How to Draw a Porcupine A Step-by-Step Manual
Some animals look cute, and others look intimidating in a way that warns you not to mess with them. While most animals will have only one of these traits, the porcupine has the unique distinction of having both. Cute with his little face and paws, but you won’t want to touch one, thanks to the mass of sharp spikes on his back.
These quills not only make it rougher but also make it vastly harder to learn how to draw a porcupine. Like any drawing challenge, it can be easier when you know what to do, and that’s what this tutorial is for. Our step-by-step guide on drawing a porcupine in just 6 steps will show you how fun and easy it can be!
Also read: house drawing for kids
How to draw a porcupine – let’s get initiated!
Step 1
Before we draw the mass of quills on the back, we’ll start with the head and front legs in this guide on how to draw a porcupine. Start by drawing a small, rounded shape with a dot inside for the eye. Then use some rounded lines for the muzzle and add some whisker lines on top.
Strait, we will draw an ear after the look and then the floor of the neck. Right after the channel, you can draw small front legs with small claws at the ends. Finally, draw some long, sharp lines on the top of the head. These will be the first quills of the porcupine, and we will continue adding more quills and elements in the next steps.
Step 2
As we mentioned in the earlier part of your porcupine drawing, the next few steps will see you adding more quills to the back to build it up gradually. To add the next section of spikes, we’ll draw many more wavy lines with pointed tips on top. As shown in the reference image, these spikes will get a bit longer as you go.
Once you’ve drawn this last section of quills, we’ll pull the belly of the porcupine. You can mark this furry belly with jagged lines behind the front legs. Next, remove the first of the stubby hind legs before preparing for step 3 of the guide.
Step 3
In this third step of our guide on how to draw a porcupine, you’ll see how you add even more quills to the body. Some of these will go in the back with the others you’ve been drawing, but the rest will carry on—the side. Let’s focus on the ones in the back to start with. To remove the next section, keep drawing more of those sharp lines you’ve been drawing so far.
The next step requires toleration, so you might enjoy grabbing a mug of tea! We’ll add spikes to the side of the body, and these will be drawn with a combination of the sharp lines you drew on top and some wavy lines. They should cover the body’s base as it appears in our reference image, and then we can continue.
Step 4
You’re getting used to drawing these feathers! In this fourth part of your porcupine drawing, we’ll add another section of prickly quills on top of the previous section you just drew. The next section will be one of the largest sections you’ve removed so far, and once you’re done, there will only be a small blank section at the top of the porcupine to fill in. We’ll cover that last spot throughout with the final details in the next step of the guide.
step 5
This fifth step of our guide on drawing a porcupine will see you add the final details and finishing touches before the last step. As we mentioned in the previous step, this will mostly involve filling in the blanks on top of the other pens.
Fill in this spot exactly as you have in the rest of the drawing, and your porcupine is ready for some color. Before you continue with that step, be sure also to add any additional details you want. I could draw a little more. Animals or even a background scenery for some ideas, so what do you come up with to finish it off?
step 6
Now you are glad to finish this porcupine drawing with some paints! We chose a realistic color scheme for our example image since we mostly used browns with white stripes on the feathers if you want to get a similar look.
You can try using some watercolor paints, as you will be able to paint over the drawn lines and still see them. You can take this approach, but many different ways to color this image! What colors and mediums do you think would finest suit this great porcupine?