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how to draw a snake head

How to draw a snake head - a free snake head drawing guide
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Draw a realistic snake head using simple shapes, shading, and scale patterns. Practice sketching details and creating lifelike texture carefully.

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Photos of snake head drawings

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Drawing example 6

Step-by-step guide to draw a snake head

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Learn How to Draw a Snake Drawing Easy Step by Step for Kids and Toddlers

What you need
Blending stump or tissue, coloring materials (optional), eraser, paper, pencils (hb and 2b), sharpener

Step 1

Gather your materials and sit at a well-lit table.

Step 2

Lightly draw an elongated teardrop shape for the main outline of the snake head.

Step 3

Draw a vertical center guideline down the head and a horizontal line where the eye will sit.

Step 4

Sketch a curved jawline and a soft mouth line to show the snake’s lower face.

Step 5

Draw an almond-shaped eye on the horizontal guideline and add a round or slit pupil.

Step 6

Draw a small nostril near the tip of the snout using a tiny oval or short slit.

Step 7

Lightly sketch rows of curved scale shapes that follow the head’s contours from snout to back.

Step 8

Make the scales smaller near the snout and eye and slightly larger toward the middle of the head.

Step 9

Decide where the light is coming from and mark the bright side lightly with a pencil dot.

Step 10

Shade the head with your pencils to show form using lighter strokes on the lit side and darker strokes on the shadow side.

Step 11

Darken areas like under the jaw and around the eye for deeper shadows with the 2B pencil.

Step 12

Blend the shaded areas gently with a blending stump or tissue to smooth transitions.

Step 13

Lift tiny highlights from the lit areas by gently erasing small spots and then erase any remaining guidelines.

Step 14

Share your finished snake head drawing on DIY.org

Final steps

You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!

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Help!?

What can we use instead of a blending stump or a 2B pencil if we don't have them?

If you don't have a blending stump use a clean tissue, cotton swab, or fingertip to smooth shaded areas, and if you lack a 2B pencil use an HB for lighter shadows or a 4B for darker accents.

My shading looks blotchy or the eye seems off—what should I check?

If shading is blotchy work with lighter pencil strokes and blend gently with a tissue or blending stump, and if the almond-shaped eye is off-center redraw it on the horizontal guideline using the vertical center guideline to realign placement.

How can I adjust this activity for younger or older kids?

For younger children simplify step 2 by tracing or stamping an elongated teardrop and have them color a basic almond-shaped eye, while older kids should follow steps 6–12 adding more scale rows, finer scale sizes near the snout, and use multiple pencil grades for richer shading.

How can we make the snake head more interesting or shareable?

To enhance the drawing add colored-pencil patterns to the larger middle scales, use a hard eraser or white gel pen to lift and sharpen highlights as in step 12, and photograph the finished snake head to share on DIY.org.

Watch videos on how to draw a snake head

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How to Draw a Snake Drawing Easy Step by Step for Kids and Toddlers

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Facts about drawing reptiles

✏️ Professional artists often block in complex heads with simple shapes (ovals, circles, triangles) before adding details.

👁️ Many snakes don't have eyelids; they have a transparent 'spectacle' over the eye, so artists draw a glossy highlight instead of a lid.

🦎 Natural camouflage uses bands and blotches to break a snake's outline—copying irregular patterns makes drawings look more lifelike.

🎨 Shading that follows the curve of the head (curved hatching or smooth gradients) makes a flat sketch appear three-dimensional.

🐍 Snakes' scales overlap like roof tiles — repeating small curved shapes gives a believable scale pattern in drawings.

How do you draw a realistic snake head?

Start with simple shapes: draw an elongated oval for the head and a tapered triangle for the snout. Sketch a centerline and jawline to align features, then place almond-shaped eyes and small nostrils. Block in large scales around the eye and smaller ones on the snout. Shade with a consistent light source, use curved strokes that follow the form for texture, darken creases, add highlights, and erase guidelines.

What materials do I need to draw a realistic snake head?

You’ll need pencils (HB for sketching, 2B–4B for darker shading), a good eraser and a kneaded or fine-point eraser, a sharpener, blending stump or tissue, and medium-weight drawing paper. Optional items: a reference photo, colored pencils or watercolors for coloration, ruler for initial guidelines, and a magnifying glass to study scale patterns. Place a mat under your paper to protect surfaces.

What ages is this snake head drawing activity suitable for?

This activity suits children around 7 years and up. Ages 7–10 do well with guided steps and simpler scale patterns; 11–14 can tackle more realistic shading and texture. For younger kids (4–6), simplify by tracing basic head shapes and drawing large, stylized scales. Always supervise pencil sharpeners and small tools, and adapt complexity to each child’s fine-motor skills.

What are the benefits, safety tips, and variations for drawing a realistic snake head?

Drawing a realistic snake head improves observation, pattern recognition, fine motor control, and shading technique. For safety, supervise children with sharpeners and small tools and keep paper play calm to avoid paper cuts. Variations: create a cartoon-style snake, do a color study of iridescent scales, or make a textured collage of scales. Encourage working in layers to build believable texture and depth.
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