|
Introduction
| | Noses are probably one of the simplest objects to draw. However, that may be why they are so difficult to draw. 1 or 2 lines may make up the entire nose. The nose along with the mouth are varied among manga and anime creators. To explain this, here is a collection of noses as examples: (the mouths are included to help you imagine the rest of the face and to help know the proportion of the nose to the rest of the face)
| | TOP |
|
Different Ways, Different Techniques
| |
Noses, as I said and showed you before, are drawn any way possible, or even not drawn at all. Which further illustrates the blurry definition of the Japanese animation style. Draw noses any way you want. But I guess you didn't come here to learn that, you came here to draw Anime style noses. So (I hope I can explain this) here I go and try to explain how to draw nose. The nose may look extremely realistic or very cartoonish or be a simple dot, just to let the viewer know the character has a nose. For example, Kurirun (Krillen) from the Dragon Ball series appears not to have a nose from a front view. However, if you look careful enough, you may find a 3/4 view or even a profile of Kurirun and find out that he DOES in fact have a nose by the curvature and difference of his face (sometimes, not always). Now the actual drawing of a nose isn't very complicated because it is probably the simplest of things to draw. However, one of the most important, or for me the most difficult aspect, is the placement and the angle of the nose.
| | TOP |
|
How to Draw Example 2 (How to draw a long slender nose)
| |
The placement of the nose is always in the horizontal (left to right) center of the face. This is very important because it usually the immediate signs of what direction the head is facing, especially when the eyes aren't looking in the same direction. The vertical (bottom to top) alignment of the nose is a little more tricky. It mostly takes practice and careful observing through trial and error to find the horizontal placement. If the character you are creating is perhaps a man, with a long face, and masculine look, you may want the nose longer and situated farther down from the eyes. An important note is to know that if the nose is going to be long that would mean it would take up more space. This means the mouth and nose will be pushed down and would be much closer to each other. The long slender nose is usually drawn to represent more adult and mature characters. This is because this nose is long and sharp which will complement the older and sharper features of maturer characters. The variations in the example include a toned down Macross Plus nose and a more male oriented mature nose. Variation 1 has very sharp features and would fit an older character. Variation 2 works well with young and mature adults as well.
| | TOP |
|
How To Draw Example 3 (How to draw an all around nose)
| |
This type of nose is neither too long and neither too short. Thus, this nose could potentially be used for young and older characters. This particular example is from Dragon Ball Z, the character Vegeta. However, in this example the angles are sharp and sleek, and well suits an adult like Vegeta. If you want to draw this nose but to a character a bit younger, try rounding it out on the curves and add round nostrils. Placement for an all around nose is a bit easier because this nose is not too long or too short. Start by drawing the bottom of the nose directly near the vertical center of the eyes and the chin. Depending on the length you want the nose to be, the top of the nose should be around the bottom edge of the eye, but almost never touching the eyes (in a front view). Variation 1 shows a front view of a rounded nose with nostrils. Notice how the only parts drawn are the area where the nose meets the eyes and two nostrils with only shadows supporting the shape. Variation 2 is a 3/4 view of a nose not as sharp as Vegeta's. This one has one nostril and a little less angular than the others.
| | TOP |
|
How To Draw Example 4 (How to draw a small cute nose)
| |
This nose is the opposite of the long slender nose, as being small rounded and cute. As you can guess, this nose is used for cute character, possibly young and youthful. However, this nose can be used for older characters too, that want a cute and youthful look. Placement is a little difficult but with practice it will be drawn with ease. The nose is so short that placement would be very close to the bottom of the eyeball. Most likely it will never need to touch the bottom of the eye (except for cases in 3/4 views). By looking at the examples above, the nose could be drawn by drawing the rounded shadow or by a thick lined nose outline. Nostrils could be drawn in the front view or not. Variation 1 includes a front view of the nose without coloring in the shadow and with a nostril. Variation 2 includes a longer nose depicted by drawing the top of the nose and 1 nostril.
| | TOP |
|
More Variations
| |
Noses, as said before, are extremely varied, and only showing you a long, a normal, and a small nose will limit your ideas and perceptions on anime style noses. Example 5 includes drawing nose only by showing the nostrils. This could also apply to other noses as well because if the camera view of the character happens to be looking up, and is under the characters head, the nostrils would only be seen. If you have seen The Vision Escaflowne anime title, their noses are exceptionally original and different than my other examples. This nose is special because the lines to depict it are thick and vary in line widths. It also is very sharp and angular but retains the all around and possibly the small cute look to it. The last nose is a variation of a shadow of a nose, which extends all the way to the eyebrow.
| | TOP |
[Written and drawn by Henry Del Rosario, through experience and personal education]
|
