It’s no big secret how difficult it can be to draw a smile. So in today’s tutorial, we are going to learn how to sketch lips and teeth.
It’s hard enough to just sketch teeth so they look like normal teeth. If you are trying to draw teeth that look exactly like those of a specific person, then you are talking about a whole other level of challenge!
Then, of course, you must draw lips that match the lips of your subject’s face.
I remember my early days of drawing portraits for commissions. There was more than one occasion when I had to make corrections to the teeth in order to make a better resemblance of the person I was drawing.
Lips are easier, but they can also look off if the teeth are not right.
Teeth and lips play a huge role in creating a recognizable likeness of an individual, so you want to make sure you draw them correctly. Although they can be tricky to draw, I’ll show you how you can sketch them better and more accurately with some simple observations.
Get Familiar with the Teeth You Will Sketch
Before we begin, it’s helpful to know the names of the teeth to which we’ll be referring. I’ll quickly review them with you now. The four teeth in the middle of your mouth on the top are called incisors. The four teeth directly below them are also called incisors. Then you have two canines on top and two smaller canines on the bottom. After the canines, the next two teeth are premolars (8 total). The remaining teeth are molars. Here’s a diagram of the teeth labeled with these names and some alternate ones.
Teeth look very different from person to person. You will want a reference photo when trying to draw the teeth of a particular person, and this is especially true for beginners. We’ll use the following reference photo for our sketching practice.
Affiliate Disclaimer: The link below is an affiliate link. I will receive a small commission if a purchase is made through this link. Learn more here.
For this demonstration, I used a 2B pencil and some drawing paper. This will be a basic sketch of teeth, so the materials are also basic. Use whatever pencil and paper you have on hand. If you want to turn this sketch into a more realistic drawing, you can incorporate a few more pencils for a bigger variety of values.
How to Sketch Lips and Teeth Video Tutorial
You can also watch the video version of this tutorial below. Watch it once all the way through to get a sense of the overall process. Then watch a second time and draw along with me, pausing as needed.
Sketch the Top Six Front Teeth
Begin with a line to represent the lower edge of the top lip.
Now, to make sure the top teeth are not too far away from or too close to the top lip, I’m placing this horizontal guideline. I’m just looking at my reference photo to see about how far down from the top lip the gumline is.
I’m starting by sketching the two front teeth, or incisors. There are a few basic things to look for that can help you when drawing teeth. As you draw the lines that make up each tooth, compare the length and angle of each edge to the reference. Also, check that the shape of each tooth you draw matches the tooth in the reference as closely as possible.
Next I’ll sketch the two smaller teeth beside the two front teeth. These are also called incisors. Notice how the tops of the first incisors I drew go all the way up to our horizontal guideline. These smaller incisors get close, but they don’t actually come up as far as the bigger ones.
The next two teeth are called canines. These are longer teeth than the previous two, and they pretty much come all the way up to our guideline, on the same level as the two bigger incisors. Now, another thing to pay attention to while sketching teeth is the amount of space you are putting between each tooth, both above and below the gumline.
Sketch the Bottom Six Front Teeth
Now, I’ll sketch the smaller teeth on the bottom. These four bottom teeth in front are also incisors. For these teeth, I’m not sketching a guideline as I did for the top, since the gumline for them is mostly under the lower lip. Parts of the gumline do show above the lip, and it is revealed to us with these little triangle shapes.
Next, we’ll draw the other two bottom incisors in a similar manner. As you sketch each tooth, check to see where, for example, a vertical edge of a bottom tooth should align with a top tooth. If you have to make adjustments, that’s okay too. It’s better to do so early on before sketching too many teeth incorrectly.
After that, it’s on to the canine teeth at the bottom. These canines should be much shorter than the canines at the top. The curve of the bottom lip reminds us to draw them shorter. Also, notice how these teeth do not line up perfectly under the upper canines. They are much closer to the center of the mouth under the smaller incisors.
Sketch the Left Side of the Mouth
Before we go on to drawing more teeth, I’m going to better define this tip along the lower edge of the top lip.
Okay, the teeth beyond the canines are the premolars. I’ll sketch the two at the top on our left side first. Now, since we are getting farther away from the front teeth, we should keep foreshortening in mind. That simply means we should draw the teeth smaller as they appear to get farther away from us.
When drawing the premolars on the bottom, pay attention to the lower lip and how it will eventually connect to the corner of the mouth. Considering how close the bottom of the top teeth are to where the lower lip will be, that doesn’t leave much room for drawing the lower premolars. Just sketch a few lines to indicate them.
Let’s connect the upper lip and lower lip here at the corner of the mouth. Don’t make the mistake of drawing teeth too close to the corner of the mouth. Allow some space for the tissue that join the lips together.
Sketch the Right Side of the Mouth
On our reference photo, we can see some ridges above the gumline. You can sketch these curved lines above each tooth, following the same contour of the teeth. If any of your lines going up become hidden behind the top lip, just plan where the arch would naturally come down if the lip were not in the way.
Sketch these premolars in this corner just like you did the other ones. Factor in that you will have less and less room to draw the teeth as the top and bottom lips converge at the corner. Also remember that they are going farther back into the mouth. Therefore, these corner teeth should appear smaller than the front teeth.
Sketch a line to connect the top lip to the bottom at the corner of the mouth. As you sketch this line, be aware of the space you are leaving between the gumline and the lower edge of the top lip. Look at the reference and make comparisons to the length of the surrounding teeth to decide if you should make adjustments.
Sketch the Lips Around the Teeth
The lips play a role in helping to enhance the appearance of the teeth. This is because the lips are naturally paired together with the teeth when you draw someone smiling. Just as teeth play a role in establishing the likeness of an individual, so do the lips. Let’s sketch the outline of the top lip first.
Sketch the outline of the bottom lip next. The bottom lip is generally thicker than the top lip. Using the reference photo, I can make visual comparisons between the thickness of the lips and the size of the teeth. Making observations like this throughout the drawing can help me confirm if my proportions are correct.
Shade the Inside of the Mouth
Now that the outline of the mouth is complete, we can add a little shading. We’ll start with the inside of the mouth. Use a sharp pencil and dark pencil marks. Fill in the negative space created by the shape of the teeth. Be careful not to shade over the edges of the teeth. Doing so will distort their shape.
Next, outline the gumline. Doing this will help to establish more form on the gums when we shade them. Be careful with your tracing so you don’t change the shape of the individual teeth. Don’t forget to trace the gumline for the bottom teeth too!
Start shading the corner of the mouth. Before you shade any teeth, focus on shading where the top and bottom lip meet at the corner. Trace over your outlines and place some tones.
Shade the Upper Gums
Next, begin shading the upper portion of the gums. Shade above the curved ridges sketched earlier. Keep your pencil tones between these ridges and the top lip. This part of the gums will have a slightly darker value than gums closer to the teeth.
Now, lightly shade the portion of the gums just above the teeth. The darker tones above this area, along with the light values we are now applying and the outlining of the gumline we did earlier, all help to create some dimensionality to the gums, helping them to appear less flat.
Let’s not forget to shade under the top lip. Make a thin line of shading just under the lip. It’s important to remember this because when light shines on the top lip, the underside of the lip casts a shadow on the gums. The thickness of this shadow depends on the angle of the light.
Shade the Lower Gums
Although we don’t see nearly as much of the bottom gums as we do the top, we don’t want to neglect them. Shade the little triangular patches of visible gum between the bottom teeth. Keeping the middle of each triangular section a lighter value than the gumline will, again, give the gums form.
Underline the top line of the bottom lip. This is to better define the edge when we shade later.
Shade the Teeth
Now that the gums are shaded, let’s shade the teeth. Start at the corners of the mouth. Remember that these teeth are receding into the background, so they will have slightly more shading on them than the front teeth. Also, be careful to not put too much shading on the teeth. They should still appear white compared to the gums.
Now, let’s shade the rest of the teeth. I’m using a very light touch. I want to use lighter values than I did for the teeth at the corners of the mouth. All that is needed is light shading along an edge or two of each tooth. A little shading helps to make the teeth look more three-dimensional.
Shade the Lips
Okay, the teeth and gums are shaded, so now let’s do some work to the top lip. We’re going to just put some preliminary shading here first. I like to leave a little rim of reflected light along the bottom edge of the top lip, and I want to have more shading at the corners than I do in the middle.
I’m just building up another layer of values on the top lip. Again, I want to preserve some reflected light along the bottom edge. This helps to create an appearance of a curved surface on the lip.
For the bottom lip, I will do basically the same as what I did for the top. I’ll start with a base layer of tones. I’ll leave some reflected light, this time along the top edge of the lip. The bottom lip usually has more highlight in the middle than the top lip does.
We can go back now to put some darker values at the corner of the bottom lip. It’s a good idea to use a few curved strokes to aid in shaping the surface. We’ll do the same thing to the other side. It doesn’t hurt to go back to the top lip if necessary to maintain a consistency between the values of the top and bottom lip.
You don’t want to put as much shading in the center where the highlight is, but a few vertical strokes help to develop some texture.
How to Sketch Better Teeth and Lips from Observation
This tutorial is meant to be a basic one to get you started. Your accuracy from pure observation will improve over time the more you practice.
To help you improve, I recommend finding pictures of mouths showing the teeth and lips and sketching them as often as possible. Find pictures of mouths that are smiling, laughing, or angry for example.
Alternatively, you don’t have to draw mouths or teeth all the time. Just the regular habit of sketching what you see will sharpen your observational skills, even if you are drawing other things. Then when you come back periodically to sketching teeth and lips, you will soon discover that you can sketch them much better.
If you want a more guaranteed method of drawing teeth and lips accurately, you can try this tutorial on how to draw the mouth using a grid. Whatever methods or techniques you use, don’t forget to practice regularly. Keep at it, and you will soon enough sketch lips and teeth effortlessly!
Many artists have a tendency to oversimplify the ear or cover it up with elaborate hairstyles in an effort to avoid drawing it. But the ear itself is nowhere near as complex as it seems. Covering the ear up or oversimplifying also means that the artist is missing out on an opportunity for growth. That’s why in this tutorial, we’re going to take things one step further. We’re going to draw an ear with piercings!
Please work alongside me throughout this tutorial. Take your time and work at your own pace, but try and do each step as you read through it. As with my other drawing tutorials, don’t be afraid to stop and take your time with any section. Work through each step as best as you can and then move on to the next. I will guide you with tips, advice, and a detailed explanation of the process.
Note: I would like to thank artist Noble McCredy for contributing his drawings and tips for this tutorial!
Use a Reference Photo of Ear Piercings
In this tutorial, I will show you how to draw ear piercings by using the following photo as a reference:
The shiny metal next to the smooth skin gives us an interesting range of textures. Keep reading to learn how to recreate these textures in a realistic manner.
Materials Used for This Drawing
Here is a list of the materials used for this drawing.
If you don’t have some of these materials, that’s okay. You can still make do with a regular pencil and eraser, as long as you just get started!
If you wish to purchase any of these materials, they can be found at your local art store, or you can buy them using the links below.
Affiliate Disclaimer: The links below are affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if a purchase is made through one of these links. Learn more here.
The block-in is probably the most important stage in any drawing. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a quick sketch or a master work, the block-in will ultimately determine the final result of the drawing. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the more challenging and, some would argue, least exciting aspects of any drawing. In fact, you might be thinking it would be fine to skip this step altogether.
Don’t.
Take the time required to do the block-in and do it well. This is an essential step and any mistakes made here will carry on throughout the rest of the drawing. A good measure to use at this stage is this: do you like what you see? If you do, great. If not, try and figure out what it is that you don’t like. Don’t expect it to suddenly become better in a later stage of the drawing because everything else you do is only going to be built upon what you have done in this stage.
Sketch Out the Largest Overall Shape
A good practice to get into when drawing almost anything is to start with the largest shapes. Again, I know it’s tempting to just choose a point and start sketching, but in art it’s often best to work from large to small.
Looking at the reference image, think about what the largest shape is. The shape that encompasses everything you want to draw. I’m not just talking about the shape of the ear. I’m talking about the simplest shape that both the ear and the earrings create. Once you think you’ve got a good idea as to what that largest shape is, start sketching.
Begin by using a 5mm graphite stick to lightly sketch out the largest form. If you do not have something similar, just use your softest pencil — HB, H, 2H, etc. are all good choices — or simply work as lightly as you can with what you have available. Hold the tool between your thumb and forefinger and, drawing from your elbow, sketch out the largest shape using a series of straight lines.
TIP: Using straight lines will make it easier to simplify this large shape. Draw from point to point, almost like connect the dots, along the outermost edges of the shape. We can always come back later and make it nice and curvy.
This shape encompasses everything that will be contained within the drawing. This means the earrings as well as the ear itself. The shape represents the outermost boundaries of the image, and from here on out, everything you draw should be contained within.
If, in future steps, you find yourself drawing outside this initial shape, take a moment to reevaluate your proportions. Everything should fit within this shape. Take your time. Compare angles and proportions regularly.
Draw an Ear
Now that we’ve established our largest shape, we can begin sketching the ear itself. Still use a soft graphite or light touch and still draw from the elbow. Take your time here. Try to make broad sweeping lines, not little repeating hash marks. Even if it isn’t completely accurate, a single line will always appear more confident than a series of hesitant strokes.
At this point, we can feel free to erase anything that we feel isn’t working in order to retry it and get it just right. Throughout this stage you can continue to make adjustments both to the ear itself and to the largest shape we’ve already drawn. Use the process of sketching the ear within the largest shape to make adjustments to your proportions.
TIP: At this stage, erasing is free. Don’t rush. Even step away from the drawing for a few minutes and come back with fresh eyes. Erase what needs to be fixed and make those changes while you still can.
Regularly compare your image to the reference. Find various specific points on the ear and compare them relative to each other. How far away are they? What internal shapes or patterns do they make? Do they line up with any other important features of the ear? These questions will help you refine your proportions and get a more accurate sketch.
Draw Piercings on the Ear by Blocking-In
Now that we have our ear nicely sketched out, we can start blocking-in the earrings themselves. Draw a simple ellipse to figure out the placement and proportions of each ear piercing. This will also help you to establish the perspective of the shape.
Once you’re satisfied, we can begin sketching out the larger shapes of the earrings themselves. Keep it as simple as possible at this stage. Lines and cylinders only.
Don’t worry about the fact that not all the earrings are perfect ellipses. At this point, simplifying the form is far more important, and it will help you find placement and proportions more accurately.
As you draw the final block-in for the ear piercings, notice how they are simplified to such a degree that some individual shapes are combined into one larger shape. At this stage the details don’t matter. Get the larger shapes right and the details will follow.
TIP: When working with any complex form, ignore the detail to start with. Try to find the biggest shapes and the simple geometric forms (cylinder, sphere, cube) that make up more complex objects.
Draw Basic Shadows Around the Ear Piercings
Now that our sketch is complete and we’re happy with it, we can begin to lay in some of the basic shadows.
TIP: This is the point of no return. If you’re not happy with the sketch, keep refining it until you are. From here on out, it’s going to become more and more difficult to fix any early mistakes.
Though we’ve blocked-in our earrings at this stage, we’re not going to worry too much about them for now, especially when it comes to laying in the shadow shapes. We’ll deal with the shadows on the earrings in more detail in a future step. First, we have one of the most important elements when it comes to defining the form of your subject.
Apply Core Shadows
The core shadows will be some of the darkest shadows in the drawing. They occur at the point where the form begins to turn away from the light.
At this stage, we’re still using our 5mm graphite stick, though we’re allowing the values to build up a great deal more. This is only partially done by applying greater pressure. Be careful about pressing too hard. You may build up a much darker value far faster than you want. Instead, go over the shadow area multiple times, layering in darker values bit by bit.
For now, think about the form. Think about the direction of the light. Where the form begins to turn away from the light is where we will put our core shadows.
To draw my core shadows, I usually make sure that I have a flat side on whatever tool I’m using. To get a flat side, you can find a rough surface, concrete, wood, or sandpaper, and shave the graphite down on one side.
Once you have a flat edge to your graphite, take hold of the pencil gently between your thumb and forefinger and, using your whole arm, fill in the core shadows.
The core shadow itself can range from soft and wide where the form turns gently, to thin and sharp where the form turns more quickly away from the light. Keep in mind that the core shadow should never be completely sharp or hard edged. It can come close, but there should always be a little softness to it.
Create Shadow Shapes on the Ear
Having established our core shadows, we can begin filling in our shadow shapes. There are a couple of different ways to approach this. One method is to begin by softly outlining the larger shapes of the shadows themselves wherever you see them. However, if you feel confident enough, you can start by filling in the areas directly.
If you choose to outline the shadow shapes first, try to avoid making hard lines or sharp edges. The one exception to this rule is in the case of cast shadows.
Cast shadows are like core shadows in that they are among the darkest areas of value in the drawing. Cast shadows also helps to describe an object’s form as they will bend and curve along whatever surface they are cast upon. Generally speaking, cast shadows will have a much sharper edge.
To draw shadows shapes, switch from the 5mm graphite stick to the 2B pencil. Still holding the pencil between your thumb and forefinger, and drawing from your elbow as much as possible, begin carefully establishing the shadow shape using the method of your choice.
Do your best to use a uniform value at this stage. For now, ignore any variations in value that you see. It should be dark, but still lighter than the core shadows. This would also be a good time to darken your core shadows if you feel they are still too light. Feel free to lightly fill in the shadow shapes on the earrings if you choose, but we will be tackling the earrings in greater detail in the next step.
Draw Shadows and Details on the Ear Piercings
Now that we have our basic shadows in place, we can return to working on the earrings themselves. In this section, we will finish blocking in any details and establish the value range of the metal piercings. At the completion of this section, all important elements of the piercings will be in place.
Refine the Earrings
In the early stages of this tutorial, we simply established the largest shapes of the earrings, their placement, and proportions. Now it is time to refine those larger shapes. During this time, switch back and forth between your 2B and mechanical pencil as needed.
Broadly speaking, use your mechanical pencil whenever you need to draw details and basic shadow on the ear piercings, and switch to a 2B when you need to emphasize the darker values a bit more.
Just like with the ear, begin by finding the core shadows and darkening them to a greater degree. Fill in the shadow shapes as best as you can as well. Pay special attention to the nature of the material. Notice how the metal transitions much more quickly from dark to light and has a greater contrast between dark and light than the ear does.
Once you established your basic shadow shapes, begin carefully filling in the details. Remember to work from large to small.
In the image above, you can clearly see the steps that are used. The earrings at the top of the ear are virtually complete. At the middle of the ear, you can see how the largest shapes are broken into smaller shapes, ready for details. Finally, at the bottom and left side of the ear, you can see the earrings virtually unchanged from the previous steps.
At this stage, we are only concerned with the secondary shapes and how the light affects them. Focus on how the larger shapes we’ve already established break down into smaller shapes. Then think about how the light and dark values apply to them.
At this point we’re simply repeating steps already taken. There are quite a few piercings and a lot of detail to consider. Remember to take your time.
Refine the Values
At this point in the drawing, almost every important element and relationship is in place. From here on out, the changes that we make will be relatively minor. No more major changes, no more additions. You wanted to draw an ear? Well at this point you’ve essentially done so. From here on out, it’s all about refinement and the process of taking the drawing to completion.
At this point, frustration can set in. Especially if we didn’t spend as much time getting our proportions and relationships right in the beginning. This is where those things will really start to matter.
I know all too well the feeling of looking at a drawing that has reached this stage and feeling like a failure. There’s a little voice inside your head that says “Don’t bother finishing this. You can do better if you just start over.” While there are some circumstances where a drawing is beyond redemption, we are much more likely to think it’s true than for it to actually be true.
For now, ignore that voice. Especially if you’re just beginning to learn how to draw. Ignore it. Shut it out completely. Finishing a drawing is a skill in its own right and is every bit as important as anything we’ve done so far. So finish it, evaluate it honestly, and then draw some more.
Apply Occlusion Shadows
Occlusion shadows are easily overlooked or easily simplified. But they are among the most important shadows in any drawing, right up there with the core shadows when it comes to describing form.
Occlusion shadows occur where the form overlaps itself or where two planes come together creating a crease or crevice. If you want to see an example of occlusion shadows in real life, then simply hold your hand flat and straight under a harsh light.
You can still see all the little creases of your knuckles, right? Even though it’s under direct light. This is because as your skin folds together there are places where it’s so close together that even direct light can’t fully penetrate it and we see a shadow.
Occlusion shadows can be a bit tricky. Not that the technique is difficult, but simply because of the mindset required. It can be tempting to just outline everything, but you must resist that temptation.
Occlusion shadows occur where two planes in the form either overlap or come very close together creating a crease or crevice. Look for such locations.
At this point, we’re still using a 2B pencil. Drawing from your elbow and shoulder carefully, use your pencil to darken any areas where forms overlap. Draw in this manner for both the ear and the piercings wherever two forms overlap or come in close contact.
TIP: Use your best judgment when it comes to adding occlusion shadows. If you feel like the image would look better if there were a nice thick black line in a place where there wouldn’t naturally be one, give it a try. Exaggeration and stylization are all tools in the artist’s toolbox. The degree to which you use them is determined by what your ultimate goals for the drawing are.
Reinforce the Dark Values
We continue to refine our drawing by reinforcing our dark values. This is where we get to go crazy adding all kinds of variations to the dark values. Take time to layer in all the really dark darks, work to add texture to the ear by showing the different values and shades that play across it.
Still using a 2B pencil, begin to add variation to the darker values. Once again, I would say that you should draw values on the ear and the piercings in whichever way is most comfortable. Try to avoid shading with the point of the pencil directly, but other than that use whatever technique you find works the best for you.
Start by looking for the darkest areas and filling them in. If needed, reinforce some of the core shadows at this stage as well. Proceed slowing and don’t press too hard. It’s all about looking for the variations in values and gradually layering in those darks.
TIP: Be careful not to fill in areas of reflected light. The reflected light being the softer shadow on the inside of the core shadows. Most noticeable in this image at the top curve and inner curves of the ear. The combination of cast shadow and reflected light are some of the strongest contributors to the illusion of form.
Fill in the Midtones
Now using your lightest pencil (such as an HB) or lightest touch, begin filling in the half-tones. Do this as lightly and carefully as possible. However, since almost all the remaining white space is midtone, feel free to fill it with a light uniform value in the same way you filled in your shadow shapes. Just remember that your lightest darks should still be darker than your darkest lights.
Once you’ve filled in your base midtones, you can begin working on some of the darker midtones. Give careful consideration to the forms. Ask yourself “Which way is the form turning?” and try to shade by making strokes parallel to the form. This will serve to reinforce its three-dimensionality as all your pencil strokes will be moving in the same direction as the form itself.
Beginning artists tend to think of the eraser only as a tool for getting rid of mistakes. This could not be further from the truth. The eraser is as much a tool of creation as the pencil is. You just have to know how to use it.
In this instance, we’re going to use our eraser to give our image highlights. Take your eraser and carefully knock back some of the midtones wherever you see highlights. Be careful not to erase too much. The highlights should be placed strategically, wherever you feel they will create the most contrast to bring out the form.
TIP: The highlights should be softer on the ear and harder on the earrings. Remember, different materials reflect light in different ways.
The Final Refinement
At this stage, we could call the image done. However, usually at this point, we as artists have been staring at the same piece of paper for so long that we almost don’t even see it anymore. Do yourself a favor at this stage and walk away for a few hours. This will allow you to come back and look at it again with fresh eyes, and fresh eyes will allow you to see things that you would not otherwise see.
Now is the time to double check everything. Make sure your darks are as dark as you want them and your highlights and midtones are as light as you want them. Reinforce shapes or shading that may have gotten smudged or has faded over time.
If some areas seem a bit harsh or hard edged and you want to add some soft edges or smooth transitions, use a blending tool such as a blending stump, tortillion, or tissue to carefully smudge those areas of the drawing. Do this with caution. Not everything needs to be smooth, and a nice balance of smooth and hard transitions will add contrast and create visual interest in the image.
Refine until you’re happy. Check the reference constantly. Just be aware that at some point you’ll have to take that last most difficult step and, for better or worse, call it done.
Conclusion
We’ve come a long way together and I hope you’ve learned as much from this experience as I have, but our journey is not over. As artists, we must continue to push ourselves forward at every opportunity and draw constantly.
To truly learn to draw ear piercings, you cannot simply do this tutorial once. Do it twice, three times, four times. Take what you’ve learned and try to apply it without the tutorial. Draw people from other reference photographs that may have piercings, or draw ears from your imagination.
Drawing is a skill that you must constantly develop. Never stop learning. Get better at drawing ear piercings by drawing them over and over again. To put it simply, never stop drawing.
Note: I would like to thank artist Noble McCredy for contributing his drawings and tips for this tutorial!
You may be wondering, “How do you draw a realistic eye with pencil?”
The eye definitely has a unique complexity to it that other facial features lack.
That’s not to say that drawing a nose, a mouth, or an ear is all that easy for a beginning artist.
Still you have to admit, the human eye is intriguing enough to make it both a challenging and fun drawing subject. In fact, the eye has always been my favorite facial feature to draw!
In this tutorial, I will show you how to draw an eye in a detailed and realistic manner. You will learn all about how to draw eyelids, an eyebrow, and eyelashes, in addition to how to draw the main parts of the visible eyeball like the iris and the pupil.
I will show you how to draw the initial outline and how to apply and blend shading in layers for a realistic look. You will see that it does not have to be difficult for beginners to draw a realistic eye.
Join me below so you can create your very own realistic eye drawing!
Use a Reference Photo for a Realistic Eye Drawing
Here is the reference photo for this tutorial. I chose to omit the hair on the right side and its large vertical shadow so I could make the eye the main focus of the lesson.
You can use the same concepts you learn from this tutorial and apply them to drawing other realistic eyes.
Materials Used to Draw a Realistic Eye
Here is a list of the materials I am using for this drawing.
If you don’t have some of these materials, that’s okay. You can still make do with a regular pencil and eraser, as long as you just get started!
If you wish to purchase any of these materials, they can be found at your local art store, or you can buy them using the links below.
Affiliate Disclaimer: The links below are affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if a purchase is made through one of these links. Learn more here.
We’ll start by drawing the initial outline of the eye with a 2H pencil. Begin by drawing a slanted line near the left side of the paper for the corner of the eye. From here, extend another line that curves up and back down to form the top of the white part of the eye (and also the lower edge of the top eyelid). You may want to stop along the way to make tentative placement marks for each side of the iris.
Use imaginary reference points and temporary guidelines to help you shape the outline of the eye so it will be a close match to the reference photo. For example, the outer corner of the eye on our right side aligns roughly with the upper part of the inner corner on our left. Then, by sketching a horizontal guideline from the lower part of the inner corner, we know to form the lower curve of the eye below this guideline but not too far below it.
Finish drawing the corner of the eye by forming the base of the corner along the horizontal guideline. Draw two slightly curved, slightly diagonal lines at the corner from the top to the bottom. These two lines represent the pink tissue found at the inner corner. You should end up with somewhat of an almond-shape for your eye.
Draw the Eyelids
Sketch a line for the top of the top eyelid. This line should follow the same general curvature as the line already drawn for the lower part of the top eyelid. Directly underneath this line and very close to it, sketch two more lines running alongside it. These lines represent wrinkles in the upper portion of the eyelid. Sketch another shorter wrinkle. Finally, draw a line along the lower edge of the eyelid. This is where the eyelashes will go toward the end of our drawing.
Sketch a line below the almond shape already drawn, again following the same curvature. This line will represent the upper edge of the lower eyelid. The lower eyelashes will be placed here later on.
Draw the Iris Outline
Sketch a vertical guideline to establish the approximate center divider of the iris. Remember those tentative lines we marked along the top edge at the beginning? This vertical guideline should be centered between the two.
Sketch a circle for the iris. Use the guidelines to help you shape it as circular as possible. You may find it helpful to sketch the upper portion of the iris that is hidden behind the upper eyelid. If you have difficulty drawing a circle, you can trace a round object of a comparable size that you might have on hand, or you can use a compass.
Outline the Pupil
To draw the pupil, sketch a much smaller circle in the center of the iris. Just sketch the general shape as round as you can, just like the iris.
Check that the distance from the edge of the pupil to the edge of the iris is the same all the way around. You can do this by marking the distance along the edge of a scratch piece of paper and checking that distance with the other distances around the pupil. Once you are sure the pupil is centered, you can use a circle template to make the pupil perfectly round.
Draw Details on the Iris
Make any adjustments as necessary. I decided I wanted to raise the upper eyelid a little bit so more of the upper iris would be visible in my drawing. You can also erase any guidelines, such as the upper hidden portion of the iris.
Now let’s add some lines to indicate highlights and shadows. On the right side of the iris, draw a large highlight. This highlight is almost rectangular in nature, but of course the edges should curve along with the curvature of the iris. Then draw a line curving closely along the inner border of the iris. This will be the limbal ring of the iris. Draw a line on the upper part of the iris just under the top eyelid for a cast shadow. Finally, sketch a few lines for light shadows on the white of the eye, namely under the eyelid and curving near the inner corner.
If you look closely at the reference photo, you’ll notice a bright squiggly ring on the iris that surrounds the pupil. Draw a squiggly line around the pupil. Then draw skinny bands on the outside of this squiggly line that radiate toward the outer edge of the iris. These bands should taper near the outer edges and look something like sun rays. Make sure to draw these little details, because they are an important step in creating a realistic eye.
Draw Details on the Eyelids
On the upper eyelid, draw a couple of very light irregular lines. Draw one just over the left edge of the iris and the other just to the right of the iris. These lines will represent shadows and highlights on the upper eyelid.
To draw the lower eyelid, it’s important to remember that the lower eyelid rests on the lower portion of the eyeball, and the eyeball is a sphere. From the inner corner of the eye, sketch a very light and loose guideline to form the outer edge of the eyeball that is hidden behind the face.
Similar to what we did for the top eyelid, sketch a light irregular line to place a shadow on the left side of the lower eyelid.
Sketch a few additional lines to the left of the eyeball. These markings will indicate shadows and other value variations in this area of the eye. Also, sketch a line drooping down from the inner corner and curving with the eyeball to give a rough approximation of where the nose can be found.
On the right side of the lower eyeball, sketch a few horizontal lines for wrinkles on the lower eyelid. Then we can erase the spherical guideline for our eyeball.
On the pink tissue at the eye’s inner corner, draw one or two squiggly lines to represent moisture and shadows.
Draw the Eyebrow Outline
Next, let’s draw the lower edge of the eyebrow. I’m choosing to begin at the inner corner where the eyebrow is thicker. Draw your line going up from the corner and start to bring it back down when you are slightly to the right of the pupil. Plan on tapering the eyebrow at this outer corner. In the example you see here, the distance between the eyebrow and the upper edge of the eye is acceptable for a general eye drawing. However, I decided to make mine lower later in the drawing so it would more closely match the reference photo.
Finish the outline of the eyebrow by drawing the line to form the upper part. Be careful not to make the eyebrow too thick or too thin. Continue to make comparisons of width between other potions of your drawing and with the reference photo, too.
Pencils Used to Draw a Realistic Eye with Shading
As we move on to the shading portion of the drawing, here’s a quick note about the pencils. I suggest using an HB pencil for the lighter areas, a 2B for midtones, and a 4B for the shadow areas.
I switch pencils quite often during this entire process, so I won’t mention each time I switch in the steps below. If you really need to know every time I switch pencils during every step, I do walk you through that in the extended video version of this tutorial.
Shade the Area Above the Eye
Shade the eyebrow. Normally, I like to shade the skin underneath the eyebrow before drawing the eyebrow’s hairs. This first layer of shading can represent the shadows on the skin beneath the individual hairs. I want the space for the eyebrow to be a little bit darker than the surrounding skin. Therefore, once the skin is shaded, the darker area will help to maintain the placement of the eyebrow.
Next, lightly shade the skin tones surrounding the eyebrow. Begin with the area above the eyebrow. Shade in a direction similar to the direction of the eyebrow. When shading the skin, many artists use a hatching approach, keeping the tones very close together and going in the same direction. Many other artists use the more time-intensive circulism, with tight circles very close together, to achieve more realistic textures on the skin. Here, I’m going with a hybrid approach, using elongated circular strokes that are also diagonal.
Use a blending stump to blend all of the graphite tones of the skin. Blend in a manner similar to how the pencil strokes were applied. Try to smooth over any grainy patches of graphite.
Develop Layers of Shading on the Eyelid
Apply another layer of graphite on the skin over the eye. Put slightly more shading on the left side than the right, where the light source is leaving a lighter area. Then blend these tones once again with a blending stump.
With the long, flat edge of a kneaded eraser, scoop out a few thin highlights on the surface of the skin between the outer corner of the eye and the eyebrow. Doing this will help to create some texture on the skin that can be seen more easily in the highlighted area. Use graphite residue on the tip of a tortillion to create some thin shadow marks directly adjacent to some of the highlights. This will enhance the skin texture.
I Want to Move My Eyebrow
Here’s where I decided to move the eyebrow down a little lower. I maintained the same shape and size as before, but I moved the position directly below the previous one. Again, if you are happy with the placement of the eyebrow in your drawing, you can skip this step and the next one.
Then I used a kneaded eraser to blot the dark area where the eyebrow was originally going to be. The purpose of this blotting was to lighten the tones so they have the same value as the surrounding skin.
Begin Shading the Eyebrow
Begin drawing the hairs of the eyebrow. Starting on the left, make light pencil strokes from the base of the eyebrow going upward. Make these lines twist and curl in the same general direction as the hair growth.
Continue drawing the hairs of the eyebrow. Look at the reference photo to help you decide how the hairs are growing and which clusters of hair are thicker than others and require heavier graphite. Draw hairs jetting inward and to the right from the top and bottom edges. Leave some gaps between some of the hairs. Notice how the eyebrow gets a little thicker at the end and then tapers to a point near the right end.
Blend the tones of the eyebrow with a blending stump. Again, follow the direction of hair growth.
Build the Eyebrow Up in Layers
Draw another layer of hairs over the eyebrow. These additional layers add volume to the eyebrow. Then blend the markings.
Use a kneaded eraser to lift streaks of highlights from the eyebrow. If you have always wondered how to draw realistic eyebrows, these highlights mixed among the darker values go a long way towards creating that realism.
Use a mechanical pencil to draw fine hairs that are apparent within the highlighted areas of the eyebrow.
Use a tortillion to blend over the fine hairs. Keep working to add small details to the eyebrow.
Work your way across the entire surface of the eyebrow. Alternate between the pencil, kneaded eraser, and tortillion to build multiple layers of hair over the eyebrow. You can achieve this look of drawn hair by drawing darker streaks next to lighter streaks. Occasionally, draw hairs that come from the darker areas and extend into the highlighted patches. Make several stray strands of hair on the outer edges as well as strands overlapping lighter areas. Continue layering additional details over the eyebrow until it is complete.
Shade the Upper Eyelid
Put shading along the upper edge of the top eyelid. While doing so, also outline the wrinkle lines so they stand out against the darker tones.
Bring this shading farther down the eyelid. Use the guidelines from the line drawing to help you make decisions about which areas need more shadow. In this drawing, the light source is coming from our right side, so there should be more shadow on our left.
Put lighter applications of tones on the right side of the eyelid. Then blend the tones. As you blend, try to preserve some of the highlighted areas.
Put another layer of darker shadow tones on the left side of the eyelid. Place the darkest tones at the corner and just to the upper right of it, while at the same time using the contrast of darks and lights to better define the eye socket. Use a kneaded eraser and tortillion to create texture in the skin on the right side of the eyelid. Oh, and don’t forget to shade the lower edge of the eyelid too!
Place an extra layer of blended shading at the corner of the eye. Use a kneaded eraser to lift highlights at the corner.
Shade the Inner Corner of the Eye
Begin shading the lacrimal caruncle, which is the first little pink tissue at the corner of the eye. Put more shading near the bottom.
Then shade the next tissue, the plica semilunaris. Fun fact: this vestigial feature is sometimes referred to as the “third eyelid”. Be sure to preserve a couple of areas for highlights.
Smooth out the tones with a blending tool. Then lift highlights with a kneaded eraser. Alternatively, you can use an electric eraser to create sharper highlights and a more “wet” appearance.
Build additional layers of shading, blending, and lifting highlights to complete the details at the corner of the eye.
Shade the Pupil
Next, shade in the pupil. Use a circle template to make sure your pencil marks stay within the boundary of the pupil.
Go over the pupil with another layer of shading and a blacker pencil, like an 8B pencil. The pupil should be the darkest part of the eye. Afterwards, blend the pupil.
Shade the Iris
Now, let’s see how to draw a realistic iris. Shade the limbal ring, which is the dark ring going around the outer edge of the iris. Make some short markings radiating from the outer edges toward the center of the pupil. Keep these markings close to the limbal ring, though. Also, place some shading on the iris directly underneath the upper eyelid.
Make similar short markings around the pupil. Again, take care to make these marks appear that they originate from the very center of the pupil. Do not extend the marks beyond the squiggly line that surrounds the pupil. Round the tiny space on the edge of the pupil between each of these little marks. Do this by making little “u” or “n” shapes. Though subtle, this process replaces the perfect pupil border created by the circle template with a more natural and realistic border.
Next, shade all of the spaces on the iris that are between the sunshine ray design pattern that we created during the line drawing. Make sure to leave the large highlight on the right side of the iris untouched.
Put another layer of shading on the iris. Still shade around the highlight and the ring pattern, but this time, emphasize some of the shading directly next to the pattern.
Use a tortillion to blend the tones of the iris. Very lightly glaze over the white areas of the iris too, with the exception of the highlight on the right.
Add a final layer of details by drawing fine lines from the limbal ring toward the center and vise versa. Draw lines in between the ray pattern to better distinguish them. Use an electric eraser to lift some of the smaller highlights near the pupil and below the large highlight.
Shade the White of the Eye
Start shading the white of the eye, also known as the sclera. Put some shading directly under the upper eyelid, which is leaving a cast shadow directly below it. Put some directly over the lower eyelid too, on the left side. Then, very lightly shade the white of the eye to the left of the iris. Your pencil strokes should follow the same curvature as the iris and the spherical eyeball. Make your shading slightly heavier near the corner of the eye.
Blend the tones of the sclera. Blend the cast shadow below the upper eyelid. Use some of the graphite accumulated on the blending tool to put some very light shading on the right part of the sclera, at the corner and near the bottom. If necessary, use a kneaded eraser to lift areas close to each side of the iris so they remain white. Draw very fine lines on each side of the eye for veins.
The veins on the sclera should be barely noticeable, so blend them. Lift them with a kneaded eraser if they appear too dark.
Use an electric eraser along the bottom of the eye to make some streaks of moisture.
Shade the Lower Eyelid and the Area Below the Eye
Now, let’s focus on the area below the eye. Begin by shading the upper edge of the lower eyelid. Even here, just as everywhere else in the drawing, you should be aware of variations between lighter and darker areas.
Then, shade the entire area below the eye. Use the guidelines from the line drawing to remember which areas should be darker, like under the inner corner, and which areas should be lighter, like under the right side of the eye.
Use a blending stump to blend the skin tones. Blend around the highlighted areas.
Place another layer of shading over the skin. Put extra shading under the inner corner. In the highlighted areas, use a kneaded eraser and graphite from your pencil or blending tool to create textured areas of skin, just like we did for above the eye.
Draw the Eyelashes
Whenever I draw an eye, I always save the eyelashes for last. Here is how you can draw realistic eyelashes. Begin drawing eyelashes coming down from the upper eyelid. I like to start at the eyelid, or the root of the eyelash, and work my way to the end, tapering the eyelash with a gentle lift of my pencil.
Use the reference photo to help you place the eyelashes. Don’t draw stiff, evenly-spaced lines. Make your eyelashes look more realistic by drawing some close together and some space farther apart. Draw some shorter and some a bit longer. Draw the longest eyelashes at the outer corner of the eye, with big swoops down and back up again.
Gently blend over the eyelashes with a tortillion. This softens the eyelashes while also creating a little bit of shadow from the eyelashes onto the eye behind it.
Use a sharp pencil to draw the reflection of the eyelashes in the highlight of the iris. Start from the edge of the iris and draw inward with a slight curve and diagonal.
Next, draw the eyelashes on the lower eyelid. These eyelashes are not as plentiful as the ones on the top eyelid. They are also more scattered and have a different curvature.
Finish drawing the remaining eyelashes on the bottom and a few longer ones from the top that extend well beyond the outer edge of the eye.
Take a final look at your eye drawing. Add finishing touches by applying darker tones from a 6B pencil next to lighter ones to build contrast. Lift any highlights that need to be brighter. Touch up any areas and edges that need to be sharper or more blended.
And that is how to draw a realistic eye!
Tutorial Recap
For a quick visual recap of this tutorial, take a look at the image below. It shows you a progression of the main steps for how to draw a realistic eye.
Tips to Remember the Next Time You Draw a Realistic Eye
The next time you are looking to draw a realistic eye, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Use a reference photo so you can include all of the little details about the eye that you might not think about if you were drawing from background knowledge alone.
While using a reference photo, still remember to allow yourself a little bit of flexibility. If you are only drawing the eye of a person and not the entire face, there is less of a need to capture an exact likeness that resembles a person’s face. This means you can keep that eyebrow a little bit higher, you can include more or fewer eyelashes, or you can vary the amount and placement of moles or wrinkles on the skin.
Consider using both a color and a black-and-white version of your reference. You can use both photos together to give you information about light and dark values as well as changes in color, such as the variations found in the colorful design pattern of the iris.
If you have ever struggled with drawing an eye and making it look real, hopefully you have found this eye-drawing tutorial helpful! More importantly, I hope you were following along and drawing an eye of your own step-by-step with me. If not, now is the perfect time to practice!
In this post, we are going to learn how to draw a mouth step by step!
If your goal is to be better at drawing people, then you have to know how to draw a face. The mouth is challenging to draw for several reason, one being its ability to transform into so many possible expressive positions! This in part is why the mouth is the facial feature that people struggle with arguably more often than any other part.
This will be a realistic representation of a mouth, lips, and teeth using an accurate grid drawing as a foundation and applying several layers of detailed shading to enhance realism.
Use a Reference Photo of a Mouth
I’m using a reference photo as I draw this. Sometimes when you want to draw something complex, it’s helpful to use a grid. I have a grid on my reference photo, and as you can see in the video and pictures below, I have a matching grid under my drawing paper. I am drawing with a light box so the grid shows through my paper. This way, when I finish my line drawing, I don’t have to bother with erasing the grid lines before shading. I’ll even use the grid occasionally during the shading process.
I’m drawing the entire lower half of the face and neck, but for the purposes of this lesson, I’ll just briefly explain how to draw the lips and teeth of the mouth step by step before shading it all. It’s okay if you don’t have a grid and light box. You can still practice along with me on drawing paper.
How to Draw a Mouth Step by Step Video Tutorial
You can watch the time-lapse video version of this tutorial below. Watch it once all the way through to get a sense of the overall process. Then watch a second time and draw along with me, pausing as needed. If you prefer, you can use one of the links directly below the video to access the complete version of this tutorial. It will show you my process for how to draw a mouth step by step with video clips at normal speed.
Draw the Top Lip
Let’s begin with the lips. We’re going to make the top outline for the upper lip first. Be sure to sketch the top part of the top lip just below the nose that takes a dip. This trait is very characteristic of lips in general. Stop at the corner of the mouth.
Continuing from the corner, we will curve up and keep going to draw the bottom part of the top lip now. Make sure to put the dip in the lower part of the top lip that is directly under the dip from the top part. Merge the line at the corner of the mouth to reconnect where you began.
Draw the Bottom Lip
Now on to the bottom lip. We’ll sketch the top part of the bottom lip first. If you pay attention to enough reference photos of lips, you will notice some little dips and other subtleties in the outline of the lip. Draw the inner part of the inner corner of the mouth as you get to the end.
Now we’ll do the bottom part of the bottom lip. Start from this corner and work your way down the bottom curve of the lip. You should make the bottom lip slightly thicker than the top lip. Reconnect with the first corner.
Add Details to the Lips
Put some light lines to indicate the value changes of the top lip. Try to define the border of the round highlight near the top of the top lip. It’s kind of spotty in some places and more solid in others. A big mass is good enough for now.
There is also a thin highlight underneath the big one that extends most of the length of the lip.
Repeat this process on the bottom lip, looking for and sketching areas where color values change from light to dark. Sketch the reflected light along the bottom rim of the bottom lip, as well as the thin sliver of dark shadow just under the bottom edge.
Sketch the basic shape of a highlight on the lower lip. The texture of the lip breaks the highlight up quite a bit. The idea for now is to sketch a very basic shape that we will polish later on.
Keep working to add more highlights. Don’t worry about getting all of it perfect. You just want to put some basic shapes in various places on the lip where light is likely to be hitting the lip.
Draw the Front Teeth
Okay, now let’s draw the teeth. Remember that teeth play a huge role in creating the likeness of a particular individual you may be trying to draw, so it is important to draw them properly. Teeth are very tricky to draw. Using a grid like I am now is very helpful, and with enough practice, will allow you to draw teeth more easily and more accurately without the support from a grid.
Let’s start with the teeth in the middle, the central incisors. As you draw any particular tooth, pay close attention to what is and what should be happening with the tooth and the others adjacent to it. As yourself questions such as, “Where and how should this tooth curve?” and “How does this tooth align with the teeth beside it?”
Keep working, moving to the lateral incisors. Try to capture the proper size and curvature of each tooth to the best of your ability. Also, pay attention to gaps between each tooth, where they occur, and how big they are. Take extra time to make sure the teeth are as accurate as you can get them compared to any reference photo you may be using when drawing teeth in the future. It’s far easier to fix mistakes now than it would be after we start shading.
Finish Drawing the Teeth
Next, we’ll do the canines, two on each side. There is a noticeable difference between the canines and the teeth adjacent to them. For this person, the top two canines should go high into the gum line. To see just how far, check the alignment of each canine with that of the two front teeth.
Draw the premolars next on our left side. Again, use the alignment of the other teeth you previously drew to decide how much height to give the tooth you are currently drawing.
Now draw the premolars on the other side. Since these teeth are receding farther into the back of the mouth, they should be getting smaller and smaller. You should also see more curvature along the side of these teeth.
Finish up drawing the outline of the teeth by drawing the molars in the very back of each side.
As far as the order in which you draw the teeth, you don’t have to always do it in the same order I did for this tutorial. I just did it this way to make it easier for you to identify which teeth I am drawing and to more easily follow along.
Just like we did for the lips, sketch some light highlights and value changes on the gums and teeth. We will use these to put more detail on these areas later on when we shade. Step away from your drawing and take a close and objective look. Make simple tweaks to fix anything that looks off.
Complete the Shading for the Mouth
Now that we have seen how to draw the step-by-step outline of the mouth, the next thing to do is add some shading.
Basically, I will be applying light and dark pencil tones, blending the tones with a tortillion or a blending stump, lifting highlights with a kneaded eraser, and layering additional details on top of what I already shaded to create even more realism.
And that is how you draw a mouth with realistic lips and teeth!
If you’d like to know more about how to draw a smiling mouth without a grid, you can pick up some tips from this tutorial about how to sketch lips and teeth freehand.
