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beginner art

How to Draw a Python: A Step-by-Step Guide

Draw a python by planning a flowing pose, building a rounded body around it, joining a simple head, and adding a deliberate pattern. Try a coiled version once the basic shape feels comfortable.

By ThatPainter Team 4 min read
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To draw a recognizable python, start with one flowing S-curve, build a connected rounded body around it, and taper the tail. Add the head where the body ends, then choose a pattern and place a few marks that follow the body’s curves. The steps below use a simple side-facing pose; the body-building advice comes from general snake-drawing tutorials, while a specific python’s pattern should come from a reference for that species.

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What you need

Start with drawing paper and a pencil. A black marker and crayons, colored pencils, or other coloring materials are optional if you want a finished outline or colored pattern. These supplies appear in the Art Projects for Kids coiled snake tutorial and the California Academy of Sciences snake activity; neither requires a particular brand or paper type.

How to draw a python step by step

1. Sketch the movement

Lightly draw a long S-curve to plan a relaxed, flowing pose. Think of it as the center of the body, not the finished outline. Make the curves broad enough to leave room for a thick body, and leave one end open for the head. A beginner snake-drawing video also uses an S or spiral as a starting guide: beginner snake drawing demonstration.

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2. Turn the guide into a connected body

Draw a second contour on each side of the guide to create one rounded body. Keep the gap between the contours fairly even through the broad parts, and let the body narrow gradually as it approaches the tail. At each bend, preserve a smooth, continuous outline rather than making the snake look like a stack of separate segments. General snake-drawing guidance on contour spacing and tapering is described in this snake drawing tutorial; these are drawing principles, not fixed proportions for every python.

3. Join the head to the body

At the open end of the S, shape a small wedge or rounded head that flows into the neck. Avoid leaving a gap between head and body. Add a small eye and, if the view makes it visible, a restrained nostril. Keeping facial details simple helps the body remain the focus.

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4. Refine the tail and silhouette

Bring the two body contours together smoothly at the tail. Check that the width changes gradually along the whole snake, especially where it turns. Erase the center guide where it shows through the finished shape, then adjust the outline until the pose reads as one continuous animal.

5. Choose a pattern before adding marks

Decide whether you want a made-up design or a particular kind of python. For a species-specific drawing, use a clear reference image of that species or individual rather than assuming all pythons share one pattern. The California Academy of Sciences’ snake activity invites learners to recreate a snake they have seen and offers a green tree python as a pattern challenge; it is a coloring activity, not a detailed guide to that python’s anatomy. The activity notes that snake patterns may be simple or complex and can help with camouflage or warning.

6. Add marks that follow the body

Place a small number of curved or diagonal pattern marks along the body, bending them around the form so they do not look like flat stripes pasted onto it. Keep marks secondary to the silhouette. If you are drawing from a reference, follow its visible shapes and spacing; if you are inventing a pattern, repeat a few forms consistently instead of filling every gap.

7. Finish selectively

Clarify the outline and remove leftover construction lines. Add only the pattern accents needed to make the design clear, then color if you like. The California Academy of Sciences describes snakes as covered in scales that protect their skin, but this simple drawing does not need individual scales: a few well-placed marks can suggest texture without crowding the body.

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Try a coiled pose

Once the flowing pose feels comfortable, you can draw a coiled python by replacing the long S with a broad spiral or oval guide. Build the body as two continuous contours around the coil, connect the neck and head at the front, and taper the tail as it leaves the coil. The Art Projects for Kids coiled snake lesson demonstrates a line-building approach with a center guide, body guides, curved connections, head, face, and tail before outlining and coloring. It is an example of a coiled snake drawing, not a python-specific anatomical reference.

Choose a style that suits your drawing

  • Cartoon: Use a simple rounded head, a clear S-shaped body, and a few bold pattern shapes.
  • Restrained sketch: Keep the head and eye understated, vary the body width gradually, and use lighter pattern marks based on a reference.
  • Color-focused: Finish the silhouette in graphite first, then add a deliberate pattern with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

These are drawing choices, not a ranking of which style is more accurate. For a specific species, the reference image—not a generic snake tutorial—should guide the pattern.

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