How to Draw a Porcupine

Learn how to draw a great looking Porcupine with easy, step-by-step drawing instructions, and video tutorial.

By following the simple steps, you too can easily draw a perfect Porcupine.

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Step-by-Step Instructions for Drawing a Porcupine

How to Draw a Great Looking Porcupine for Kids and Beginners - Step 1

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 01

1. Begin by drawing two overlapping curved lines. This will form the porcupine’s face.

Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 2

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 02

2. Draw an inverted triangle with rounded corners. This is the porcupine’s nose.

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Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 3

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 03

3. Draw the eyes, erasing as necessary. For each eye, use two curved lines to outline the double-pointed shape. Then, draw a circle or oval within each eye.

Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 4

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 04

4. Starting at the top of the head, draw a series of long and short curved lines that meet at sharp points. Extend another series of long and short lines beneath this, to meet the first series at a point. Notice that in the lower segment, the long lines aren’t quite as long as they are on the top. This outlines the quills on the porcupine’s back.

Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 5

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 05

5. Draw the porcupine’s ears, erasing as necessary. Outline each ear using a curved line. Detail the interior of the near ear with a “C” shaped line.

Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 6

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 06

6. Draw the porcupine’s paw. Outline the paw using a curved line. Then, distinguish the toes with short curved lines.

Easy Porcupine Drawing - Step 7

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 07

7. Draw the porcupine’s remaining foreleg. Outline the leg using a long curved line, and differentiate the toes with short curved lines.

Add More Details to Your Porcupine Picture - Step 8

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 08

8. Draw the rear leg. Outline it with a series of curved lines, noting the jagged tuft of fur at the knee. Differentiate the toes using short curved lines.

Complete the Outline of Your Porcupine Drawing - Step 9

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 09

9. Draw a tuft of quills around the porcupine’s tail. Use curved lines of various lengths, and allow them to meet at jagged points.

Color Your Porcupine Drawing

How to Draw a Porcupine Step 10

Color your cartoon porcupine. They are usually black or brown in color. Depending on the species, the quills may be banded with white, yellow, or orange stripes.

Then, fill your forest with friendly woodland creatures.

For more great Drawing Ideas tutorials, see the 100 Drawing Ideas Art Projects for Kids post.

Easy, step by step Porcupine drawing tutorial
How to Draw a Porcupine Pinterest Image

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Learn More About The Porcupine Drawing

"I loved that porcupine tie so much that I decided to start a collection. Two years after we settled in Arizona, the number of ties in my collection was still one. Where do you find a porcupine necktie in Mica, Arizona - or anywhere else, for that matter?"
- Leo Borlock, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The porcupine is one of the world's largest rodents. Also called a "quill pig," porcupines are known for their sharp, stiff, modified hairs which they use for protection.

Contrary to popular belief, porcupines cannot "throw" or "shoot" their quills. Rather, the porcupine may back up into its attacker, leaving the sharp quills behind.

Did you know? There are 25 different species of porcupine. The North American porcupine is the most well-known. It carries up to 30,000 quills. Some species in Europe and Africa have hollow quills that they rattle in warning.

Tropical porcupines may have prehensile tails. Hedgehogs and echidnas, other mammals with spines, are not porcupines and do not shed their quills as porcupines do.

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Native Americans used porcupine quills to make headdresses and to embellish other items. Some of these can be seen in museums today.

Women of the Lakota tribe harvested quills without harming the animal; they would throw a blanket over it, and collect the quills that remained stuck in the blanket.

Porcupines occasionally feature in artwork. As seen in the quote above, a necktie with a painted porcupine featured in the Disney film Stargirl. Porcupine characters have appeared in Sing!, Over the Hedge, and other animated films.

Would you like to draw a cartoon porcupine? This easy, step-by-step cartoon animal drawing tutorial is here to show you how. All you will need is a pencil, an eraser, and a sheet of paper.

If you liked this drawing tutorial, see also the following guides: Beaver drawing, Skunk drawing, and Sloth drawing.

Porcupine Drawing Tutorial - Easy & Fun Printable Pages

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