Drawing snakes is weirdly hard. You’d think a long tube would be the easiest thing in the world to sketch, but honestly, most people struggle to make a cartoon drawing of snake look like an actual living creature rather than a limp piece of spaghetti or a link of bratwurst. It’s all about the flow. If the line doesn't have a specific rhythm, the whole character falls flat.
Snakes are basically just one long spine wrapped in muscle. When you're working in a cartoon style, you have to exaggerate that fluid motion while keeping the anatomy recognizable enough that people don't think you’re drawing a giant worm or a garden hose.
Why Your Snake Drawings Look "Off"
The biggest mistake is lack of weight. Even a cartoon snake has gravity. If it's coiled, the bottom coils should look slightly squashed by the weight of the top ones. Most beginners draw every part of the body with the exact same thickness from head to tail. Real snakes—and the best-looking cartoon ones—have a clear transition. The neck is usually a bit thinner than the midsection, and the tail tapers off into a fine point.
Think about Kaa from Disney’s The Jungle Book. That’s arguably the gold standard for a cartoon drawing of snake. If you look closely at the character design by Milt Kahl, Kaa isn't just a tube. He has a distinct head shape, a heavy "chest" area, and his coils overlap in a way that suggests three-dimensional volume. He feels heavy. When he moves, you see the weight shifting.
Another issue? The eyes. Snakes don't have eyelids. In a "realistic" cartoon, they have a fixed, glassy stare. But in a more expressive style, you can break the rules. Give them brows. Give them personality. A villainous snake might have hooded, triangular eyes, while a friendly one has huge, circular pupils that make them look less threatening.
Master the "S" Curve or Fail
Everything in snake illustration relies on the S-curve. It’s the foundational shape. If you try to draw a snake by just winging the outline, it’s going to look stiff.
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Start with a "gesture line." This is a single, sweeping line that represents the path of the spine. Don't worry about the thickness yet. Just draw a curvy line that looks like it's slithering. Once you have that flow, you build the body around it. This ensures that the movement feels connected.
- Draw the path of the body first.
- Add the head—usually an oval or a soft diamond.
- Flesh out the "tube" by following the gesture line.
- Add the belly scales (scutes) to show which way the body is turning.
The belly scales are a secret weapon. They are the "contour lines" of the snake world. By curving them, you can show the viewer exactly how the snake is twisting in space. If the scales are horizontal, the snake is facing you. If they curve upward, the snake is moving away. It’s a simple trick that adds massive depth.
The Personality of the Head
A cartoon drawing of snake lives or dies by the face. Since you don't have arms or legs to show emotion, the head has to do all the heavy lifting.
If you're going for a "scary" vibe, lean into the viper aesthetic. Vipers have heart-shaped or triangular heads because of their venom glands. Sharper angles generally read as "dangerous" to the human brain. You can also add those iconic heat-sensing pits near the nose for a bit of "scientific" flair that makes the drawing feel more authentic.
On the flip side, if you want a "goofy" snake, go for a rounded snout. Think of a ball python. They have these blunt, almost puppy-like faces. Keep the eyes large and centered. If you want them to look particularly dim-witted, put the eyes on the sides of the head and have them looking in slightly different directions. It works every time.
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Don't forget the tongue. The flicking tongue is the universal "I am a snake" signal. But here’s a tip: don't just have it sticking straight out. Give it a little wave. Make it look like it's actually tasting the air.
Dealing with Coils and Overlaps
This is where the brain usually breaks. When a snake coils up, you have multiple sections of the body crossing over each other. It’s easy to lose track of which part goes where.
Try this: draw the snake as if it’s transparent first. Use light "ghost" lines to trace the entire body, even the parts that are hidden behind other coils. Once the "skeleton" makes sense, go back and darken the lines that are actually visible. This prevents that awkward moment where the tail seemingly emerges from the wrong part of the body—a mistake that even professional storyboard artists make sometimes.
For a classic "coiled" look, like a snake sitting on a branch, think of a spring. The coils should be tighter near the top and wider at the base. This gives the character a sense of balance. If the top is too heavy, the drawing will feel like it’s about to tip over, which ruins the immersion for the viewer.
Color and Patterning Without Overwhelming the Eye
Patterns are fun, but they can be a trap. If you draw every single scale on a cartoon drawing of snake, it becomes a visual mess. It’s too much detail.
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Instead, "suggest" the scales. Maybe put a few diamond shapes or spots along the spine, but leave the rest of the body smooth. The human brain will fill in the gaps. This is a technique used heavily in modern animation (think The Bad Guys or Kung Fu Panda). They don't draw every scale; they use texture maps or selective detail to give the impression of scales while keeping the character's silhouette clean and readable.
If you’re using color, use a lighter shade for the underbelly. This is a real biological trait called countershading, and it helps the viewer distinguish between the top and bottom of the animal instantly. It’s also a great way to show off the twist of the body.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Sketch
Stop overthinking the "perfect" circle. Most people get paralyzed trying to make the curves perfectly symmetrical. Snakes aren't symmetrical when they move. They’re organic and messy.
- Practice "The Ribbon Method": Instead of drawing a tube, imagine you are drawing a long, flat ribbon. Twist it, fold it, and drape it over objects. Once the ribbon looks right, just add "thickness" to it. This is the fastest way to master perspective.
- Limit your palette: Use three main colors—a base color, a darker shade for the pattern, and a pale color for the belly. Keeping it simple makes the character pop.
- Use Reference: Even for cartoons, look at photos of real snakes. Look at how a Green Tree Python hangs off a limb or how a Sidewinder moves across sand. Use those real-world physics to inform your "fake" drawing.
- Exaggerate the "S": When in doubt, make the curves deeper. Subtle curves often look like mistakes in cartooning. If it’s going to curve, let it curve.
Focus on the silhouette. If you filled your snake drawing in with solid black ink, would you still be able to tell what it’s doing? If the answer is yes, you’ve nailed the pose. If it just looks like a black blob, you need to work on your "negative space"—the gaps between the coils that define the shape.
The best way to get better is repetition. Fill a whole page with just gesture lines. Don't even finish the snakes. Just draw twenty "S" shapes and "C" shapes. By the time you get to the twenty-first one, your hand will move more naturally, and the "stiffness" that plagues most beginner drawings will start to disappear.