Skull drawings by real artists
There's no one right way to draw a skull. Here are 21 ways artists on Magma drew theirs, and how you can learn from them.
The realistic way
Study a real skull or a good reference and paint the bone in light and shadow: warm creams on the top of the cranium and the cheekbones, the darkest tones in the eye sockets, the nose hole and between the teeth.
Shadow shapes first
The skull render study (#75) has no outlines at all. It is built from a few flat shapes of grey, from near-white on the forehead to near-black in the sockets, and that is enough to make it look solid.
Front view in blocks of color
The skull study (#19) is painted straight on in short, blocky strokes of cream and brown. The two sockets, the nose hole and the row of teeth are the darkest parts.
A skull in a still life
In (#57) the skull sits next to three lit candles, so the picture is as much about the warm candlelight as about the bone. The artist's caption says the skull stands for misfortune and the candles for light and opportunity.
The decorated way
Start with a plain skull, then add to it: ivy, a rose, a halo. It's the same idea behind the flowers and patterns of sugar skulls for Día de Muertos.
Something growing through it
In the ivy skull (#148) a vine climbs up the side of the cranium and over an eye socket. The skull stays in calm grey-green shapes so the bright green leaves stand out.
Above and below the ground
The rose skull (#138) splits the picture with a line of earth: a red rose grows above it, and its roots reach down to a white skull buried below.
Very few pixels
The roses and skull (#109) is pixel art on a 32 by 32 canvas. A handful of tan and brown squares are enough for the cranium and two sockets, with the red rose beside it.
The animal skull way
Every animal has a different skull. Keep the big eye sockets and change the rest: a long beak for a bird, a short snout with fangs for a cat, a long narrow muzzle for a coyote.
Fangs and a short snout
The cat skull (#79) is drawn in flat cream and brown shapes: a round cranium, a big socket, a short snout and two long fangs at the front of the jaw. The artist's caption admits cat skulls turned out to be really hard.
A long, narrow muzzle
The coyote skull (#67) is long and low, with the teeth running almost the whole length of the muzzle. It is set on an old paper background with green ornaments.
The line and ink way
Line alone can carry a skull. A quick sketch, careful hatching or bold black outlines all work, because the shapes of the sockets, nose hole and teeth are so recognizable.
Hatching for shadow
The bird skull (#71) is drawn in blue ink, with fine hatched lines for the shading and the round eye socket filled in darkest.
Bold line and bands
In (#139) the laughing skull is clean black outline on white, and the neck bones below it are drawn as alternating black and white bands. Pink and blue rays around it do the rest.
The cartoon and cute way
Make the cranium big and round, the sockets large and the jaw small, then give it a thick outline and flat colors. A skull drawn this way looks friendly instead of spooky.
Simple shapes, friendly skeleton
The skeleton in (#118) has a big round skull with two black sockets and a tiny nose, and arms made of simple bones, one of them around its pumpkin-headed friend.
A skull as a helmet
In (#113) a bird skull becomes a helmet for a small round creature in a starry blue scarf. One big socket in the skull does the job of a face.
#95How to draw a skull: learn it with others
The fastest way to get better at skulls is to draw them next to other people. 1 of the 21 drawings on this page were made in Art Jams: shared canvases where everyone draws at the same time.
Artists on Magma run skull study jams, like "Skulls | Drawing/painting practice", which 24 artists joined. Join a skull jam, watch how others shade the sockets and teeth, or start your own and share the link.
Drawing skulls on Magma right now
No skull jam is live at the moment. Browse the open Art Jams, or start your own and share the link.
Prefer steps? A quick guide
The basic shapes behind a skull seen from the front. Once they're down, pick a way from above and make it yours.
- Big circle, narrower faceDraw a large circle for the cranium, then a shield-like shape under it that narrows towards the chin.
- Guide linesA vertical line down the middle and a horizontal line where the circle meets the face.
- Eye socketsTwo big, rounded squarish holes on the horizontal line, with a narrow gap between them.
- Nose and cheekbonesAn upside-down heart for the nose hole, and a step in the outline on each side under the sockets.
- Teeth and jawA curved row of upper teeth under the nose, then a U-shaped jaw with its own row of teeth.
- Shade itMake the sockets, nose hole and gaps between the teeth darkest. Add soft shadow at the temples and under the cheekbones.
Skulls on Magma
Counts from Magma's public Art Jams and posts, September 2026.
Draw your skull now
Open a free canvas in your browser. Nothing to install, and it works on Chromebooks too. Post it when you're done, and it could end up on this page.
Draw a skull nowQuestions
How do you draw a skull?
There's no single right way. Start with simple shapes (a large circle for the cranium, a narrower face below, two squarish eye sockets, an upside-down heart for the nose and a curved row of teeth), then pick a style: realistic, decorated, an animal skull, line art or cartoon. The easiest way to improve is to draw alongside others in a skull Art Jam and see how they do it.
How do I draw a sugar skull?
Draw a simple front-view skull first, then decorate it: flowers around the eye sockets, a flower or heart on the forehead, swirls and dots on the cheeks and stitched lines across the teeth, all in bright colors. Sugar skulls (calaveras) are part of Mexico's Día de Muertos.
How do I draw a realistic skull?
Work from a reference. Get the big shapes right first (cranium, face, jaw), then the sockets, nose hole and cheekbones, and shade the bone in warm creams and browns, darkest in the sockets. The render studies on this page show how far a few values of light and shadow can go.
Can my skull drawing be on this page?
Draw it on Magma and post it to your public feed. We pick drawings for this page from public posts, and every one is credited to its artist.
More drawing guides
Draw your skull now
Draw a skull now
