I’m not sure what specific part you’re wondering about, so here’s a run-through of my process from sketching to painting!
1) The first thing I do is simplify the nose into a few basic shapes to get a prism-like block, like so:
2) I can now easily draw the prism shape in three-dimensional space depending on the angle and rotation of the head.
3) Using the guidelines/planes I can draw a proper nose in any angle! There aren’t many tricks or shortcuts for this step, unfortunately (other than practicing lots). I recommend using references, they’re always helpful 🙂
4) Really important to note: all noses vary greatly, especially from different ethnicities! A high-bridge “aristocratic” sort of nose or a ski-slope button nose might be accurate for some people, but definitely not everyone. Compare differences in size, width, a hooked or button nose tip, high or low nose bridge, and so on:
5) Then I paint! I have a skin tone tutorial here, if it helps. Take note of the lighting, skin tone, etc. Here are some things I keep in mind:
For pale skin tones, the nose sometimes has a redder colouration than the rest of the face because of increased blood flow.
The nose also usually has highlights (due to oil). These are located on the tip of the nose, the nostril groove, and where the base of the nose meets the flat area of skin around it!
Hope this helps! In the end, all stylistic choices are completely up to you. Art’s subjective, so feel free to draw any noses you want 🙂
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