How to Draw Facial Features for Design Entrance Exams

Summary: Drawing Facial Features is an important section of the design entrance exams. The major topics that are asked in this section are eyes, nose, lips, and eyes. Here are some quick tips and tricks that help in drawing facial features easily in the examination.

Facial features are an important section relevant to the design entrance exams in India. Top design exams like NID, NIFT, UCEED etc., ask students to draw facial features like nose, lips, smile, and eyes.

The questions about facial features account for good marks in the examination. Qualifying for the studio test or sketching is crucial for the final selection. 

Hence, candidates are advised to resort to intensive practice for excelling in the facial features drawing for design entrance exams.

Here in this article, we discussed the tips and tricks one can stick to ace the upcoming design entrance exams with full marks. 

Download Free Study Material for Design Exams 2025 by Creative Edge

How to Draw Facial Features for Design Entrance Exams? 

Drawing the facial features in the design entrance exam is one of the major prerequisites one has to fulfil to get a final selection in the examination.

However, drawing facial features is not easy and requires a lot of detailing.

In the below section, we have discussed some tips and tricks to do it easily. 

Here is how to draw facial features step by step: 

Draw a Nose

• Use grid lines to create rough lines for the nose
• Draw a sphere for the front part of the nose and then start with light strokes for the upper cartilage
• Add a shadow edge under the tip of the nose to make it appear round. Add reflected light along the edges of the nose and rim of the nostril

Check: How to Draw a Wall Texture for Design Entrance Exams

Drawing Lips

• Use grid lines to create a line structure for the lips
• Make the upper lip darker than the lower lip as the upper lip angles in and the lower lip angles out
• Use a kneaded eraser to highlight the lower lip to make it appear realistic

Check: How Should Beginners Prepare for Design Entrance Exams?

Drawing Smiles

• Create a rough drawing of the mouth and tooth to create a natural likeness. Refrain from drawing hard lines; draw the shapes of gum lines and tooth edges
• Keep the upper lip darker than the lower lip. The upper lip is darker hence should be highlighted to make it appear brighter
• Apply some shading of each tooth, and try to lift the bottom lip to make it appear fuller and shiny

Drawing Eyes

• Create a grid line for making a rough structure of the eyes
• Lay in the patterns of the iris with a pencil and use soft strokes to make it appear roughly like a wheel or wagon wheel
• Leave an area for a catch light and blend everything smoothly, and use an eraser gradually to increase the iris pattern
• Add eyelashes with quick strokes that eventually taper at the end. Blend the skin area to highlight the contours

Check: What is Color Theory? 

How to Draw a Portrait?

Here are some quick tips helpful to draw a portrait easily:

1. Use the grid method to draw the line drawing of a female. Use small boxes and draw the facial structure inside it
2. Start with the eyes, then draw a nose and final mouth in a way that resembles a triangle. Apply a dark tone around the face to perfectly highlight the light. 
3. Blend the lines on the face using a stump to smooth the result. Use very long pencils to create hair strokes and then try to create a length.

Check: Design Thinking Awareness Questions and Answers for Entrance Exams

Resources to Ace Design Exams

Clearing the design exams like NIFT, UCEED, and NID examinations are difficult, citing the severe competition and high difficulty level.

However, with strong determination, hard work, and expert suggest resources, one can easily crack the examination. Some of the popular resources are previous year papers, sample papers, mock test etc., that aids one’s overall preparation. 

Check: What to study for Design Entrance Exams?

Top Resources for Design Exam

• Rendering in Pen and Ink by Robert W. Gill
• Basic Rendering by Robert W. Gill
• NID Entrance Exam Previous Year’s Question Papers
• Mock Test
• Sample Questions for NID Entrance Exam
• NID Entrance Exam: Sample Questions for DAT
• Design Drawing by Francis D.K. Ching

Best Books to Ace Design Exam

Candidates who have been preparing hard for the upcoming design exam can resort to the books mentioned below.

These books have previous year’s questions asked from the facial features for the design entrance exam. Other than this, these books have also shared various approaches that can be used to tackle the questions asked in these sections.

Books Name	Author	Price
Drawing Faces: Learn How to Draw Facial Expressions, Detailed Features, and Lifelike Portraits	Lise Herzog	Rs 418
Basic Rendering	Robert W. Gill	Rs 1495
Rendering in Pen and Ink	Robert W. Gill	Rs 1739
UCEED 2023: Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam For Design (English Edition) - 10 Full-Length Mock Tests	Edugorilla Prep Experts	Rs 160
Guide for NIFT/NID/IIFT 2022	Arihant Experts	Rs 416
NIFT Entrance Exam Guide	LearnX	Rs 599
Guide for NIFT/NID/IIFT 2023	Arihant Experts	Rs 399
UCEED (B.DES) Entrance Books and Test Series for UCEED 2022	Academy of Fashion & Art	Rs 4400
NIFT, NID & UCEED UG (B.Des) Study Pack for 2022-23	Furkan Mirza	Rs 4500
NID (B.Des) Entrance Books & Test Series	Academy of Fashion & Art	Rs 3500

Check: Design Exam Mocks 2023

Conclusion

Practising drawing facial features for Design Entrance Exams is important because it helps to build a strong foundation for understanding facial anatomy, proportions, and structure.

This knowledge is essential for artists looking to create believable and expressive character designs for animation, illustration, and other mediums to crack the design exams. 

Lastly, practising drawing facial features will help you improve your artistic skills and prepare you to confidently face the design entrance exam.

Check: Career in Design after B.Des