.

Dymitri Vichi
Posted August 7, 2009 at 11:32 am

Such great works.

Do you have tutorials on eyes?
I am having quite a bit of trouble with sad and crying eyes,
you are truly the best artist i have ever seen.

Stan Prokopenko
Posted August 7, 2009 at 1:36 pm

Dymitri Dang! Thanks. I do have a tutorial on eyes here.

But, I dont have a tutorial specifically on expressions of the eyesyet.

Amureroom
Posted August 18, 2009 at 5:49 pm

yeh right.. great post, Thank You

Elaine Henderson
Posted October 29, 2009 at 11:59 am

This site is definately on my keeper list!

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Karina
Posted November 22, 2009 at 11:47 am

Im young student of artistic school in Poland and your tutorials teaches

very well how I must draw in future. Damn, really, really good job.
Greetings from western neighbour.

Teresa Brescacin
Posted December 21, 2009 at 8:22 am

I happened to find your site in an article about singing and vowel

formation. I have a kids choir. I also teach some art to them. I love your
lesson on drawing lips. Do you have suggestions for lessons for children
learning to draw in school. They range in age from 8 to 12 and have about
50 minutes a week to devote to art. They have no prior knowledge of the
rudiments and most of them say they cant draw by the time they reach
grade 5.

Stan Prokopenko
Posted December 22, 2009 at 11:27 am

Teresa,

I feel that at such a young age the best thing you can give them is
encouragement. Boost their confidence in their drawing abilities with
compliments. This will inspire them to draw more at home and that is all
they need right now just to move their hand and get comfortable with
drawing. Keep it exciting.

eresha udayanga senarathna

Posted January 19, 2010 at 2:02 pm

it sooo nice..i cant belive it.. its look like soo naturall..actualy i also wanna
be a artist..

Justin K
Posted February 20, 2010 at 6:04 pm

Thanks for these tutorials! Great work. Helped me out a ton on lips (my
current area of struggle).

ARELY IBARRA

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Posted March 31, 2010 at 3:12 pm

I LOVE IT!! I AM LEARNING HOW TO DRAW BY MYSELF AND YOUR TIPS ARE
HELPING ME A LOT I AM TRYING TO DO A POTRAIT AND IS VERY DIFFICULT
FOR ME BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW A LOT OF STUFF BUT YOUR HELPING ME
THANX!!LOL

Lori Goins
Posted May 11, 2010 at 5:06 pm

I like to draw faces. I have searched and didnt have any luck in finding
what I was needing. This IS the best website I have found. I intend to use
this site a lot.

warmly,

Lori

Mayli
Posted August 17, 2010 at 3:31 pm

Thank you.
Merci pour vos tutoriaux trs intressant, une approche diffrente de ce
que lon voit habituellement sur le net.
http://blog.art-dessins.fr/

daniel
Posted September 8, 2010 at 6:03 pm

amazing work and tutorial

Joana
Posted October 7, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Everybody who is trying to learn how to draw should come here to your
blog because it definitely has the best tutorials on drawing. Youre an
amazing artist and a great person for sharing your knowledge!

Karine
Posted October 13, 2010 at 9:01 am

Thank you very much for giving this tutorials to us. Happiness is real when
it shared . Thank you one more time!
P.S Nose which you drew here for tutorial, is awesome!

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Asaf
Posted October 21, 2010 at 12:29 am

well done, great tutorial. thank you for sharing this great information.

Julia
Posted November 2, 2010 at 7:00 am

Thank you. I like everything about this: I like the way you explain things
from what is going on anatomically to exactly how to achieve an effect and
why.

I love drawing pencil portraits or at least attempting to do so because it

is such a challenge to capture the essence of a person. I have no formal
training so I was thinking how much I should love to meet a real artist who
could give me a master class and I think I have found you!

Super. Once again, thanks.

Gail
Posted April 1, 2011 at 1:30 pm

GREAT tutorials! Do you have one for the whole face?

Stan Prokopenko
Posted April 1, 2011 at 2:22 pm

Gail, I got your email and tried to reply but delivery failed. I think you
misspelled your address. so heres my reply here:

Thanks! I always love hearing how people are using the tutorials. Glad its
helping your high school students. I have a head tutorial here:

http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/05/draw-head-any-angle/

and I have a small step by step of a landscape painting I did. Not a lengthy
tutorial though.

http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/12/plein-air-tutorial-design/

hope these help.

Heron
Posted May 20, 2011 at 8:31 am

Awesome!

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Dan Rondinelli
Posted May 21, 2011 at 6:47 am

Nice job, very informative you are very talented.

Strathnbud
Posted May 21, 2011 at 11:17 am

Saved your page to my favorites. The anatomical info is good for gruesome
face-painting!

ryan
Posted July 3, 2011 at 7:01 pm

magnifico!!!!!!

ryan
Posted July 3, 2011 at 9:06 pm

good work!!

naomi
Posted July 6, 2011 at 3:28 pm

wow, you are so talented! stunning tutorial <3

junhax
Posted August 4, 2011 at 3:18 pm

great blog post.

Never came across anything like this but it was absolutely interesting to
read.

Now all Im going to do in class is draw lips.

MIryana Heath
Posted October 27, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Hello,
I think this is one of the best tutorials Ive seen so far. I am an ambitious
beginner, and I got few books, but still, no one has made it so clear yet so

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog
precise! The explanation goes into such detail, yet never unclear or
convoluted, just simply logical.
Not to mention that I think the artistry is superb and I would give anything
to have that talent!!!!
Thank you so much!

William Mazmur
Posted November 11, 2011 at 4:45 pm

trully amazing

Shankar
Posted November 28, 2011 at 12:05 pm

Very useful tutorial. Thanks for sharing. Excellent work. Great

Posted December 22, 2011 at 9:56 pm

! .

alyssa
Posted January 13, 2012 at 9:49 am

That was a wonderful, and informational tutorial! i have finally learned how
to draw perfect lips. Thank you for this.

Poppy
Posted February 13, 2012 at 8:22 pm

Thank you for this tutorial!

I have been struggling with mouths for a while.

I really like how you have incorporated anatomy into this tutorial.

Pinky
Posted February 25, 2012 at 5:49 am

Thankyou so much. These are by far the best tutorials I have come across.
Youve helped me so much!

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

gummybear
Posted April 7, 2012 at 7:15 am

the last photo looks like a fat guy but still ur very talented

fixative charcoal
Posted April 7, 2012 at 9:44 am

Im extremely impressed along with your writing talents as smartly as with

the layout in your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
Either way stay up the nice quality writing, its uncommon to peer a nice
weblog like this one nowadays..

Stan Prokopenko
Posted April 7, 2012 at 10:02 am

FC thank you! Yes, this is a modified theme. I actually started with a

custom html/php website and later on added this wordpress blog to it. So, I
created a wordpress theme to match the existing website.

simple pencil drawing

Posted April 8, 2012 at 8:28 pm

I just like the valuable information you supply for your articles. I will
bookmark your blog and test once more here frequently. Im moderately
certain Ill be informed many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!

Philip
Posted May 18, 2012 at 2:51 pm

I love these tutorials. I am a retired music professor and love to draw.

However, as anything one would like to master, the more I learn, I realize
how little I know. I love your style.

Mwanukuzi
Posted October 28, 2012 at 3:02 pm

I need to learn more on how to draw full face of human being and animals.

Cocosnorts

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Posted November 27, 2012 at 11:22 pm

AMAZEBALLS I LOVE YOUR SHAPES AND LINES, AND THE PRESSURE YOU
APPLY SEEMS SO CONSISTENT I LOVE YOUR WORK SIR

Posted December 22, 2012 at 1:59 am

..

emma
Posted January 6, 2013 at 8:14 am

this website is great!

explains well in both text and images and answered my problem.
bookmarked this page for future help and guidance.
Thanky0ou

Coconut
Posted March 12, 2013 at 9:37 pm

Im really grateful you have done such wonderful tutorials that help us
improve in our drawings. Tell me, how did you learn to draw so perfectly?
Do you have any tip you could give me? Thank you!

Ari Carter
Posted March 24, 2013 at 6:23 pm

This isbrilliant.
Its my dream to draw, and you are my new role model. I came here looking
simply for how to get the shape of lips right, and found..this.
Thank you.

Stan Prokopenko
Posted April 2, 2013 at 3:17 pm

Hehe, well thank you coconut. Although its definitely not perfect, I got
better through practice of course. What kind of tips are you looking for. My
tutorials are full of tips.

Carlos Seminario

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Posted April 6, 2013 at 8:05 pm

Im very excited and cant wait to start learning. Thank you!

jeri Reiderer
Posted April 17, 2013 at 2:52 pm

Thank you so much for this tutorial. It was extremely helpful as I am just
starting a portrait, something I have always been afraid to do.

Rosalind
Posted April 26, 2013 at 5:51 pm

Very nice tutorial.am looking forward to putting this into practice!

promita
Posted May 17, 2013 at 7:00 am

it was nice

promita
Posted May 17, 2013 at 7:02 am

what is the difference between male and femail lips ?

Stan Prokopenko
Posted May 17, 2013 at 9:46 am

Typically you would design the lips to be fuller on a female, but the
variation is much greater with race than gender.

karen izzi
Posted June 14, 2013 at 6:55 pm

would love a class!!

angel
Posted June 25, 2013 at 4:10 pm

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10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog
me encanta y es satisfatorio

Amanda Tolbert
Posted July 16, 2013 at 9:03 pm

VERY helpful! Especially since I cant draw lips so well.

rippln scam
Posted August 8, 2013 at 5:46 pm

nice post ++++++ thanks thumbs up

Posted August 11, 2013 at 1:34 pm

thank you.

Posted September 19, 2013 at 12:03 pm

uditha
Posted October 29, 2013 at 6:25 am

hay i want learn how to draw look at some picture.whats theory

Sophie
Posted November 6, 2013 at 11:32 am

Wow! Your works are so inspiring!Youre great!:D I really enjoy it

Yareydi
Posted November 6, 2013 at 1:50 pm

This was so helpful Im so glad I tumbled onto this site.

http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/07/draw-lips/ 17/18
10/20/2015 How to Draw Lips | Stan Prokopenko's Blog

Channy Hong
Posted November 7, 2013 at 8:43 am

wow!!
Im watching your videos on youtube, and I really think you are a genius in
drawing.
Thanks for telling me things^^
Lastly, you are just perfect!!
Then. bye bye^^

TS BRAHMANANDA CHARY
Posted December 5, 2013 at 12:41 am

This appears to be scientific approach for drawing. Following it, may be

anybody can draw pictures.
Informative.

Juan D'Eva
Posted January 13, 2014 at 5:56 am

Gracias por su buen tutorial, que pena que no este traducido al Espaol.

Venus
Posted May 23, 2014 at 5:11 am

hi.. thanks. very nice

C opyright Stan Prok ope nk o 2015

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