How to Draw a Human Nose: 24 Detailed Instructions

How to draw a full face nose

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

Drawing a nose will be easy if you start by building a primitive. It consists of three circles and two lines - anyone can handle it.

Draw a circle in the middle of the sheet. This will be the tip of the nose. It is not necessary that it be even - be guided by the shape that you want to reproduce. For example, if the nose should be "potato", then the circle should be made slightly flattened.

Draw two smaller circles on either side of the first shape. These will be the wings of the nose. They must be symmetrical. Although, if you are drawing a person with a crooked nose, the shape of the circles may vary, but for now we will limit ourselves to the standard version.

Now compare the circles in your drawing with the nose you are trying to reproduce. If the general shape suits you, let's start working on the drawing. Circle the edges of the wings of the nose with a sharper pencil to get shapes resembling brackets.

Outline the bottom of the large circle so that you get a line with one large curve down and two smaller ones up. This is the tip of the nose.

Now you can erase the shapes that you used to build the nose. Leave only parts of the large circle around the edges - these lines will help you outline the bridge of the nose.

Draw two curved lines from the wings of the nose up - these will be the sides of the bridge of the nose. Don't make them clear - let them be soft blurry strokes. Apply the same strokes to the sides of the tip of the nose and nostrils to show their roundness.

Put a shadow on the sides of the nose bridge lines just drawn - this is how you show its shape. Make the strokes beveled, and then the nose will seem to protrude from the sheet.

Apply thicker shadows around one of the nostrils and the tip of the nose on the sides and bottom. It is not necessary to paint over the other side: usually the face is lit only from one side. Also, darken the areas on either side of the tip of the nose - these will be the nostrils.

Apply a soft shadow under the tip of the nose - this will be the philtrum. To make it realistic, apply hatching on the left side of the cavity in a right-down direction, and on the right side - left-down, and the groove will acquire volume. Keep in mind that one half of it should be darker than the other - this is how the light falls.

Add more shadows on one side of the nose without touching the other. In our example, the shadows are on the left because the light source is on the right. Just do not touch the tip of the nose and the front of the bridge of the nose.

Add some more shadows to one of the nostrils that is opposite the light source.

The nose is ready. You can see the full drawing process here.

What other options are there

Here is another nose drawn in a classic pencil style. Here the artist uses feathering to make the shadows softer. If desired, you can replace this tool with a cotton swab.

But this nose is a little simpler, because it does not have complex shadows and shading.

Finally, here's a great way to draw the nose using feathering - this provides smoother and more natural shadows.

How to draw a nose in profile

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

This time, when building the primitive, we will use two circles, not one. Draw a small shape on paper.

Add another smaller circle - on the side of the first. This is a nostril.

From the left side of the larger circle, draw a slightly curved line for the bridge of your nose.

Draw a short, gently curved line under the large circle for the base of the nose and part of the lip crease.

Just above this line, draw another one - curved and resembling a hook. Then circle the right side of the small circle more clearly. This will be the nostril and wing of the nose.

Now you can erase the primitives used to build the nose.

Overlay thick hatching under the hook line. This will be the nostril.

Place a less dense hatching on the lower right side of the wing of the nose and on the side of the bridge of the nose.

Apply a slightly darker shadow on the front of the nose and below, next to its tip.

Now apply slightly darker, but not so wide shadows at the very line of the bridge of the nose, at the wing of the nose and at the interlabial fold. Do not get carried away, otherwise you will make the drawing too dark.

The nose is ready. You can see the full process of drawing it here.

What other options are there

This video shows how to draw a longer, elongated nose. To do this, when building a primitive, you will need to arrange the circles a little wider.

And this nose is more difficult - for those who are already adept at drawing with a pencil. The artist actively uses feathering to make the transitions between shadows smoother and more natural.

In this video - a nose with a small hump in several angles from the side.

How to draw a half-turned nose

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

Draw two parallel vertical lines, slanted at an angle of about 30°. Connect them at the top with another short line. These will be the bridge guides.

Add another long line to the resulting shape, this time about 10° vertically apart. It will allow you to understand where the nose is attached to the face.

Connect all the resulting lines with two lines - short and long, as shown in the illustration.

Draw two more short strokes under the existing ones - as a result you will have a trapezoid that serves as a sketch for the lower part of the nose.

Connect the lower left corner of the shape with the upper left. This line is optional, but it will give you a better idea of ​​how the nose attaches to the face from the side that is hidden from the viewer.

Now draw three circles. One, large, is located below - between those two lines that we sketched in the very first step of our guide. Draw more figures in the two far corners of the trapezoid. The circle farthest from the observer should be smaller. These will be the wings of the nose.

Take a softer pencil or press harder on the existing one and circle the front line and half of the larger circle better. You will get the first side of the nose. Do not try to make a straight line - people are not mannequins, and they do not have perfectly straight noses. If you're drawing from a model or reference, try to replicate the bridge of your nose as much as possible.

Draw a better circle on the left side - this will be the wing of the nose. And to the right, draw a small oval - this is the nostril.

Now circle better half of the right circle.

In the left circle, draw another oval, but smaller - this will be the nostril farthest from the viewer.

Focusing on the slanted guide we drew in the first step, draw another slightly curved line - this will be the right side of the bridge of the nose.

Erase all the lines and circles that we used to build the nose.

Paint over the nostrils with a dark color, and apply a slightly less dense shading around the tip of the nose and its right wing.

Put another shadow along the bridge of your nose, a little thicker on the bottom and lighter on top. This will show you the volume.

Make the shadow between the bridge of the nose and the wing of the nose a little darker, but do not touch the wing itself. Put a slight shadow around the nostril that is farthest from the viewer.

Darken both nostrils.

The nose is ready. You can see the entire drawing process here.

What other options are there

A more complex option for advanced artists. Here it is shown how to depict a half-turned nose in academic drawing.

And this is a better option. Before drawing, the artist constructs a detailed primitive sketch so that everyone can understand how the nose works.

Here the nose is drawn with a pencil, and then shaded with a regular brush to make the shadows smooth and natural.

And in this video - an excellent instruction for artists who draw with ink, liners, pens and other indelible materials. They cannot afford to make too detailed primitives, so here the nose is drawn without circles, lines and other shapes, but immediately clean.

How to draw the bottom of the nose

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

In this version, most of the nose will not be visible, but the nostrils and wings will appear before the viewer in all their splendor.

Draw something like a triangle, but with rounded corners.

Draw a large circle on the top corner of the triangle.

Add two short curved lines extending from the top of the circle to the right and left.

Draw two symmetrical ovals below the circle that are slightly tilted to the right and left.

Outline better rounded lines on the side of the ovals - these will be the nostrils. And under the very nose, put a light shadow - this is the interlabial fold.

Fill in black for the nostrils, and also put darker shadows around the largest circle, around one of the wings of the nose and on top - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe nose. The other side of the nose does not need to be shaded, as it is illuminated.

Erase the circle we used as the primitive. In principle, the nose is already ready, but if you wish, you can rub with a cotton swab or blend the shadows to make them look more natural.

You can see in full how to draw such a nose in this video.

What other options are there

Another video that shows how to place a bottom view nose on the face.

And in this video, the artist draws noses, including from below, from several angles, using photographs of real people as references. This will help you understand how the pencil drawing relates to real human anatomy.

How to draw the top of the nose

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• shading or cotton swab;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

Draw a vertical line, and at its end - two diverging short dashes to make something like an arrow.

At the tip of the arrow, draw a circle, and on its sides - two divergent ovals to the right and left. This is a blank for our nose.

Now circle more clearly the edges of the ovals and the circle so that these three shapes seem to merge into one.

Put a shadow on one of the sides of the nose (in our case, on the left) to emphasize its volume. But don't paint over the front side of the bridge of your nose.

Draw more clearly the wings of the nose and draw two short, slightly curved lines from them to the left and right. Then apply a shadow under the nose and around its wings.

Add some shading to the other side of the bridge of the nose, in our case the right side. But do not get carried away, because the nose should be darkened only on one side.

The nose is ready. You can see the full drawing process here.

What other options are there

An excellent guide that shows how to draw a nose from all angles. We are interested in its last part, where the artist depicts the bridge of the nose from above, which is why, due to the laws of perspective, it seems shorter and wider than when viewed from the front.

Here in this video, the artist draws a nose up in a peculiar, slightly comical manner. At the same time, the drawing remains quite realistic. If the previous version was difficult for you, try drawing like this.

How to draw a minimalistic nose

What you need

• Paper;
• simple pencil;
• shading or cotton swab;
• eraser rubber.

How to draw

Sometimes detailed noses are not needed - for example, if you draw quick sketches or want to portray a character for a cartoon or anime. In this case, try to draw a simpler version without unnecessary shadows and details. Here's how to do it.

Draw a small, flat triangle pointing down and color it in.

Take a cotton swab or shading and go over the hatching in the triangle. Then draw a semicircle over the triangle with the same stick. In principle, the same effect can be achieved without shading, but in this case, the upper part will need to be painted over in a paler tone.

With a thin lead, draw two dark brackets in a triangle - these will be the nostrils. And the nose will immediately acquire recognizable features.

Draw a couple more small lines on the sides of the nostrils - these are the wings of the nose.

Make the contours of the tip of the nose a little sharper, but do not get carried away so that the shadows do not lose their naturalness. Let's say add one line at the top left and another one at the bottom right, emphasizing the shape of the nose.

That's all, the minimalistic cartoon nose is ready. You can see the process of its creation here.

What other options are there

Another great tutorial on how to draw cartoon noses from different angles.

And in this video, the artist shows how to draw caricature minimalistic noses of various shapes. He uses a graphics tablet, but they can be easily drawn with any line art tool. For example, a pencil, pen or liner.

Great guide to cartoon noses. The artist draws on an iPad, but you might as well sketch with a simple hard pencil and then trace it with a softer pencil or liner.

Finally, a video with a guide on how to draw a nose for anime or manga characters. If you're having trouble drawing realistic body parts, try Oriental style.