How to Draw Spike from My Little Pony

In this step-by-step lesson, we will show you how to draw Spike from My Little Pony, a small cartoon dragon.

Earlier, we showed you how to draw Twilight Sparkle from the same animated series, and here we will repeat similar stylistic choices.

Every cartoon, regardless of when and where it was produced, has its own unique style, and My Little Pony has a very distinctive one.

Seeing any of the characters, you can immediately tell that the character belongs to this series. So by following all the stylistic decisions here, we will draw Spike and focus on the specific animation style characteristic of this cartoon.

How to draw Spike step by step

Step 1: Sketch the dragon’s head circle

Start by outlining Spike’s head as a large circle using very light, soft lines. The head circle should be placed closer to the upper half of the page so there is enough room below for the rest of the body. To create a proper circle, you can use a compass or trace around any rounded object.

Step 2: Add the torso and facial guidelines

Sketch the guidelines for facial symmetry. First, draw a vertical line that will help you find the center of Spike’s face. Then draw two horizontal lines as in our example. They will help you place Spike’s eyes. Note that the lines should be slightly curved. Below the head, outline the torso using a drop-shaped form.

Step 3: Draw the eyes and nose of Spike

Using the guidelines from the previous step, draw Spike’s facial features. First, draw the cartoon eyes using two elongated ovals. Then, using a curved line, depict the cartoon nose. By the way, we sketched a similar nose in many our cartoon character drawing tutorials.

Step 4: Add the pupils, irises, and cheek

Now it’s time to begin adding smaller details to Spike’s face. Start with the eyes by sketching the pupils and irises inside the outlines. The contours of the irises should be oval, repeating the shape of the eyes themselves. The pupils inside the irises have a diamond-like shape, which gives Spike his distinctive appearance. Next, outline the protruding cheek in the lower right part of the head circle.

Step 5: Draw the ear of Spike

Now let’s try to give Spike’s outlines and details a clearer and more accurate look. First, carefully erase all the auxiliary lines, trying not to touch the important lines of the drawing. Then go over these important lines with smoother, cleaner contours. After that, draw the character’s shaped ear on the side of the head.

Step 6: Sketch the crest, tooth, and eyebrows

Using curved lines, draw the crest at the upper part of Spike’s head. Draw the sharp tooth and sketch two lines under the nose. Note that the mouth is the bottom line of the nose. Using curved lines, draw the eyebrows. Add the highlights in the eyes and move to the next stage.

Step 7: Draw the arms and legs of Spike

Now begin adding the cartoon limbs to your drawing of Spike. First, outline the simple arms positioned on his sides. Sketch the hands using two simple shapes. Then outline the legs as ovals that should widen slightly toward the bottom.

Step 8: Complete the legs and add the tail

Now give Spike’s legs a more finished and characteristic look. In My Little Pony, the legs are shaped like bell-like forms, so give the lower parts of the limbs a flat, angular appearance. Then draw the thick tail, which curves and tapers toward the tip. After that, sketch the small triangular point at the very end of the tail.

Step 9: Complete the cartoon dragon

Now completely erase all remaining auxiliary lines from your drawing of Spike. Then check the entire drawing and carefully outline and darken the lines to achieve a stronger cartoon effect. After that, draw horizontal lines on the belly to depict the dragon-like texture. Next, sketch spirals on the knees and indicate the separate fingers. Finish by drawing the crest on the tail.

We tried to stay as close as possible to the character’s distinctive appearance in all the details. For example, everything was drawn in a simplified style that follows the original stylistic choices from the cartoon.

According to this approach, all other characters from the series are drawn as well. For instance, in our Rainbow Dash drawing lesson, similar contours and shapes are used, forming a different character within the same style.

In our example, following the tradition of our website, we used a classic pencil style, but for simplification we did not add shadows or complex details.

You, however, can use the principles of light and shadow to make your drawing of Spike more dimensional.

Alternatively, you can add the character’s recognizable colors, which we did not include because our site maintains a pencil-based style without color.

If you would like to explore a wider range of animation and cartoon styles, be sure to visit our Cartoons category, where we have many cartoon characters from various popular universes.