You start drawing lips with a strait line. Once you master this first set of lips, then you can play with this line. It can be curved depending on the expression you are trying to accomplish.

Draw a small curved line above the strait line. It should be centered with the strait line and the curved side should be facing the strait line.

Connect the curved line with the strait line on both sides. You have now drawn the upper lip. This lip can be thin or thick. You have the option to play with the proportions. Everyone’s lips are different.

Now you can add on the bottom lip. This lip is almost always larger than the top lip. Sometimes they look square like and other times they look like a half moon. Play with the size of this lip as well.

When you shade in the lips, the top lip is always darker than the bottom lip. It is facing the ground thus shading itself from the light above. The bottom lip is lighter towards the center of the lip. It has shadow closest to the top lip and at the very bottom of the lip. The bigger the lip, the bigger the highlight you will have.

Now you can add shading above and below the lips. There is a divot above the lips that match the little curve on the top lip. Shadows usually fall on the same side of both ridges. You can also hint that there is a chin below the bottom lip with a crescent shading that faces down.

Now play with the mouth. Above I opened the lips and hinted at some teeth. Below I opened the mouth a lot and showed you the tongue. I didn’t shade these two so you can see the lines.

Let me know if there is something about this how-to I can explain better.

Start your eye with a curved line. You can use just about any kind of curved line as long as the bend in on the top. The picture above shows 2 different versions. You can play with this line to create different effects and aspects to your character.

When you look at most people (Unless they hold their eyes wide open all the time) the tops of their iris’ are hidden behind their top eyelid. Draw a circle coming out from your curved line. If you are going to draw the rest of the character, you would go ahead and sketch the rest of the face and figure at this point. The curved line and the circle is enough for you to get the idea of the proportion for the rest of the figure.

Draw a little bubble on the iris. This bubble will not be colored in. It will serve as a reflection of light bouncing off the eye. Without that reflection, your character will look hollow… unreal.

Add the pupil. Think about where your character is. If they are outside in the sunlight, the pupil will most likely be small. If they are in a darker situation, their pupil will be open and very large. Fill it in solid black. There isn’t a variation in this. All pupils are black.

Add shading to your iris. Think about the color of the eyes. If you are drawing in pencil or black ink, the lighter the color, the lighter the grayscale tone. If you are coloring the image with colored pencils or paint, the options are endless. Play with the color of the eyes. There is a shadow at the top of the iris next to the eyelid. This will give the eye depth.

A lot of people forget to add the tear duct. Everyone has one. They are often overlooked. Add a little curve closest to the nose.

Add the bottom eyelid. It is a curved line that passes below the bottom of the iris. It’s simple enough.

Now that you know how to draw one eye, try drawing both eyes. The trick is getting them to look proportional. They are pretty much exactly the same, except the tear ducts are on the inside closest to the nose.

When you have mastered drawing the eyes, try adding shading around them. Also remember… Where there is an eye, there usually is an eyebrow.

If you think of any other tips for drawing eyes, please feel free to comment.

This is going to be the first of hopefully a book of drawings that I am going to do.  These drawings are going to teach how to draw (at least by my hand). I want to show how I draw and hopefully help others learn how to draw.

I know that this drawing is fair at best. I believe as I spend time building this book, I will get better in my own artwork. This is not just for you, but for me as well.  

We will see what will come out of this little experiment. Keep watching