Drawing Tutorials

Mouth Drawing Assignment – Practice Reel

A hands-on mouth drawing assignment to help you focus on structure, planes, and rhythm instead of outlines. Work through timed sketches and build confidence.

Robert Joyner | Garage Studio Artist & Art Educator

30 Oct 2025 — 2 min read

It’s time to put everything you’ve learned about the mouth into practice.
In this timed assignment, you’ll focus less on perfect outlines and more on structure — the front plane, side planes, and the pillowy sections that make up realistic lips.

This lesson is part of How to Draw the Head Course.

The Goal

This exercise isn’t about creating a finished drawing. It’s about training your eye to see how the lips merge and wrap around the head’s form. You’ll work through a series of four-minute poses, studying each mouth as a combination of planes and overlapping shapes.

Don’t worry about details — focus on building confident rhythms and keeping your linework loose. Every sketch should feel like you’re sculpting with your pencil.

What to Watch For

Front and Side Planes: Notice how they merge and shift depending on the head angle.
Pillowy Forms: Each lip is made of soft, rounded shapes that connect naturally at the corners.
Variation in “M” Shape: Some mouths are flat, others are more pronounced, both are correct depending on the subject.
Tracking and Flow: Keep the mouth aligned with the rest of the facial features so everything feels connected.

Assignment Tips

Use short 3–4 minute sketches for each pose.
Focus on big shapes first, then refine transitions if time allows.
Don’t chase likeness, chase structure.
If a mouth feels stiff, redraw it with flowing gesture lines before adding construction.

Closing Thought

Think less about drawing lips and more about understanding the mouth mass.
Every strong portrait comes from that awareness of depth, overlap, and rhythm.

Previous: Master’s Mouth Analysis Part 2
Next: Robert’s Mouth Assignment Demo
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