How to Draw a Nautical Compass
The nautical compass serves (or rather, once served) the basic purpose of indicating direction in relation to areas on a map, chiefly north (N), south (S), east (E) and west (W). Most compasses incorporate additional compass points to indicate the four other directions that lie in between the main points. Drawing a basic 2D nautical compass is easy and can be incorporated into a variety of illustrative formats.
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Instructions
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Center the drawing compass on your paper and draw a circle roughly the size of a silver dollar. Position the compass point out from this circle and draw another larger circle that surrounds the smaller circle. Use the ruler to draw a diagonal line that runs from the one o'clock point on the outer circle to the seven o'clock point.
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Draw another line that runs from the 11 to the five o'clock positions. Draw a line that runs horizontally across the middle of the circles then another from the 12 o'clock to the six o'clock point. There should now be what looks like an "X" shape with an overlapping "+" sign. Label the "+" with the appropriate N, S, E and W.
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Pick any line on the outer circle and use the ruler to draw a line that gradually moves away from the main line and stops prior to intersecting with another line, thus forming a narrow triangle. Repeat for the other side of the starting line you choose, making what appear to be two elongated triangles underneath each direction letter.
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Repeat for every original line you drew, thus ending up with eight triangles for the main directions and eight more for north and southeast and north and southwest. Erase any stray lines. Trace your drawing in black ink to make it stand out on the page.
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