Getting the saber teeth proportioned correctly against the rest of the skull is the main challenge in learning how to draw a Smilodon, and this guide through the Dinosaurs and Extinct Animals category works through that problem step by step. The result is a side-profile line art sketch showing the animal mid-stride, which keeps the anatomy clear without overcomplicating the composition.
What the Tutorial Covers and Where the Difficulty Lives
The walkthrough runs 10 steps in total and stays in black and white line art, so all the effort goes into getting the shapes and proportions right rather than color mixing. The stalking pose adds a bit of asymmetry through the raised front leg, and the open mouth with those signature teeth means the jaw structure needs careful attention before anything else locks into place.
Key Features of the Smilodon Design
- Large feline body in side profile
- Elongated saber teeth, mouth open
- Tongue visible inside open jaw
- Front leg raised in walking stride
- Short stubby tail at rear
If you enjoy drawing animals with strong silhouettes, the four-legged body structure here is similar in approach to Gompers the goat and Waddles the pig, both of which use a comparable side-profile build. Brian Griffin is another animal character that practices the upright-to-walking body transition if you want more variety in your animal sketching practice.
Reading the Color Coding in the Step Images
Each step image uses a three-color system to show exactly what is new versus what came before:
- Red Color: lines added in the current step.
- Black Color: lines completed earlier.
- Gray Color: base sketch for structure.
How to Draw a Smilodon: Step-by-Step Tutorial
Finished Your Smilodon? Show It Off
Once the line art is done, drop your finished drawing in the comments below. Seeing how different people handle the jaw and those long teeth is always worth looking at. New tutorials get posted to Facebook and Telegram as soon as they go live, a new YouTube video based on existing guides goes up every day, and Pinterest stays updated regularly too. If you want to keep this project going, supporting on Patreon gets you access to unique hand-drawn coloring pages. You might also enjoy working through Mabel Pines with Waddles or Rocket Raccoon as your next sketch.