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Drawing Simple Noses This is a quick crash course in drawing simple noses. For information on the placement of the nose on the face I suggest seeing my Drawing Faces tutorial and also Sketch Detective #2. Basic "Sphere" nose One quick way to deal with the nose is to see it as three spheres. Then, depending on the style nose you want, you can draw in only parts of those spheres. For example you might draw in the bottom, or just put two dots where the nostrils would be and leave it at that. You might draw in part of the upper nose, or just the side. If you look at anime/manga, comic, or cartoon characters you'll see they often have only part of the nose drawn in - and parts of the nose might be exaggerated for some characters. This technique works for the front, side, and just about any view. ![]() ![]()
Zig Zag and D Noses Two examples of quick noses I've used are shown here - there are many other so find which ones you like!
In the first example a V shape for the bottom and then a simple zig-zag to indicate the rest of the nose. In the second a D shape (or here a backwards D) is used with a line or oval to show a more side view of the nose.
"Arrow" Noses Another way to look at the nose (rather than starting with a sphere) is an arrow shape. In this example I've kept in minded the sphere shapes of the nose, but I used an arrow to place the center and bottom of the nose. This is handy if you're not sure how to place a nose on an angled view of the face or if you want a more angled/sharp nose. ![]() Here you can see a number of noses drawn with the "arrow" technique and the arrow shapes used next to them.
I have used both the sphere and arrow techniques to draw noses as well as many others. Again, find what you are more comfortable with!
Shading the nose A few words on shading the nose. Keep in mind that the nose is a 3D shape, not flat. So when you shade a nose, even a simple nose, picturing the spheres can help you tell where the lighting should be. You can also create a simple nose by JUST using the shading like the last one shown below. ![]() Well that's about it for quick/simple tips. Practice - look at real noses and noses in other pictures. Collect different styles in a sketchbook etc. |