Noses are especially tricky because they are a very three dimensional structure that has to be translated into a flat, 2D representation without looking… well, flat. While drawing them in profile is not that hard, but frontal and ¾ portraits are a bit of a challenge. For me, it all gets down to playing with light and shadows.
Establish where does the light come from in your drawing. Decide if it’s a sharp light, casting deep shadows or soft, difussed light. Does it fall flat on the shapes or does it bounce off the surfaces? (compare 4 and 15)
I usually add a white shiny spot on the tip, slightly to the side, to indicate where does the light come from. On the same side of the bridge of the nose I draw a bright line. (2, 12)
The deepest shadows come on the opposite side of the nose. Not necessairly right beside the bridge, but more often as a diagonal line beween the eye corner and nose wing (2, 3)
Usually at least one side of the septum is in the shadow. So are the wings, but the light often bounces off around nostrils. (1-6)
Depending on the direction of light, the brige can be lighter than the rest (8) or darker than the rest (12), but it’s not an edge - it always has it’s width (6), and is not necessairly straight (14)
The shape of nostrils is a great indicator of the angle of the nose and also easily tell us if the nose is upturned or not. (5, 7, 10) In general nostrils don’t look like elipses but more like comas. (bottom image)
The deeper the shadows on the side of the nose and near the nostrils, the more prominent the nose seems. Flat noses don’t cast as much shadows. (11 and 14)
The nose is a very unique facial feature and there are as many shapes as there are people. Gather as many references as you can and see how different shapes and proportions alter the general impression of a face.
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