When you're drawing people, it helps to know what is going on under the skin. You don't need to remember the latin names, just so long as you remember roughly what goes where - what it looks like.

Drawing faces and capturing likeness to the person you are drawing can be a difficult task. One of the most prominent and difficult features for artists to capture is the nose. This is because, quite honestly, it is one of the largest on the face and it sticks out.

The nose can be simplified into a basic prism shape. This will be formed with its apex at the bridge of the nose, and its base across the widest part of the nostrils, tapering up to the tip. Try drawing this simple shape with the face at different angles. Note that in this example, the right side of the nose is longer than the left because of perspective. Drawing this simple prism first helps you to master the perspective element.

Drawing the Nose - Placing the Nose on the Face To place the nose on the face, start by sketching the structure of the head. Observe the shape of the face, with its curved plane, which the nose sits into. Draw a line through the forehead and mouth to indicate the midpoint on the face. This will help you ensure that the features are aligned correctly.

Avoid outlining and use areas of light and shadow helps to create a three-dimensional effect. The use of directional shading - where your pencil marks follow the form - can accentuate this. Look for highlights and shadows. Note how in this drawing, the nose is quite rounded, so that there isn't a hard line along the nose - its shape is suggested by highlights, but it blends into the cheeks on each side.

When drawing the nose in profile, observe carefully and draw what you see, using other landmarks on the face as reference- points. For example, the nostril may line up with a corner of the nose, or the bump on the bridge will be level with the lower lid - depending on the angle of the face and the anatomy of your sitter. Try holding a pencil out between you and the subject - line it up vertically with a point on the face, and see what other points are perfectly above and below it. Be aware of depth - draw parts of the face that are closer more firmly, and allow the more distant parts to blend in behind them.

Choose a nose from the handout and draw it and shade it. Choose a nose from the handout and draw it and shade it.