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An easy step-by-step drawing guide for beginners
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Do you like the show SpongeBob SquarePants ? Are you a fan of Bikini Bottom's resident grouch? Then you’ll love learning to draw Squidward Tentacles! Follow along with our illustrations as we show how to draw Squidward 3 ways—standing with his hands on his hips, a close up of his face, and even a portrait of “Handsome Squidward.” Let’s get started!
Steps
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Draw a horizontal oval with a square beneath it to outline his head. First, draw a horizontal oval toward the top of your paper. Then, draw 2 vertical lines coming down from the underside of the oval and connect them at the bottom with a horizontal line to form a square shape. [1] X Research source- This will serve as the outline for Squidward's head, although it looks more like a mushroom at this point.
- Tip: Draw lightly in pencil so you can erase mistakes and outline marks later.
- Tip: Use these pictures as a reference, or print them out to trace over to help you get started.
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Outline his neck and abdomen with rectangles and a semicircle. First, add a thin, vertical rectangle under Squidward's face to outline his neck. Then, draw a larger rectangle to outline where his shirt will go. At the bottom of the larger rectangle, add a semicircle to complete his torso.Advertisement -
Create Squidward’s arms with squares, rectangles, and triangles. Choose one arm to sketch first, then copy your outline on the other side. First, outline Squidward’s shoulder by drawing a small square at the top corner of the large rectangle that tilts down slightly. Then, add a thin rectangle that continues outward to make his upper arm. Add a second thin rectangle that angles back in toward his body to form his lower arm.- Draw his hand by sketching a scalene triangle with the long side pressed against Squidward’s body.
- Then, sketch small, equilateral triangles coming off the outside bottom corner of the larger triangles to form his tentacle tips.
- Tip: In this drawing, Squidward’s arms are bent and his hands are resting squarely on his hips. Keep that position in mind while you outline his arms.
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Draw a large rectangle below the semicircle to outline his legs and feet. Start with a plain, vertical rectangle—the longer you make it, the longer his tentacles will be. Divide it into 3 sections with vertical lines (since the fourth leg is hidden behind him). To outline the feet, use scalene triangles with the longest side down on the ground, pointing inward toward his legs.- Tip: Draw bigger triangles for his front feet to make them appear larger, and smaller triangles for his back feet to make them seem smaller. This helps add perspective to your drawing.
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Use ovals to outline Squidward’s eyes and nose. Draw an oval for each eye toward the bottom of your very first large oval at the top of the drawing. Then, add a large oval or egg shape for the nose between them. Sketch two small ovals inside the eyes for pupils. -
Outline Squidward’s mouth, eyelids, and eyebrows with curvy lines. First, draw two elongated semicircles at the sides of the square to create his mouth shape. Then, draw a line across to form his mouth and lips. For his classic, unamused look, draw a horizontal line midway through his eyes to make the bottom of his eyelids. Then, draw a flat eyebrow line over his left eye and two arched eyebrow lines above his right eye.- Try adding some spots on top of Squidward’s head to add more detail that resembles the cartoon.
- Tip: Alter the eyes and eyebrows to make any expression you want. Feel free to be creative!
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Ink the drawing with a pen to complete your outline. First, go over your outline again in pencil to soften some of the hard corners and angles with slightly curvier lines (for example, add gentle curves and soft points to his feet so they look like tentacles instead of pointy triangles). When you’re satisfied, draw over your final outline with a thin drawing pen (preferably black or navy blue).- Lastly, gently erase all of your pencil outline marks. When you’re done, you’ll have an ink drawing of Squidward!
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Color in your drawing. Use light, greenish-gray for the majority of his body and a goldenrod or mustard color for his shirt. Finish up with his light yellow eyes and bluish suction cups, and there you go! Squidward Tentacles!- Tip:
If you’re illustrating on a computer and want your colors to exactly match the cartoon, use these hex codes: [2]
X
Research source
- #bbdfd1 (light gray-green) for Squidward’s body
- #90bfad (dark gray-green) for his eyelids
- #adaad7 (light purple) for the undersides of his hands and feet
- #fdf0bc (pale yellow) for his eyes
- #ad902c (yellow-brown) for his shirt
- Tip:
If you’re illustrating on a computer and want your colors to exactly match the cartoon, use these hex codes: [2]
X
Research source
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Outline Squidward’s head in the upper center of your paper. Using a sharp pencil, lightly draw a large oval shape for Squidward's head. Leave some room underneath the oval for his nose and mouth so they don’t get cut off by the bottom edge of your paper.- Tip: Draw lightly in pencil so you can erase mistakes and outline marks later.
- Tip: Use these pictures as a reference, or print them out to trace over to help you get started.
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Draw two vertical ovals for the eyes. Sketch two vertical ovals that dip slightly below the bottom edge of the head outline. To look more like the cartoon, draw the full right eye oval first, then sketch the left eye to appear slightly “behind” or covered by the right eye on one side. -
Sketch a long, droopy oval to make the nose. Draw another vertical oval between the eyes to create Squidward’s signature nose. [3] X Research source Have the top left curve of the nose “overlap” the left eye slightly to add some perspective (don’t worry if it looks bizarre at this stage—you’ll clean up the sketch marks later!). -
Draw a long, frowning curve “behind” the nose to outline the mouth. Position the frown so it hits a little above the middle of the nose. Add two short, vertical lines at each end of the frown to define the corners of his mouth. -
Outline the rest of Squidward’s mouth. Draw curved “C” shapes around the corners of the frown, then continue the curves above and below the frown line (following the arch of the frown all the way across). -
Pencil in Squidward’s pupils and forehead lines. Draw two vertical rectangles inside the eyeballs to form his pupils, then add three curved lines on his forehead to add definition. Make the middle forehead line the longest of the three lines. -
Ink the outline with a thin drawing pen and erase your outline marks. First, go over your outline again in pencil and add in any last details you want (for example, add some spots on top of Squidward’s head, or sketch in some droopy eyelids to make him look grumpy or unamused). Then, when you’re happy with your outline, trace over it in ink.- To finish up, erase any pencil mistakes or stray outline marks with a high-quality eraser . When you’re done, you’ll have a magnificent black-and-white sketch of Squidward!
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Add color to finish your masterpiece. Color Squidward’s skin a light greenish-gray or seafoam green (and use a slightly darker shade for his eyelids and forehead spots). Make his eyes pale yellow and his pupils a dark red like mahogany or midnight red.
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Outline the head, face, and neck. First, draw a large, slightly ovular circle above the center of your paper to form Handsome Squidward’s head. Then, add a square-ish shape underneath with slightly rounded corners to outline his pronounced jaw. End with a long, curved line underneath to define the bottom of the neckline.- Then, add in some guide lines to help you place his features. Draw a slightly curved vertical line through the head and jaw shapes (this will be the center of his face). Then, add horizontal cross lines on the head and jaw where you want the center of his eyes and lips to be.
- Tip: Draw lightly in pencil so you can erase mistakes and outline marks later.
- Tip: Use these pictures as a reference, or print them out to trace over to help you get started.
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Sketch the defined, chiseled outline of his face and bone structure. On the right side of the face, draw 2 curved bumps to define his brow bone and cheek bone. Continue the line downward through the jaw and add 2 more curved bumps on the chin to create his signature “butt chin.” On the left side, add a curve that mirrors the right cheek bone to form the left cheek bone. [4] X Research source- Tip: Don’t be afraid to exaggerate this outline. The overly defined face shape and bone structure are what make Handsome Squidward so memorable!
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Outline the rest of his head and neck. From the top of the right brow bone, trace over the curve of the head to reinforce it. When you’re almost to the left cheek bone, stop and draw a line that angles down and slightly out to form Handsome Squidward’s thick neck. Connect this line to the neckline you sketched earlier. -
Sketch Handsome Squidward’s nose, eyebrows, and forehead crinkles. Starting at your top crosshatch guide line, draw a long, bumped nose with flared nostrils that goes down to about the bottom of the head oval. [5] X Research source Then, add 2 short, curved lines above the crosshatch to outline his brows (these will also form the top of his eyes).- Finish with some curved, vertical lines between and above the brows to give him a furrowed, pretentious facial expression.
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Add his eyes, lips, chest hair, and detail lines to complete his face. Draw 2 ovals underneath his brows to form the eyes, then sketch a line across them for the eyelid and add pupils hanging down underneath. For the lips, use the bottom crosshatch as a centerline—make the bottom lip plump and the top lip overly defined and pouty. Draw a few curly cues above the neckline to illustrate his chest hair.- To add more dimension to Handsome Squidward’s eye expression, add some “crow’s feet” lines angling out from the corners of his eyes and a short, curved line underneath each eye.
- Then, define his forehead even more with a curved, backward “S” line above the left eye. Emphasize the nose with 2 vertical, angled lines coming down and away from the outside of the nostrils.
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Ink the outline and add color to finish your drawing. Go over your outline in pencil again to make sure you have all of your lines exactly the way you want them. Then, trace the final outline with a thin drawing pen and erase your pencil guide marks to reveal a flawless outline of Handsome Squidward!- Handsome Squidward uses similar colors as plain Squidward. Use a light greenish-gray for the skin (and a slightly darker shade for the eyelids), pale yellow for the eyes, a maroonish-red for the pupils, and pink for his lips.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I draw Mr. Krabs?Community Answer
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QuestionHow do I draw SpongeBob?Miss_NormalCommunity Answer
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QuestionHow do you make Squidward’s clarinet?The SquidinatorCommunity AnswerDraw a long black triangle shape with a bell shape on the back, and a white ring that divides the reed from the rest of the clarinet. Make sure that the triangle and the bell overlap, and another white ring marks the start of the hole. The inside of the hole is light blue. The number of keys varies from scene to scene, but it's usually around three to seven. The outline of the clarinet is usually blue.
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Tips
- It's easy to change Squidward's expression. Just change some of the semicircles on his mouth or add some lines to his eyes or forehead. Get creative!Thanks
- Don’t get discouraged if your drawing doesn’t turn out perfect on the first try. Part of the fun of drawing is experimenting with different ideas to hone your skills and develop your own unique style!Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://easydrawingart.com/how-to-draw-squidward/
- ↑ https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/30389
- ↑ https://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/stepbystepdrawinglessons/2009/08/step-by-step-lesson-how-to-draw-squidward-tentacles-from-spongebob-squarepants/
- ↑ https://dragoart.com/tut/how-to-draw-handsome-squidward-17400
- ↑ https://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/LETS%20DRAW%20AFTERSCHOOL.pdf
- http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/17400/1/1/how-to-draw-handsome-squidward.htm
- http://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/stepbystepdrawinglessons/2009/08/step-by-step-lesson-how-to-draw-squidward-tentacles-from-spongebob-squarepants/
- https://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/LETS%20DRAW%20AFTERSCHOOL.pdf
- https://easydrawingart.com/how-to-draw-squidward/
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