How to Draw Mouths on Your Fashion Figures

By Lisa Arnold and Marianne Egan from Fashion Drawing For Dummies

You can often read a person’s mood just from the set of her mouth, and the same is true in fashion illustration. Certain mouth shapes are in style at different times; for example, full lips are popular in the fashion world these days. But don’t limit yourself to one style; lips can come in shapes from classic to rosebud to diamond shaped.

Enlarge 1 Practice the traditional feminine mouth shape. Draw a short horizontal line to establish the opening of the mouth. Sketch in the lower lip as an upward arc Draw the top lip with two peaks on each side of the center to add form. Keep in mind that the lower lip is almost always fuller and deeper than the top lip.	Enlarge 2 Make some modifications for a simple yet fashionable mouth. Use only a few lines for the lips. Figure a shows a slightly pointed top lip, a curved line for the opening between the lips, and a deep curve for the lower lip. Below the drawing is a sketch of circles you can use to help you create the shapes of the lips. For more of a pout, the top line can have a gentler curve, and the center line can be a short dash; the bottom lip is only a slight, pointy curve. You can draw just a simple little dot or line to show that lips are supposed to be there. This mouth is great for a very simple style of face.	Enlarge 3 To draw a male mouth for a fashion illustration, start with a simple horizontal line with a slight dip in the center. Draw the lower lip as an upward arc. Shade slightly under the lower lip. Add the upper lip, but keep the curves to a minimum. Make sure the lower lip is fuller than the upper lip. Add two little lines at the corners of the mouth, one at each side. Keep the lines short; longer lines create an older-looking mouth. Add light shading on the lips. Try experimenting with fewer lines and less detail to play with other male lip looks. Keep in mind that male lips curve less than female lips.
Enlarge 4 Draw a simple mouth for children's faces. Draw a circle for a kid’s face and add in the face grid. Sketch in some dashed horizontal lines that divide the lower half of the face into thirds. The opening of the mouth goes at the lower dashed line. Draw the opening of the mouth as a pair of downward curves that meet at a dip in the middle. Draw the bottom of the lips as a slight upward curve. Erase the face grid and your other guide lines.	Enlarge 5 Draw three-quarter view lips. Sketch an oval for the head and draw a face grid with the vertical line off-center. Use a couple of dashed horizontal lines to divide the lower half of the face into thirds. Draw the woman’s eyes, nose, and lips along the horizontal lines. The opening of the mouth sits on the lower dashed line. To draw the lips in a three-quarter view, divide the lips in left and right halves. Draw the half closest to the viewer as usual, with the upper lip as a downward arc and the lower lip as half an upward arc. Draw the other half of the lips the same as the first half, but keep the curved top shorter and narrower. Make sure the bottom half is a small curve.	Enlarge 6 Draw lips in profile view. Draw a sideways triangle that points to the right. Draw a dashed horizontal line that cuts the triangle in half. Add two curves at the left side of the triangle, making the top curve narrower than the bottom. Erase the left side of the triangle and trace over the dashed line with a solid line to separate the lips. You can also draw another look in which the upper lip is slightly more forward than the lower lip, reflecting a realistic view of how the front teeth go just in front of the lower teeth.