How to Draw a Snake (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)

To draw a snake, start with a round head and a small snout. Add a long S-shaped neck, then a coil and a curly tail. Finish with a happy face, a forked tongue and round spots.

Finished cartoon snake, green with yellow spots, a yellow striped belly, a red forked tongue and pink cheeks
The finished snake
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Green, yellow, red and pink crayons

Updated

Teaching this to a class?

Show one step at a time on the board and wait for the class before the next. The directed drawing for kids page explains how to run it.

How to draw a snake step by step

  1. A round head with a small rounded snout bump on the left

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a round head with a small round snout on the left.

  2. A long S-shaped neck curving down from the head and ending in a rounded end

    Step 2 of 6: Add a long S-shaped neck curving down from the head.

  3. The neck joined into a round coil at the bottom, with a pointed tail curving up on the right

    Step 3 of 6: Draw a round coil at the bottom and a pointed tail on the right. Erase the neck's round end.

  4. Two big eyes with shine dots, two small eyebrows, a smile and a forked tongue

    Step 4 of 6: Add two big eyes with eyebrows, a smile and a forked tongue.

  5. Round spots on the head, back, coil and tail, a belly stripe with lines down the front of the neck and a nostril dot

    Step 5 of 6: Draw spots on the head, back, coil and tail, a belly stripe with cross lines and a nostril dot.

  6. The snake colored green with yellow spots, a yellow belly, a red tongue and pink cheeks

    Step 6 of 6: Color the snake green, the spots and belly yellow and the tongue red. Add pink cheeks.

Tips for little artists

  • Tip: Press lightly with the pencil first. Trace the lines you like with the marker, then erase the rest.

  • Tip: Keep the body the same width as it curves. Only the tail gets thin at the end.

  • Tip: Draw the tongue as a thin ribbon that splits into two points at the end, like a letter V.

Make it yours

  • Striped snake

    Draw stripes across the body instead of spots, and color them red and yellow.

  • Snake in the grass

    Add tall green grass around the coil and a small rock beside it.

  • Long wiggly snake

    Skip the coil and draw the body as a long wavy line across the page.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • The body gets thin in the middle

    Draw the two body lines side by side, the same distance apart all the way down.

  • The tail looks round

    Let the two tail lines meet in a sharp point at the end.

  • The spots go off the body

    Stop each spot at the body line. A spot near the edge can look like half a circle.

Fun facts about the snake

  • Snakes have no legs, eyelids or ear flaps. These features set them apart from all other reptiles. (Source: San Diego Zoo)

  • Snakes grow their entire lives. As long as there is food available, they keep getting bigger, if only a little at a time. (Source: San Diego Zoo)

  • Snakes live on every continent except Antarctica. (Source: San Diego Zoo)

Questions grown-ups ask

How to make a snake easy?

Draw a round head and a long S-shaped neck. Add a coil, a tail, a face and spots. The 6 steps above follow that order.

How to draw a snake for kids?

Use a circle for the head and two curved lines for the body. Add a forked tongue and spots, then color it green and yellow.

How to draw a snake step by step?

Start with the head, then the neck, the coil and tail, the face, and the spots and belly lines. Color it last.

If your coil came out a little lumpy, that's fine. Your snake is just getting comfy. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A round head with a small rounded snout bump on the left
Draw a round head with a small round snout on the left.