In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a mouth from the side in a few steps. You will see that it is not as difficult as you might think. I recommend you check out the Learn to Draw a Mouth tutorial beforehand. I explain all the basics there, which you will need to follow this tutorial.
Base with 2 Circles
If we draw a mouth from the front, we use three circles for the construction. Since we are now drawing a mouth in the side view, we imagine rotating the circles by 90 degrees. This way, we end up with only two circles.
The upper circle helps us draw the upper lip, and the lower circle the lower lip.
Let’s start with the line between the lips and the outline. Here it is important to note that the fullness of the lips does not have to match the height of the circles. The lips can be thinner or thicker depending on the shape.
The line between the lips is not always straight and contributes a lot to the shape of the lips. You should draw it down a bit and then back up a little at the corners of the mouth.
Drawing the Areas Around the Lips
I would recommend always starting with the skin around the lips before you draw the lips. It is easier this way to draw the contours of the lips that blend into the skin, and the lips look realistic.
Drawing the Upper Lip
The upper lip looks darker compared to the lower lip. This is because there are usually much darker shadows. The darkest shadows are at the border of the lower lip. Depending on the shape and fullness of the lips, you should let the shadows fade out differently.
Also, make sure that the upper lip is not too straight. It should have a slight curvature and can also have bumps and stronger wrinkles within the upper lip.
Drawing the Lower Lip
The darkest shadows of the lower lip are also located at the border of the upper lip. The transition to the lighter areas should be much shorter as light often falls on the lips from above.
Besides, we should also draw the lower edge of the lower lip a little darker to show the curve well. It is important to note that we do not draw the shadows too strongly here. The lower lip should not look too dark, otherwise, it will look unnatural.
Once you’re done with the lower lip, you may want to strengthen the shadow in the front under the lower lip a bit. Leave a small area between this shadow and the lip contour to make it look more natural.
