How to draw a snake — easy step by step drawing ideas

Snake drawing ideas are some of the most requested in my studio, and I completely understand why. A snake is the one animal that a brand-new artist can draw with a single sweeping line, and the moment that line turns into a smiling, curious little character, kids light up like they've just performed a magic trick. There are no legs to count, no ears to line up, and no tricky paws to worry about.

Here's what I tell every student who sits down at my table: a snake is really just an oval head and one long, wiggly tube. The whole drawing lives or dies on that S-shaped curve, so we spend a little extra care there and let the fun details, like the forked tongue and the diamond spots, do the rest of the work. Once you've drawn the curve, you're already more than halfway to a finished snake.

In this tutorial we'll build a friendly, coiled snake with its head raised and a big happy smile in six easy steps using the practice sheet below. Along the way I'll share the pro tips my youngest artists find most helpful, the three mistakes that turn a snake into a tangled noodle, and some troubleshooting fixes for the fiddly bits. Grab a bright green crayon and a yellow one, and let's get drawing.

The 6 steps to easy snake drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the head

Start near the top of your page and draw one smooth oval for the snake's head. Tilt it just a little, so one end sits slightly higher than the other, as if your snake is lifting its chin to look around. Press lightly with your pencil, since we'll tidy up the lines at the end.

Placing the head near the top is important because the body will need lots of room to curve down the page underneath it. If the head starts in the middle, the S-curve gets squashed and the snake ends up looking cramped instead of relaxed and friendly.

Step 2 — Draw the body curve

From the bottom of the head, draw one long, smooth line that swoops down the page in an S shape: out to one side, back across the middle, and out to the other side near the bottom. This single line is the backbone of your whole snake, so take your time and let your arm move, not just your fingers.

Think of this line as a path the snake will follow. The body will be built around it in the next step, so the smoother and more flowing this curve is, the more natural your snake's final shape will be.

Step 3 — Thicken the body

Now draw a second line that follows alongside your first one, keeping roughly the same distance between them all the way down. Together, the two lines turn your skinny path into a thick, coiled tube. Near the head, the tube should be about as wide as the head itself.

As you get toward the end of the body, let the two lines slowly come closer together until they meet in a small point. That gentle taper is the snake's tail, and it's what keeps the body from looking like a garden hose with a cut-off end.

Step 4 — Add the belly line

Just inside one edge of the body, draw a third line that follows the curve from under the chin all the way down toward the tail. This creates a narrow belly stripe, the lighter band you see on the underside of many snakes. Keep it on the side that would face the ground or face you as the body curls.

The belly stripe is a small detail, but it does a surprising amount of work. It shows which side of the tube is the underside, which instantly makes your snake look rounded and three-dimensional instead of flat.

Step 5 — Add the face and pattern

Now for the fun part. Draw two big round eyes on the upper part of the head, each with a small white highlight dot, and a long curved smile across the front. From the front of the mouth, add a thin tongue that splits into two little points at the tip. That forked tongue is a real snake feature, and kids love drawing it.

Finally, draw a row of small diamond shapes along the top of the body, from just behind the head down toward the tail. Make them a bit bigger in the middle of the body and smaller near the tail, so the pattern follows the snake's shape.

Step 6 — Finish and color

Trace over the lines you want to keep with a darker pencil or a fine black marker, then gently erase any leftover guide marks, especially where the body curves cross each other. A clean, confident outline makes your snake look finished and polished.

Color the body a bright, cheerful green, fill the diamond spots with yellow, and color the belly stripe a soft pale yellow. Add pink to the forked tongue and leave the eye highlights white so your snake's eyes sparkle.

Common mistakes to avoid

The body curve is too tight and tangled

When the S-curve has too many small bends packed closely together, the snake starts to look like a knotted shoelace or a plate of spaghetti. It also becomes very hard to add the second parallel line without the two lines bumping into each other.

Stick to two big, gentle bends: one out to the side and one back. Big, loose curves read clearly as a snake, and they leave plenty of room for the belly stripe and the diamond pattern.

The body has the same thickness all the way to the end

A tube that stays the same width right up to the end looks cut off, as if the snake is missing its tail. It's one of the most common things I see when kids are rushing to get to the coloring part.

Let the two body lines gradually move closer together over the last third of the snake, then meet in a small point. That slow taper is what makes the tail look natural and finished.

The head is too small for the body

A tiny head on a big, thick body can make the snake look stern or even a bit spooky, which isn't the friendly character we're aiming for. Small heads also leave no room for the eyes, smile and tongue.

Keep the head at least as wide as the thickest part of the body, or even a touch wider. A big, rounded head with big eyes is the secret to a cute, smiling cartoon snake.

Troubleshooting

My snake looks like a worm

Worms and snakes share the same tube shape, so the difference is all in the details. Add the forked tongue, the belly stripe and the row of diamond spots, and make sure the head is a distinct oval that's a little wider than the neck. Those features instantly say "snake" instead of "worm."

The two body lines keep crossing each other

If your second line bumps into the first, slow down and draw it in short, gentle strokes instead of one fast swoop. You can also place a few light dots alongside the first line to mark the width, then connect the dots. That keeps the gap between the lines nice and even.

The diamonds look messy and uneven

Try drawing a very light center line along the back first, then place each diamond right on top of it. Start with the biggest diamond in the middle of the body and work outward, making each one a little smaller as you go toward the head and tail.

Key takeaways

FAQ

Is a snake easy to draw for kids? Yes — a cartoon snake is one of the easiest animals to draw because it's just an oval head and one long S-shaped tube, with no legs or ears to worry about. Most children aged five and up can finish this sheet in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

How do I draw a snake's body so it looks coiled? Draw one long, smooth S-shaped line first, then add a second line alongside it at an even distance so the two lines form a thick tube. Let the lines meet in a point at the tail, and add a belly stripe that switches sides at each bend to make the coil look rounded.

What colors do I need for a snake drawing? Bright green for the body, yellow for the diamond spots on the back, pale yellow for the belly stripe, and pink for the forked tongue. A darker green can add a little shading along the outer edge of each curve if you'd like extra depth.

How do I make my snake drawing look friendly and not scary? Give your snake a big rounded head, large round eyes with white highlight dots, and a wide curved smile. Bright, cheerful colors like green and yellow help too. Avoid drawing fangs or narrow slanted eyes, which make a snake look fierce instead of friendly.

And there's your snake! Whether your S-curve came out long and smooth or a little wiggly and wild, you just turned one simple line into a smiling character with a personality all its own. Try drawing another one curled into a spiral, or give your snake a tiny party hat, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

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