how to draw a smiley face clip art

Feel like smiling? Cool! Just draw this fun smiley face clip art and see how easy it is to share happiness using a simple cartoon image! These iconic images don't have to be simple, flat and flavorless. Why not draw a more appealing version with a fun facial expression, color gradients, highlights and shadows? Are you up to the challenge? Great! Let's proceed with the first step now!!! ;)

step 1 - drawing a few basic shapes to create the head

First, draw a large circle to illustrate the head of the character. Then, draw two medium circles inside the main shape to form the eyes. Both pupils are made from smaller circles. Notice how pupils are not centered inside the eyes. Instead, both shapes are located slightly towards the middle of the face. Finally, draw a large mouth made from a triangular shape with round edges.

step 2 - adding plain colors

This step is rather easy. First, color the head using a bright yellow color. Then, make sure both pupils are black. The eyes and the mouth are white for now. Remember that no outlines or strokes must be visible, so make sure that they are all erased or hidden.

step 3 - color gradients to add some depth to the smiley face clip art

So far, the smiley face clip art is not very original. We need to start adding more depth and volume to the illustration to make this one visually more appealing. Adding color gradients is a good way to start. If you are using a vector application, then working with color gradients will be easy.

Inside the head, add a dark orange color on the bottom of the shape. The top should remain yellow. Both eyes must be slightly grey on the bottom. Inside the mouth, it's the top of this one that must be darker. You can also make the pupils slightly brighter on top.

step 4 - simple shadows around the eyes and the upper teeth

Shadows are crucial to give more volume to the head. You can start by sketching circles around both eyes. These circles can be dark and partially transparent on top. For the upper teeth, make sure that the bottom of the shape is brighter. Let's move on to step number five and add more shadows!

step 5 - more contrast to give more personality to the picture

Around the eyes, draw two more shadows that are darker and larger than the ones created earlier. You can also sketch a large shadow around the mouth as shown in the illustration below. Finally, complete this step with the creation of a large and thin shadow below the head of the emoticon. Remember that all these new shapes are partially hidden on top and visible on the bottom.

step 6 - highlights to complete this lesson

Our cool smiley face clip art looks fine for now, but we can make it even better with the creation of highlights and reflections on all areas. You can start with the addition of a large white circle that should cover most of the head. Make sure this new shape is partially hidden on the bottom. Use the same technique on the eyes, the front teeth and inside the pupils.

The result? a visually appealing smiley that looks amazing!

Once all digital effects are added to the image, you should end up with a beautiful smiley face clip art like the one found below. Notice the depth visible around the eyes, inside the eyes and all around the mouth. A simple picture like this one is easy to do once you are familiar with a few basic concepts like adding shadows and reflections.

Let's try more facial expressions!

Indeed, why not try more facial expressions featuring the same character? You can experiment with virtually all options available (anger, love, happiness, sadness, etc ...) and built your own set of personal icons. Below you can see all steps required to draw the original version and don't hesitate to unleash your creativity! :)