How to Draw Nostrils: Start With the Nose Structure
If you want believable faces, learning how to draw nostrils is a small skill with a big impact.
The shape, placement, and shading of the nostrils can make a nose look realistic, stylized, or completely off.
Nostrils are not just two dark ovals.
They are openings within a three-dimensional nose structure made of cartilage, skin, and shadow, which means their appearance changes with angle, lighting, age, and expression.
Understand the Anatomy Before Drawing
The nose sits on the center line of the face and is built from the bridge, tip, alae, septum, and nostrils.
The nostrils are the openings beneath the nasal tip, and their visible shape is affected by the surrounding cartilage rather than a simple outline.
When studying anatomy, focus on these visible parts:
- Bridge: the upper structure that leads down the face.
- Nasal tip: the rounded or pointed lower front of the nose.
- Alae: the outer wings of the nose that frame the nostrils.
- Septum: the divider between the two nostrils.
- Nostril openings: the dark interior spaces shaped by perspective and light.
Understanding how these parts connect helps you avoid drawing nostrils as flat symbols.
Instead, you can show them as openings beneath a form that turns in space.
How to Draw Nostrils Step by Step
Use a simple construction process first.
Even in a loose sketch, this approach keeps the nostrils proportional to the rest of the nose.
- Block in the nose with a basic wedge, triangle, or rounded shape.
- Mark the center line of the face to keep the nose aligned.
- Sketch the nose tip and the outer wings that frame the nostrils.
- Place each nostril opening beneath the tip, not too close to the side edge of the nose.
- Refine the contour of the alae and the septum.
- Shade the nostril interiors and the underside of the nose to create depth.
Keep your lines light at first.
The shape of the nostrils is often adjusted after the rest of the nose is established, especially in portrait drawing.
What Shape Should Nostrils Be?
The answer depends on perspective and style.
In frontal views, nostrils often look like soft teardrops, commas, bean shapes, or narrow slits.
In profile, only one nostril may be visible, and it may read as a curved opening or shadowed notch.
Common nostril shapes include:
- Teardrop-shaped: often seen in realistic front views.
- Comma-shaped: useful for stylized faces and cartoons.
- Oval or bean-shaped: common in simplified sketches.
- Curved slit: typical in side views or minimal line art.
There is no single correct shape.
The best choice comes from observing the angle of the face and the amount of detail in your drawing style.
How to Place Nostrils Correctly
Placement matters more than detail.
If nostrils are too wide, too high, or too low, the nose can look distorted even if the linework is clean.
Use the following placement guidelines:
- The nostrils usually sit below the center of the nose tip.
- The widest part of the nose is often around the alae, not the nostril openings themselves.
- The nostrils tend to angle slightly upward when viewed from below.
- In a front view, both nostrils should align with the perspective of the face.
- In a three-quarter view, one nostril is usually slightly larger or more visible than the other.
Compare the nostrils to the distance between the eyes and the width of the nose bridge.
These relationships help keep the face balanced.
How Lighting Changes the Look of Nostrils
Nostrils are often defined more by shadow than by outline.
In strong lighting, the interior of the nostril may appear nearly black, while the outer rim catches a highlight.
In softer light, the nostrils may blend more gently into the underside of the nose.
When shading, pay attention to these value changes:
- Interior shadow: darkest inside the nostril opening.
- Alar shadow: the shadow cast by the nose wing.
- Under-tip shadow: the shade beneath the nose tip and septum.
- Highlight: a small bright area on the tip or rim, depending on the light source.
Use softer edges for natural skin transitions and harder edges only where the nostril opening turns sharply inward.
How to Draw Nostrils in Different Angles
Angle changes are one of the biggest challenges when learning how to draw nostrils.
Each viewpoint compresses or reveals the openings differently.
Front View
Both nostrils are visible, but they should not be identical copies.
Human faces are naturally asymmetrical, and slight differences make the nose more believable.
Three-Quarter View
One nostril is usually more visible than the other.
The farther nostril may appear narrower, partially hidden by the nose tip, or compressed by perspective.
Profile View
Only the nearer nostril is usually visible.
Focus on the shape of the alar edge and the underside shadow rather than drawing a large dark opening.
Upward Angle
When the viewer looks up at the nose, the nostrils become more visible and the septum may be more prominent.
This is common in dramatic portrait drawing and character illustration.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many beginners draw nostrils too dark, too symmetrical, or too outlined.
A realistic nostril is usually a subtle form, not a cartoon hole unless that is the intended style.
- Using thick outlines everywhere: this flattens the nose.
- Making both nostrils identical: real noses are asymmetrical.
- Placing nostrils too high: they should sit under the nose tip.
- Over-darkening the entire nose: reserve the darkest values for the nostril interior.
- Ignoring the surrounding shadows: nostrils look convincing only when the underside of the nose is modeled well.
How to Draw Nostrils in Cartoon and Stylized Art
Stylized noses simplify the anatomy while keeping the visual logic intact.
In cartoons, nostrils can be reduced to dots, short curves, or small bean shapes, depending on the character design.
To keep stylized nostrils readable:
- Preserve the direction of the nose form.
- Keep nostrils consistent with the character’s age and personality.
- Use fewer lines if the overall style is clean and graphic.
- Exaggerate the nostrils only when the rest of the facial features are equally simplified or expressive.
Even in minimal art, the nostrils should follow the plane changes of the nose so the face does not look pasted together.
Practice Exercises for Better Nostril Drawing
Consistent practice helps you internalize the form and shadow patterns.
Short, focused studies are often more effective than long, overworked portraits.
- Draw the nose from five different angles in quick sketches.
- Practice only nostril shapes without drawing the full face.
- Shade a nose using only three values: light, midtone, and dark.
- Copy reference photos and compare the nostril placement to the nose tip.
- Sketch noses from imagination, then check them against real references.
Use mirrors, photo references, and life observation whenever possible.
Real noses vary widely, and direct observation is the fastest way to improve accuracy.
What Makes Nostrils Look Realistic?
Realistic nostrils come from a combination of correct placement, subtle asymmetry, and controlled shading.
The openings should feel attached to a rounded nose structure, not floating on the face.
Focus on these elements for stronger realism:
- Natural asymmetry between left and right nostrils.
- Soft transitions on the nose wings and tip.
- Accurate perspective based on the head angle.
- Shadow depth inside the nostril opening.
- Simple but confident lines that support the form.
Once you understand how to draw nostrils as part of a larger three-dimensional nose, your portraits become more convincing, whether you are working in pencil, ink, charcoal, digital art, or line drawing.