Free original lessons
How to Draw a Snake Worksheet: Coil and Head Construction
Learn to draw a snake using a simple coil path and a constructed head. Includes steps, common mistakes, a worked example, and four practice tasks with checks.
Free lesson
Four exercises
Worked answers
Object Drawing Lessons
This instructional copy explains a reliable method for drawing a snake with a coiled body and a constructed head. The approach separates the body into a smooth spiral path and the head into a few simple shapes, so you can check proportions before adding detail. The convention used here is a side-on coil: the body crosses itself in a loose spiral, and the head sits at the outer end. Letter styles and line weights vary, so treat the numerical examples as hypothetical starting points and adjust to your own paper and tools. All resources described are planned and free; none are built yet.
Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.
Set up the coil path
Begin by drawing a light spiral that starts at the center and widens outward. Think of the coil as a single continuous path, not a stack of separate rings. Keep the spacing between turns roughly even so the body reads as one tube.
A useful convention is to mark the center point, then draw three or four turns outward. The outer end of the spiral becomes the neck, and the head will attach there. Use a light pencil so the path can be adjusted.
- Mark a center point on the page.
- Draw a small first turn around the center, keeping the curve smooth.
- Add two or three wider turns outward, keeping gaps between turns similar.
- Stop the outer turn where the neck will begin and leave space for the head.
Build the head from simple shapes
Construct the head at the outer end of the coil. Use a rounded wedge for the skull and a shorter wedge for the snout. The jaw line can be a gentle curve that meets the neck. Keep the head small relative to the coil so the snake does not look top-heavy.
Place the eye as a small oval on the upper side of the skull, and add a nostril near the snout tip. These are construction marks, not final detail. Check that the head points away from the coil so the neck does not fold back on itself.
- Draw a rounded wedge for the skull at the neck end.
- Add a shorter wedge for the snout, aligned with the skull.
- Draw a gentle jaw curve from the snout back to the neck.
- Mark the eye as a small oval and the nostril near the snout tip.
Connect body and head smoothly
The neck should flow from the outer coil into the back of the skull without a sharp corner. Widen the body slightly near the neck, then taper toward the tail at the center of the coil. This taper helps the coil read as a body rather than a rope.
Check the connection by tracing the outer edge of the coil into the top of the head and the inner edge into the jaw. If either line kinks, adjust the neck curve before adding any final line.
- Trace the outer coil edge into the back of the skull.
- Trace the inner coil edge into the jaw line.
- Widen the neck slightly and taper the tail at the center.
- Smooth any kinks where the neck meets the head.
Refine and check the drawing
Once the construction holds, darken the final outline and erase the light guide marks. Keep the coil turns separated so the body does not merge into a blob. Add a simple tongue and a few belly lines only if they help the head read clearly.
Use a check method: measure the widest gap between coil turns and compare it with the head length. In this convention, the head length should be roughly one to one and a half times the widest gap. These numbers are hypothetical examples; measure your own drawing and adjust.
- Darken the final outline over the construction marks.
- Erase the light guide lines.
- Check that coil turns remain separated.
- Compare head length with the widest coil gap and adjust if needed.
Worked example
A student draws a coil with a widest gap of 2 cm and a head length of 3 cm. The head points away from the coil, but the neck has a sharp corner. Identify the main issue and give a correction.
Worked answer
The main issue is the sharp corner at the neck. The head length is within the suggested range (1 to 1.5 times the 2 cm gap), so the head size is acceptable. Redraw the neck so the outer coil edge flows smoothly into the back of the skull and the inner edge flows into the jaw.
Four practice exercises
Exercise 1
Draw a coil with three turns and a widest gap of 1.5 cm. Attach a head whose length is 2 cm. Check the neck connection and state whether the head size is within the suggested range.
Show answer and check
The head is within range because 2 cm is between 1.5 cm and 2.25 cm (1 to 1.5 times the 1.5 cm gap). The neck should flow smoothly into the skull and jaw.
Why: Multiply the widest gap by 1 and by 1.5 to get the suggested head-length range. Compare the drawn head length to that range.
Check: Measure the widest gap and the head length with a ruler. Confirm the neck has no sharp corner by tracing the outer and inner coil edges into the head.
Exercise 2
A drawing has four coil turns, but the second and third turns touch. The head length is 1 cm and the widest gap is 2 cm. Identify two problems and give one fix for each.
Show answer and check
Problem one: coil turns touch, so the body reads as a solid mass. Fix: redraw the turns with a visible gap. Problem two: the head is too short for the 2 cm gap (suggested range 2 to 3 cm). Fix: lengthen the head to about 2 to 3 cm.
Why: Touching turns break the tube reading. The head-length range comes from multiplying the 2 cm gap by 1 and 1.5.
Check: Check that a gap is visible between every pair of turns. Measure head length and compare with 2 cm and 3 cm.
Exercise 3
Draw a snake whose head points toward the center of the coil. Then redraw it so the head points away from the coil. Describe the difference in the neck line.
Show answer and check
When the head points inward, the neck folds back and creates a tight corner. When the head points outward, the neck extends from the outer turn and the outer coil edge flows into the back of the skull.
Why: The neck should continue the direction of the outer coil turn. Pointing the head inward reverses that direction and forces a fold.
Check: Trace the outer coil edge with a finger. Confirm it reaches the back of the skull without reversing direction.
Exercise 4
Using a widest coil gap of 2.5 cm, choose a head length that is within the suggested range. State the length you chose and show the arithmetic. Then list one check you would perform on the finished drawing.
Show answer and check
A valid choice is 3 cm, because 2.5 times 1 equals 2.5 cm and 2.5 times 1.5 equals 3.75 cm; 3 cm lies between them. One check is to confirm the coil turns remain separated and the neck has no sharp corner.
Why: The suggested range is calculated by multiplying the widest gap by 1 and by 1.5. Any length between those values is acceptable under this convention.
Check: Measure the widest gap and the head length. Verify the chosen length falls between the two calculated values, and inspect the neck connection.
Common mistakes
- Drawing the coil as separate stacked rings instead of one continuous path. Trace the spiral from center to outer end without lifting the pencil, then adjust spacing between turns.
- Making the head too large for the coil. Compare head length with the widest gap between coil turns; shorten the head if it dominates the drawing.
- Creating a sharp corner where the neck meets the skull. Redraw the neck curve so the outer coil edge flows into the back of the skull and the inner edge flows into the jaw.
- Letting coil turns touch or overlap into a solid mass. Keep a visible gap between turns and taper the tail at the center so the body reads as a tube.
Self-check rubric
- Coil is drawn as one continuous spiral path from center to outer end.
- Spacing between coil turns is roughly even and turns remain separated.
- Head is constructed from a skull wedge, snout wedge, and jaw curve.
- Eye and nostril are placed on the head as construction marks.
- Neck connects smoothly to the head without a sharp corner.
- Head length is roughly one to one and a half times the widest coil gap, or an explained valid alternative.
- Final outline is clear and guide marks are removed or lightened.
Questions and answers
Do I need to draw scales or realistic anatomy?
No. This method focuses on coil and head construction only. Scale pattern and anatomy are outside the boundary of this task.
How many coil turns should I draw?
Three or four turns is a practical starting point. Fewer turns may look like a loop; more turns can crowd the page. Adjust to your paper size.
What if my head points back into the coil?
Rotate the head so it points away from the outer turn. The neck should not fold back on itself.
Can I use a different line weight or letter style?
Yes. The convention defines the coil path and head shapes, not a single universal style. Valid alternatives are allowed if the construction checks pass.