How to draw open lips

Aren’t you tired of drawing the same facial expression of your models over and over again? Drawing beautiful, seductive slightly open lips on your fashion sketches is going to add mystery and sex appeal to your designs. It will “sell your idea” and isn’t this what fashion illustration is all about? Follow the steps and learn how to draw a sexy open mouth, as seen in fashion magazines. Enjoy!

5/10

4 min

drawing paper
pencil
eraser
markers
white gel pen

Step 1: Drawing the fashion face

Start by drawing the fashion face. Do everything except for the mouth. When you are drawing a model with slightly open lips you may want to draw the eyes just a little more closed than usually. This way she will get this seductive expression you are going for.

Step 2: Set the guidelines

Find the middle of the space between the nose and the chin. Mark it with a horizontal line that should be long enough to touch the lines if pulled down from the center of the eyes. This is the mouth Centerline.

Depеnding on the race and specific features of your model the size of the mouth may vary. This is the maximum width of the mouth that will look nice. Еxperiment with smaller lips to see how it looks.

Step 3: Draw a box

Divide the mouth Centerline in 4(four) equal segments. Find the middle of the Centerline-to-nose fragment and the Centerline-to-chin one.
When you are ready with these guidelines they should remind a square or a box.

Step 4: Draw the upper lip

Draw an arch to indicate the upper lip. The arch should start from one of mouth Centerline’s ends, continue up until it touches the little horizontal guideline, bend, touch the guideline again and then finish at the opposite end of the mouth Centerline.
Use the separators from the previous step to determine how wide the smaller arch should be. Try to follow the curve of the bigger one.

Step 5: The secrets

It’s time to draw the important little details that will make those lips look sexy and gorgeous.
Firstly, draw a little dip in the top of the upper lip.
Then, go to the mouth Centerline and make the upper lip overlaps the lower one ever so slightly.
Now mark the lower lip. Make sure you use the already drawn guideline and that the lower lip line doesn’t go all the way to the Centerline. Just hint the form of the mouth.

Step 6: Draw the highlights

Clean up the unnecessary lines and outline the mouth with a color slightly darker than the one, you have picked for the lipstick.
Indicate the highlighted parts of the lips. Usually, there is a kidney-shaped highlight in the center of the lower lip and two separate highlights placed on the upper lip.

Step 7: Add color

Fill the sexy lips with solid lipstick color. Carefully go around the highlights.
Notice the little dash, added to hint at the chin of the model.

Step 8: Draw the shadows

Add some shadows to both the upper and the lower lips. Use a color slightly darker than your base lipstick tone.
For the upper lip: folloв the form of the smaller arch and let the shadow reach just under the highlights. By adding this dramatic contrast you give your fashion illustration fuller, sexier lips.
For the lower lip: Draw a triangle in the middle of the Centerline and a small shadow underneath the kidney-shaped light.

In some illustrations a light grey shadow casted from the upper lip on the teeth would look nice. You don’t need to draw every tooth the way it is in real life. Just leave it white and simple.

Understanding how to draw beautiful open lips will no doubt make your fashion designs stand out. Have fun with it!

Happy drawing!