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Firnheledien β Smile tutorial
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Published: 2009-05-09 01:47:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 17885; Favourites: 279; Downloads: 252
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Description
Just some notes on drawing smiles, based on the stuff I learned in complete dentures.It might be helpful for people trying to draw smiling characters (something I found daunting before I learned what smiles look like). The One Piece charas who show so much teeth all the time are terribly inaccurate. XP
(I can't help it, it just bugs me...)
Additional notes:
1) The upper 6 front teeth (canine to canine) are also known as the social 6. Not much gum is showing.
2) Maxilla refers to the upper jaw.
3) I included the ideal smile and and ageing smile to compare. The horsey smile is something very unnatural-looking.
4) The relaxed lip refs are just to emphasize that we DO show some teeth when relaxed.
I might do another one showing different smile angles and how the teeth support the face.
Feel free the ask questions. This isn't a tutorial but more of some thoughts on the subject to help guide artists drawing.
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Comments: 30
Many thanks for sharing this, drawing a good smile is a challenge!
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Hey great tutorial! Β This is just what I needed
It might be good to note different kinds of smiles, as not everyone smiles the same way. Β This tutorial shows the perfect smile, which is great, but some people show more of their upper teeth and gums or their lower when they smile. Β Adding variety to a smile may be a good way to define a character, who knows!
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Thanks for the tutorial, I'm really an idiot when it comes to drawing believable smiles 
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I just found myself trying to draw a grin for the first time and I looked at the teeth and thought 'How the heck do I draw THAT?!' Thanks a ton for the tutorial, I am finding it very useful.
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Wow, thank you for posting this! I am hoping to use this to practice on drawing a portrait!
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I'm glad you find it useful. I think it's easier to learn something by understanding and not just by following a reference blindly.
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Yeah that is true. I just hope I'm not giving you the impression of copyrighting or stealing your artwork because I would never do such a thing! (I never have and never will) but I just need to look at a few pictures to get the feel of things. you know?
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Well this tutorial is exactly for that. Besides, I work extensively with references myself.
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Great "tutorial". It's very helpful, especially since it is the only teeth tutorial on DeviantArt.
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Thanks. I figured I would put some of what I learned to good use.
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Cool little tidbits of info, thanks for sharing! :9
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This was very useful. ^^ Thanks for posting it up! ;Db
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A nice tutorial, I've never really given this much thought to the way I draw smiles. Of course, my style isn't nearly as realistic as yours.
Just remember that One Piece is drawn in a completely different style to yours. It doesn't even aim for realism, so you shouldn't be bothered by it.
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Well, it just bugs me because they show so much teeth all the time. Or maybe it's just because I'm obsessive...
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Ooooh, thank you! I've gotten into a bad habit of drawing cartoony lips so much, it's hard to try and draw them realistically. >:[
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I almost never ever draw cartoony lips! XD
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Ooooh, this is good helpful stuff.
Thankyup!
(And I just went to the mirror to check my teeth.
I have a horsey smile T_T)
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Ahaha, well if you count the number of teeth showing in the horsey smile pic, it's a bit exaggerated. I drew them showing up to the molar teeth, which hardly ever happens in real life.
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Wow this is will be so useful! -I need to take notes! LOL
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such nice teeth~
thanks for the helpful tips '3'
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No problem. 
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Thanks for posting this. I'm bad at drawing realistic lips, so I might use these for practice.
It's a lot better reference than my bargain bin art books, that's for sure.
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No problem. It's not really a lip tutorial so I can't vouch how accurate the lips I drew are.
It's all culled from various guidelines on occlusion and denture aesthetics that dentists use.
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