In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Porcupine in 4 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 Porcupine.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Porcupine - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Let's start off by drawing the porcupine's body. Porcupines have thousands of sharp quills to protect them against predators. To draw these quills, take your pencil and go back and forth around the body, making the lines look jagged. Also draw the tail, which is longer and thicker than the quills on the body.
Step 2: Now draw the porcupine's head. When you get to the part of the head that touches the body, use the same kind of jagged lines as you did in Step 1.
Step 3: Next, draw the eye and the mustache. The eye is a big black circle, and the mustache looks like whiskers on a dog or a cat.
Step 4: For the last step, draw the legs. Because of the porcupine's quills, only the bottom part of the legs is visible. Activity: Adult porcupines grow to be between 23 and 35 inches long. Ask your students to draw porcupines on large construction paper. Once they’ve finished, have them measure the length of their porcupines. Ask them to classify their porcupines based on their length (example: a 4-inch porcupine would be a baby, also known as a porcupette; a 25-inch porcupine would be an adult).
Interesting Facts about Porcupines
Porcupines are rodents that are related to rats, beavers, and mice. They are famous for their prickly quills, and that is why they are also called quill pigs. Porcupines live in North, Central, and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Did you know?
- Porcupines have thousands of quills on their back. They use them as protection against predators. Porcupines can have as many as 30,000 quills.
- On average, adult porcupines grow to be about 23 to 35 inches long. They usually weigh between 11 and 30 pounds.
- Porcupines live to be about 6 years old.
- Porcupines are herbivores. They eat shrubs, trees, and tree bark, as well as other plants.
- Porcupines communicate with each other by screeching, grunting, and whining.
- Porcupines gnaw on bones to sharpen their teeth. This is similar to how dogs chew on bones to strengthen their teeth.
- Baby porcupines are called porcupettes. When they are born, their quills are soft and they harden after a few days.
Many people believe that porcupines can “shoot” their quills out of their body to attack other animals. This is a myth. Quills can get stuck in your skin if you touched a porcupine, and this causes a lot of pain!
How To Draw A Porcupine – Step-by-Step Tutorial