A blue-tongued skink, mouth open, tongue laid out wideIt flashes the tongue as a warning display. Leave the whole lizard plain and color only the tongue.
A chameleon with one eye forward, one eye backEach eye steers on its own, so one can look forward while the other looks back. Aim the two pupils apart.
A chameleon's foot clamped on a stem, close upIts toes sit in two opposed groups, like tongs, so the foot closes on a stem. The tail can grip too.
A flat-tail horned lizard on sand, from aboveColored like the desert floor, flattened, and fringed with white scales that hide its shadow.
A gecko licking its own eye cleanMost geckos have no eyelids, so the tongue wipes the eye. One round eye and a tongue curved up to it.
A house gecko stuck to a glass pane, belly sidePads of special scales under the toes hold it to glass. Splay the four feet and widen every toe.
A Jaragua dwarf gecko on a fingertipOne of the smallest lizards, 14 to 18 mm long. Draw the fingertip large and the gecko as a comma.
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Lizards, continued
A Komodo dragon walking, forked tongue outThe largest living lizard, about 3 m long. Monitor lizards flick a forked tongue to sense what is ahead.
A legless lizard beside a snake, to compareA legless lizard has eyelids and outer ear openings. A snake has neither. Give the lizard both.
A marine iguana grazing on a rock under waterIt dives as deep as 15 m to feed on algae and kelp. Claws on the rock, tail trailing in the current.
A Moorish gecko gone dark on a dark stonePut on a dark surface, a pale Moorish gecko darkens within an hour to match. Shade gecko and stone alike.
A tokay gecko calling from a wall at nightThe male's call sounds like its name: tokay, tokay. Most geckos are active at night.
An anole with its throat flap fanned outMale anoles spread a dewlap, a flap of skin under the throat, and bob the head. Draw it as a half circle.
Snakes 12
A Barbados threadsnake curled into a small knotSnakes range from this one, 10.4 cm long, up to the pythons. One fine line and a dot for the eye.
A cobra hooding, a fifth of its body raisedRib muscles spread the neck into a hood, and 13 to 22 percent of its length lifts off the ground.
A flying snake gliding from a branch tipChrysopelea of Southeast Asia spreads its ribs to flatten its body and waves from side to side in the air.
A garter snake sliding out of its old skinA snake sheds its outer skin in one piece, like a sock turned inside out. Draw the old skin pale.
A green anaconda in a river, tongue outThe heaviest snake, and its tongue works under water. Two thick loops above the surface, head low.
A king cobra looped around her nestOne of the few snakes that build a nest and stay close after the eggs hatch. A mound inside one loop.
A python coiled around her eggsMost pythons wrap around the clutch and stay until it hatches. Stack three coils, eggs in the gaps.
A rattlesnake's head with its heat pitPit vipers have a pit on each side that looks like an extra nostril and senses small changes in warmth.
A reticulated python laid out in a long SThe longest living snake, up to 6.95 m. Fill the width of the page with three slow bends.
A sidewinder crossing a sand dune, mid-loopIt throws a loop of its body forward, then pulls up to it. The head points the way it is going.
An African egg-eating snake swallowing an eggIts jaws stretch around an egg much wider than its head. Draw the egg as a bulge behind the jaw.
An Asian vine snake looking straight at youIt can focus both eyes on one point. Draw the head front on, narrow, with both eyes showing.
Turtles and tortoises 12
A box turtle, high dome seen from the sideBox turtles have a high, rounded shell. A tall half circle on a flat line, with the head just out.
A green sea turtle mid-stroke, flippers raisedIt turns its front flippers like a bird's wings and pushes on the upstroke and the downstroke.
A hatchling tortoise chipping out of its eggIt opens the shell with an egg tooth, a sharp point on the upper beak that it has only for a while.
A hawksbill's shell, scutes overlapping like roof tilesMost turtles' shell plates fit together like mosaic tiles. On the hawksbill each one laps over the next.
A leatherback in cold water off Nova ScotiaThe largest living turtle, over 2.7 m, with leathery skin where others have a hard shell.
A pond turtle's carapace mapped scute by scuteA shell usually has 38 plates on top: vertebrals down the middle, marginals around the rim.
A red-eared slider sunning on a logA freshwater turtle. Small pond turtles crawl out to warm up in the sun. Stretch the neck and legs.
A side-necked turtle tucking its head sidewaysThese turtles fold the neck to the side, in front of the shoulder. Others pull it straight back.
A softshell turtle buried in sand, snout outRubbery shell edges and a long, narrow skull. When startled it dives and buries itself.
A speckled tortoise, the smallest turtle, beside a pebbleChersobius signatus of South Africa, the smallest living turtle, no longer than 10 cm. Draw it life size.
An Aldabra giant tortoise resting in the shadeSome giant tortoises look for shade on hot days. One big dome under one tree, the head held low.
An alligator snapping turtle showing its lureA worm-like lure on the tongue draws fish into its mouth. Jaws wide open and one small squiggle.
Crocodiles and alligators 12
A Chinese alligator in winter, nostrils outIn cold weather an alligator stays under water with only its nostrils above the surface.
A dwarf caiman, small against a fallen logDwarf caimans and African dwarf crocodiles are the smallest crocodilians, 1 to 1.5 m long.
A freshwater crocodile at a gallopSome small species gallop: the hind legs launch the body forward and the front legs take the landing.
A gharial's long slender jaws, from aboveExtremely narrow, long jaws on a flat head. Keep the two edges of the snout close and nearly parallel.
A mother crocodile carrying hatchlingsShe helps dig the hatchlings out of the nest and carries them to the water in her mouth.
A Nile crocodile in the high walkOn land the legs go straight under the body, and the belly and most of the tail lift off the ground.
A Nile crocodile's eyes, ears and nostrils as bumpsEyes, ears and nostrils sit on top of the head, so the body stays under. Three bumps on a water line.
A saltwater crocodile's snout from aboveCrocodiles usually have a narrower V-shaped snout, and both rows of teeth show when the jaws are shut.
A spectacled caiman guarding a nurseryIn the Venezuelan Llanos, females leave their young together in one nursery and one female guards it.
An alligator's back, row on row of scutesThe scutes do not overlap and are densest over back and neck. Belly scales are flat squares.
An American alligator bellowingVery noisy: as many as seven throaty bellows of about two seconds each. Jaws a little open.
An American alligator's snout from aboveAlligators and caimans have a broad U-shaped snout. With the mouth shut, only the upper teeth show.
Tuatara and reptiles of the past 12
A mosasaur turning, tail fluke showingLike a long, streamlined monitor lizard with paddles for limbs and a broad tail ending in a fluke.
A plesiosaur swimming, long neck stretchedA broad flat body, a short tail and four long flippers. Many kinds had a very long neck, a small head.
A pterosaur overhead, wings stretched tightThe wing was a sheet of skin from a very long fourth finger down to the ankle. Some had a head crest.
A tuatara hatchling from above, third eye showingA third eye sits on top of the head. It shows only in hatchlings, as a see-through patch.
A tuatara in side view, crest along its backIts name means peaks on the back: a crest of soft triangular folds of skin, larger in males.
An ichthyosaur, dolphin shaped with a huge eyeIt looked like both a fish and a dolphin, with very large eyes. Some kinds had a fin on the back.
Archelon gliding, front flippers at full stretchThe largest turtle known, over 4 m long, with a leathery shell, strong front flippers and a hooked beak.
Hylonomus peering out of a fossil stumpLong called the oldest known reptile, now in doubt. About 20 cm, lizard-like, found in fossil stumps.
Mesosaurus swimming in a shallow lagoonAn early reptile that went back to the water: a slender body, a long narrow tail and webbed feet.
Najash, an early snake with two back legsA snake relative of 95 million years ago that burrowed on land and still had two hind legs.
Proganochelys with its spiked, clubbed tailAn early turtle with a full shell, a long spiked tail ending in a club, and a head it could not pull in.
Titanoboa half under water in a swampAn extinct giant boa about 12.8 m long, thought to have lived partly in water and eaten mostly fish.
Named reptiles to draw, 61 of them: lizards, snakes, turtles and tortoises, crocodiles and alligators, and the tuatara with reptiles of the past. The page opens on the 26 easy ones.
Read the full guide
One feature tells the kind
Each hint names the part that makes the animal that animal. An alligator's snout is a broad U and a crocodile's a narrower V. A chameleon's toes close like tongs. A hawksbill's shell plates overlap where most turtles' fit like tiles. Get that part right and the rest can stay loose.
Easy reptiles to draw for adults
Choose Any level under the button for all 61. Medium and Hard add movement: a sidewinder mid-loop, a flying snake in the air, a crocodile at a gallop. Kind, under More filters, keeps the list to one group. As reptile art ideas they fill a sketchbook spread, one group to a page.
Draw a snake's body as one ribbon of even width. The head and a few scale rows go on last.
Questions and answers
What is the easiest reptile to draw?
A snake in a long S, such as the reticulated python: one ribbon, a small head and a forked tongue. A box turtle is a tall half circle on a flat line. Easy holds 26.
Which reptile eyes are easy to draw?
A chameleon's: aim one pupil forward and one back, since each eye steers on its own. An Asian vine snake seen front on shows both eyes at once. A crocodile's eyes are bumps on top of a flat head.
How do you tell a crocodile from an alligator in a drawing?
By the snout and the teeth. Alligators and caimans have a broad U-shaped snout, and only the upper teeth show when the mouth is shut. Crocodiles usually have a narrower V, with both rows of teeth showing.
Is a tuatara a lizard?
No. It looks like one, but the tuatara of New Zealand is the only living member of a separate order of reptiles. Draw the crest of soft triangular folds along its back, which is larger in males.