Preamble

To study and draw them, you need to know the patterns of the structure of the shape of the lips, as well as the rules for drawing them. The shapes of the lips, like the rest of the details of the human head, have their own characteristics and depend on individual characteristics. But with all the diversity, the lips also have a common structure for all.

The complex plastic shape of the upper and lower jaws forms the thickness of the lips, the circular muscle of the mouth, lying on the upper and bony arches of the jaws and lower teeth. Lips are the most dynamic part of the face. This is explained by the mobility of the lower jaw and the relatively free attachment to the bone tissue of the circular muscle of the mouth, a large number of radial muscles that control the work. Many mimic muscles approach the corners of the lips, which we study in detail in the lesson on facial muscles.
If it necessary, you can go back and remember which muscle is responsible for what.
I would classify the lips as the most complex part of the face: many volumes, many shapes, many muscles, the slightest contraction of which completely changes the mood of the picture.

1

The upper lip in normal lighting is often darker than the lower lip.

Upper lip

2

Pay more attention to the study of volumes along the edges under the lower lip and the corners of the lips.

Study of shapes

3

During working with tone, consider the spherical base of the upper and lower jaw.

Upper and lower jaws

4

To convey the airiness of the lips, do not highlight the edges too much.

How to Draw Realistic Lips.*airly lips

5

If the lips are wet, then the highlights on them can be very bright.

Wet lips

Schematic work

For me personally, the lower part of the round muscle of the mouth is very important. It forms beautiful forms that can significantly affect the portrait likeness. This part is pronounced in men, in girls these forms are smoothed out. This is a feature of the structure and it is the same for everyone.
From the edge of the lower lip (yellow) the plane falls, which is why it is always dark. Out of this place are spherical shapes emanate from the occluded side (pic. 3).By means of the stroke shown this plasticity in the form. Complements any lips very well and make them more interesting. Agree, so natural and more informative.he width and height of the muscles are different for everyone and, therefore, they carry the characteristic features of individuals. I tell you how the filter is formed *V shape*, that very part placed between the nose and the upper lip. The width and height of the cells into which the anterior upper teeth are inserted (pic. 4) affect the size of the filter. That means the skin of the upper lip falls into the void between the V shapes and a depression is formed.

Tonal drawing

I start the tonal drawing again by toning the entire image, leaving only highlights. I indicate the darkest and brightest spots. The darkest spot will be the upper lip and the shadow under the lower lip. It so happened that the upper lip is always visually darker than the lower; this is her feature. If you look at the lips in profile, you will see that the plane of the upper lip is slightly turned away from the light compared to the lower lip, which receives light very well. It turns out a tonal ladder in a horizontal system (pic. 1). The arrows showed how the plane changes its direction and, accordingly, the tone changes. At this stage, we immediately determine the foreground - it will be a spherical volume of the upper lip. That is, the shadow on it will be brighter than the shadow under the lower lip.It is important! In a vertical system, a shadow will form on the left side behind the blue line (pic. 2). The form wraps up and the light smoothly passes into the shadow. Despite the variety of details, I think and work in large patches. We need a complete picture. From bigger to smaller.

Don't forget about the spherical shapes on the lips themselves. Despite their small size, I also work on them. I show the shadow, reflection, light and highlights (Pic 1). But highlights on the lips appear only if they are wet. In other cases, the highlight in this whole composition will not be on the lips, but on the edge of the upper lip, at the junction of two planes. There is another interesting point - both edges of the upper lip (shown in red on picture) will always go into a light shadow, in fact, the light on the upper lip will be only at one point (blue). The light on this spheric shape can change depending on the lighting, so the upper lip appears darker overall than the lower lip. On the bottom there are more planes that receive light. In the second diagram, I already showed the distribution of light and shadow with strokes. As I said, the darkest spot is the upper lip. The spot is lighter under the lower lip and the "lightest" dark spot on the side. The spot is lighter under the lower lip and the "lightest" dark spot on the side. Again, pay attention to how I draw the shadow - first I just stroke the spot, then with a hard stroke I go along the edge of this spot. Due to this, their own shadow and reflex appear. As a result, the image is picturesque and generalized, and most importantly, it is correct in terms of light and shade.

After such an analysis of the spots and the definition of the main and secondary, I proceed to smooth out the forms. I make the transition from shadow to light smooth and soft. I remind you again - the easiest way to draw a tonal drawing is from dark to light, so I always deal with shadow spots first. The most difficult thing is to achieve airiness in work. It appears when the transitions, stretching of tone between light and shadow are almost invisible, but at the same time all shadows and light are present and in their places. This can be achieved with experience. Try not to press hard on the pencil. The shadows are dark, but not black. Soft shadows, a good stroke and a smooth transition of tone will make your work soft and easy.

Final version

1) Draw lips according to the reference from the lesson.

2) Draw your lips in an interesting angle with interesting shadows.