In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a North American Porcupine in 6 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the North American Porcupine.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a North American Porcupine - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: The first step to drawing the porcupine is to draw the head. It has a square head with a nose and a ear.
Step 2: Next, draw its face. The faces will have an oval for an eye and half-heart shaped nose with a line that meets the mouth.
Step 3: Then draw the body of the porcupine. Be careful on how you place the lines on the body because it will show the shape of the body.
Step 4: The next step is to draw its hind leg, which is a small foot on the bottom of the body.
Step 5: Then draw the front legs. One of the front legs is down on the ground while the other legs is up.
Step 6: The last step is to draw the tail and the porcupine has a small curved tail.
Interesting Facts about the North American Porcupine
The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a large rodent that can be found from Canada and Alaska into northern Mexico. They can be found in forests but also have adapted to living in more harsh conditions such as deserts.
Did you know?
- They are black and white, and their back is covered with quills are very rigid and hard, and stick into the skin of predators, harming and sometimes killing them.
- The North American porcupine is also called the Canadian porcupine or the common porcupine.
- The only larger rodent in North America is the beaver.
- The ancestors of the North American porcupine rafted across the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil over 30 million years ago, and eventually migrated to North America.
- The name porcupine comes from the French word porcespin which means “spiny pig.”
- Porcupines are very picky eaters, and only eat specific trees. However, they have a very good memory and can find their favorite trees even after hundreds of days.
- Their natural predators are wolverines, coyotes, wolves, bears and others.
Lesson plan note: Discuss the way the porcupine protects itself, and how the porcupine is able to have so many predators regardless of how protected it is.
How to Draw a North American Porcupine – Step-by-Step Tutorial