How to Draw a Cobra – Step by Step
You’re free to work from the images below to draw this exact drawing, but it should be pointed out that the process we’re taking here can be applied to drawing any snake. You may choose to use your own photo and give your own drawing a shot after going through this tutorial. Just don’t try to draw a cobra from life – unless it’s behind some sturdy glass.
We’ll start with a simple shape for the head and body. Then we’ll add a bit of texture to create the illusion of scales and the features of the face. Lastly, we’ll vary the line quality to further the illusion of form and complete the drawing. Let’s get started…
Step 1 – Draw a Shape for the Hood of the Cobra
We’ll begin by drawing the basic shape of the hood of the cobra. To make the head look like it is protruding, we’ll wrap a line around the front, but avoid connecting it the outline. The line at the bottom of the shape is not where the body of the snake ends. Instead, this shape represents the upper belly of the snake that touches the ground. The rest of the body will extend outward behind this shape.
Step 2 – Draw the Shape for the Rest of the Body
Since we’re drawing the snake to look as realistic as possible, we’ll need to make the body look natural. We could draw the snake laid out as one thick line. But this approach is rather boring. To make the cobra appear more life-like, we’ll draw the shape of the body so that it extends from bottom of the shape of the hood – where the upper belly touches the ground.
Some of this shape is visible from the right side of the hood. The rest of the body extends to the left and overlaps itself before tapering. It’s okay to make the outlines a little bumpy. In other words, your contour lines (outlines) don’t need to be perfectly smooth. This adds a bit of realism to the drawing.
Step 3 – Draw Lines for the Underbelly and Add the Eyes
Next, lines are drawn horizontally across the front of the body. These lines should follow over the cross contours of the body. This means that the lines will curve slightly as the body curves. If you make your lines flat and perfectly horizontal, then front side of the body will look flat. These lines may be closer together where the body protrudes or recedes to help create the illusion of form. Also notice how they don’t extend all the way to the edges of the hood.
We’ll also draw the eyes and a small line for the mouth in this step. Since the cobra is not looking directly at the viewer, we’ll see only one of the eyes completely. The second eye is still visible, but only partially. Take note of where the eyes are positioned on the head. The right eye is nearly in the center of the head.
Step 4 – Add the Scales and Dimension to the Body of the Cobra
At this point in the drawing, things become a bit more interesting. This is the stage where the cobra really comes to life. We’ll add a few marks to the body to create the illusion of scales. These marks do not need to be made everywhere. A few groupings here and there will do the trick. More marks are visible in areas where the value is darker (shadowed areas).
We’ll also add a few markings to the hood of the cobra. These markings can be random, but should be somewhat symmetrical. A few lines are also drawn on the face to indicate the location where the mouth meets the snout.
Step 5 – Finish the Drawing of a Cobra
The only thing left to do now is to go over the lines with a dark medium like ink or soft graphite. You can enhance the line quality (thickness or thinness) to make the drawing a bit more realistic and erase any stray lines once the ink has been allowed to dry.
Here are the steps to drawing a cobra in one image…
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