How to Draw Toothless
Use the video and step-by-step drawing instructions below to learn how to draw Toothless from DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon. A new cartoon drawing tutorial is uploaded every week, so stay tooned!
Intro: Start off with a pencil sketch. In the beginning stages, don’t press down too hard. Use light, smooth strokes for sketching.
Step 1: Start by drawing a flat circle kind of like an oval near the top of the page. This will be the basic shape for Toothless' head. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s just a guide.
Step 2: Next, draw two intersecting lines, one vertical and one horizontal, inside Toothless' head. Curve the lines so that they contour to the shape of the head. The horizontal line should be close to the bottom. These will be construction lines that will help you place Toothless' facial features later on.
Step 3: Draw two small circles as guides for Toothless' eyes. Draw them sitting on top of the horizontal construction line and on either side of the vertical construction line. Don't draw the eyes too close together. They should be apart quite a bit.
Step 4: On top of Toothless' head, draw two arcs as guides for the ears. Make them tall but different sizes.
Step 5: Add two more arcs on either side of Toothless' head. These arcs should be small and be placed above the ends of the horizontal construction line. Draw two long curved lines under the head for the neck as well.
Step 6: That’s it for the initial sketch! You have the basic Toothless shape. Now go in and tighten your drawing. From this point on, press harder with your pencil in order to get darker lines and a more defined sketch.
Step 7: Use the small circles as guides to draw the outer shape of Toothless' eyes. Follow the basic path of the circles but make the shapes of the eyes narrower as you darken the lies. They should sort of come to a point at the bottom, closer to the vertical construction line.
Step 8: Add a few curved lines on the top and bottom of each eye for Toothless' upper and lower eyelids.
Step 9: Inside each eye, draw a big, rectangular shape for Toothless' pupils. The corners of the rectangles should be rounded. Add a tiny circle off to the side of each rectangle to represent glare. Shade in the pupils except for the tiny circles.
Step 10: Under the eyes, draw two lines that make up Toothless' mouth. The top line is longer and wavy. Follow the basic path of the horizontal construction line as you draw the top line under it. The bottom line is smaller and curved. Follow the bottom edge of the main circle as you draw it.
Step 11: Despite the name Toothless, he actually has teeth that appear on command! Draw the teeth as little hill-like shapes that line the top and bottom of the mouth. Add a few lines connecting the teeth to represent the inside of the mouth and gums.
Step 12: Under the horizontal construction line and on either side of the vertical construction line, draw to tiny slit-like lines for the nostrils. Add a couple more lines above the nostrils for extra detail on the face.
Step 13: Use the arcs on top of the head to draw Toothless' ears. Follow the basic path of the arcs as you darken the lines but make the ears narrower and curvier. The lines for the ears should stretch in toward the head a little bit.
Step 14: Add two more tiny arcs in between the ears for the horn-like scales on top of Toothless' head. The shape on the right should be a bit bigger.
Step 15: Use the arcs on the side of Toothless' head to draw the other horn-like protrusions. Below those two shapes, draw another set of even smaller arcs.
Step 16: Use the main circle as a guide to draw the rest of Toothless' head. Follow the basic edge of the circle as you darken the line but don't draw the top part. Instead, draw a broken line that connects the arcs at the top. Also draw a small row of scales using tiny arcs at the top of the head. Use the vertical line to help with placement.
Step 17: Darken the lines under Toothless' head but make them curve more to create the neck.
Step 18: That’s it! You now have a nice sketch of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. You can stop at this quick drawing for a rough, sketchy look or go for a more finished look by continuing to the step below.
Step 19: For a more finished, inked look, carefully draw over the final sketch lines with a pen or marker. Wait for the ink to dry, and then get rid of every pencil mark with an eraser. You now have a finished inked drawing of Toothless! You can stop here or go to the final step to complete your Toothless drawing.
Final Step: For a completely finished Toothless drawing, you have to color it. You can use markers, color pencils or even crayons! Toothless is pretty easy to color. He's basically black all over, but you can use a lighter shade of black around the head to give it more dimension. The eyes are light green, and the inside of the mouth is pink and brown. That’s it! You now have a completed drawing of Toothless from DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon.
