doodlea.day

Thursday, July 16

How to draw...

Start with two grounded coils and one rising S-curve, then build the rattle, alert expression, belly bands, and back diamonds before adding bright marker color. The overlap order makes this a useful challenge: you have to decide which body section sits in front and leave the hidden parts alone.

20 minChallenge
Start doodling
Handmade marker drawing of a coiled orange cartoon rattlesnake with a raised S-curved neck, four yellow rattle segments, teal diamond markings, pale yellow belly bands, one wide eye, one squinting eye, slit pupils, inward brows, a forked tongue, and thick black outlines
Finished doodle About 20 minutes

Felt-tip marker mode

Let's draw a cartoon rattlesnake

Treat this as one playful practice round: sketch the idea loosely, simplify the shapes, then commit with confident marker outlines and bright fills.

  1. 01
    Map the coils and rise stage for how to draw a rattlesnake

    Map the coils and rise

    Draw two light overlapping coil ellipses, then lift one tall S-curve from their center into a simple head-wedge guide.

    Doodle tip: Ghost the S-curve twice before touching down. Keep the two coil ellipses broad and low so the raised neck has room to feel tall.

  2. 02
    Build the snake silhouette stage for how to draw a rattlesnake

    Build the snake silhouette

    Wrap a thick neck around the S-curve, shape the broad rounded head, trace only the visible coil sections, and set a short tail at the back.

    Doodle tip: Choose the front coil once and break the lines behind it. Do not finish body sections that the front loop permanently hides.

  3. 03
    Stack the rattle stage for how to draw a rattlesnake

    Stack the rattle

    Attach four rounded rattle segments to the established tail and clarify the same front-over-back coil breaks.

    Doodle tip: Draw the largest rattle segment nearest the tail and taper the stack toward the tip. Compare each open gap before darkening the outlines.

  4. 04
    Aim the alert expression stage for how to draw a rattlesnake

    Aim the alert expression

    Add one wide oval eye, one narrow squint, inward brows, slit pupils, and a forked tongue with no smile, then place belly bands and large diamonds on the existing body.

    Doodle tip: Set the unequal eye shapes first, then aim both slit pupils forward. The mismatched eyes, angled brows, and tongue carry the attitude without a familiar U-smile.

  5. 05
    Ink and color the coils stage for how to draw a rattlesnake

    Ink and color the coils

    Trace the established contours in thick black marker, then fill the body orange, belly and rattle yellow, diamonds teal, and eye accents brown.

    Doodle tip: Let each color dry before reinforcing a nearby black edge. Pull marker strokes along the coils so the visible streaks turn with the body.

  6. 06
    Handmade marker drawing of a coiled orange cartoon rattlesnake with a raised S-curved neck, four yellow rattle segments, teal diamond markings, pale yellow belly bands, one wide eye, one squinting eye, slit pupils, inward brows, a forked tongue, and thick black outlines

    Rattle the finish

    Strengthen the existing outlines, coil overlaps, expression, rattle segments, patterns, and orange, yellow, teal, and brown fills.

    Doodle tip: Check that the forked tongue stays open, the front coil reads first, and exactly four rattle segments remain visible. Stop before adding sand, rocks, cactus, words, or a border.