How to Draw Anime & Manga Teeth Tutorial
This tutorial shows how do draw anime and manga teeth with side and front view drawing examples. It also provides tips on positioning them in the mouth and goes over their different styles.
Though the simplified anime and manga teeth may seem fairly easy to draw there is actually quite a bit to it. This tutorial covers a few different aspects of drawing them and consists of three main parts:
- Drawing teeth in different views/angles
- Examples of anime style teeth with different facial expressions
- How anime teeth can be used to show a characters personality
Generally anime teeth are drawn without the full details of each tooth. Usually they are either shown as one combined shape or with just hints of the individual teeth.
There are rare occasions where each tooth is shown but in that case they are usually draw almost the same as real teeth. We will not cover that in this tutorial as you can simply look at a photo of real teeth if you need such reference.
Drawing Anime Teeth From Different Views/Angles
Position of Teeth in a Closed Mouth – Side View
Before you draw teeth it’s a good idea to have a rough estimate of how they are positioned in the mouth. You can see a rough estimate of this in the “see through” drawing above.
The importance of having an understanding of where the teeth are positioned in the head should become more apparent as you go through the tutorial.
Position of Teeth in an Open Mouth – Side View
When the mouth opens like the yelling face drawing above the top row of teeth stays in the same position (in relation to the head). The bottom row shifts along with the jaw but their position in relation to the jaws itself also does not change.
While you don’t need to make a see through drawing like the above examples every time you draw it’s good to keep these things in mind to avoid mistakes.
Teeth in an Open Mouth – Front View
The above example is the front view of the face from the previous examples. In this view the teeth become a lot more difficult to draw. This is especially so for the bottom row as it’s hard to estimate how high up the teeth should go along the bottom jaw at this angle.
Positioning/Drawing Teeth at Difficult Angles
A good trick (as suggested in other tutorials here on AnimeOutline) is to use an easier to draw from view to estimate the position of the same body part in a more complex view.
In this case you can use a side view drawing of the teeth to then project a set of line that will give you the placement of the teeth in the front view.
While this may seem like a lot of work you don’t need to make a side view drawing that is as detailed as the example. Just do a quick outline sketch.
For some common mistakes when drawing anime see:
Common Mistakes When Drawing Anime & Manga
Drawing Anime Teeth to Show Various Emotions
Shown teeth can also help emphasize different emotions as shown in the examples below.
Smiling Anime Face Teeth
Probably the most obvious emotion that shows teeth is a simple smile.
For an anime/manga style you can generally just give a slight hint of the top and bottom row of teeth by drawing a couple of curved lines on each side.
Scared Anime Face Teeth
Another expression commonly showing teeth is a scared face.
Same as for the smile you can once again give just a hint of the line separating the top and bottom rows of teeth.
Grinning Anime Face Teeth
A side view grin is another common anime facial expression where teeth are shown.
This expression is often drawn with a hint of the “fang” to emphasize the aggressive nature of the expression.
Angry Anime Face Teeth
The angry side view expression is very similar to the previous example.
Just like the grin teeth in the angry mouth are also often drawn with a “fang like” sharp tooth.
Anime Teeth Alignment Drawing Different Views
Once again you can see that though the facial expressions and mouth shape changes the teeth still remain in pretty much the same position. While you don’t need to perfectly align them when drawing the same character in different views it’s generally a good idea to try and keep the teeth in roughly the same place in relation to the rest of the head.
Drawing Anime Teeth to Show Character
Sometimes anime characters are drawn with unusual teeth. This can help emphasize a certain personality and gives them a more unique look. A couple examples of this are listed below.
One Tooth Sticking Out – Yaeba Anime Teeth
The “one tooth sticking out” is usually drawn to show an energetic and mischievous character. This is also sometimes known as “Yaeba”.
To show this trait draw draw the mouth open but only draw the one sharp tooth (like a fang) to one side of the mouth.
Please note that sometimes characters are shown with the one tooth always ticking out even with a closed mouth but this is fairly rare and can look odd.
Also please note as this is a highly styled way to draw teeth the actual correct placement of the one tooth becomes less important but you should still try and be at least somewhat accurate.
Multiple Sharp Teeth – Shark Tooth Anime Character
Sharp shark like teeth on anime or manga character can often indicate a competitive personality. Some characters may have these as a permanent feature while others may only get them in a certain expression.
For these type of teeth you can pretty much draw them like a saw or actual shark teeth.
The example above is another variant of the shark teeth that may appear when a character is grinning.
For these types of teeth once again draw them similar to a saw but this time instead of drawing them all in a straight line draw them curving along the mouth.
Conclusion
Highly stylized and simplified anime and manga teeth may seem like a fairly simple a fairly simple thing to draw but this is not always the case. Different views/angles, facial expressions and character styles can all make drawing teeth quite complicated. Hopefully this tutorial has helped you gain a little more insight into how to draw them.
For other Similar tutorials see:
- How to Draw Anime & Manga Mouths – Side View
- 12 Anime Male Facial Expressions Chart & Drawing Tutorial
- How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
- How to Draw Fingernails 6 Different Ways