How To Draw A Sugar Skull - Design & Illustration

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Sugar skulls are traditional decorative skulls created for the celebration of Día de Muertos—the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. It's believed that on November 1 and 2 the souls of the deceased come down to reunite with their loved ones. To celebrate, families create special altars for remembrance of the lost members and decorate them with flowers, candles, food, and little ornamented skulls made of sugar or clay—one skull for each loved one.

Because of their distinctive look, sugar skulls have become an unofficial symbol of the holiday, and as such can be created in various mediums—sculpted, painted, drawn, and even used as a special make-up during the celebration.

Drawing a sugar skull is simple and relaxing. In this tutorial I will show you how to draw sugar skull art step by step, but you don't have to follow my instructions strictly—feel free to decorate it your own way! In a few minutes, you'll have a gorgeous sugar skull design.

How to Draw a Sugar Skull

Step 1

First you need some kind of a template for your Mexican skull drawing. It could be a photo of a real skull or a drawing. Feel free to use an illustration from my tutorial How to Draw a Skull.

If you're doing the sugar skull drawing digitally, just place it as a layer with low opacity. If you're drawing traditionally, trace the skull to a new sheet of paper with a pencil. Do it lightly, so that you can erase these lines later.

Step 2

Draw the basic outline of your candy skull drawing with ink or another dark tool. Day of the Dead skull designs tend to be heavily stylized, so feel free to modify the shape as a part of your style.

Step 3

Thick outlines are a good way to accentuate the shape of your Dia de Muertos skull drawing. Give the eye sockets a flower-like edge, and outline the nose.

Step 4

Decorate the borders of the eye sockets with dots to make them less empty. These are a staple of any sugar skull drawing.

Step 5

Flowers are also a very popular way to decorate a sugar skull design! Let's add some flowers then. Start with a round center.

Step 6

To draw the petals of the Day of the Dead skull design in a regular way, first draw the borders between them.

Step 7

Turn slightly towards the middle of the planned petal to sketch its shape. This way, you'll produce beautiful sugar skull art.

Step 8

"Close" the petals of the candy skull drawing by adding a ragged edge.

Step 9

Decorate the petals a little to give your Mexican skull drawing a more embellished look.

Step 10

Add some darkness to create an appealing contrast in the Dia de Muertos skull drawing.

Step 11

Now, outline the teeth on the sugar skull drawing. Again, no need to draw them realistically. You can draw them as a row of rectangles, or like a simple zip.

Step 12

There's a lot of empty space between the elements we already have. Let's fill it with ornaments to make a more intricate Day of the Dead skull design.

Step 13

Any space left? Let's add some new shapes to your sugar skull art. Be creative!

Step 14

Finally, erase/remove the guide lines of the candy skull drawing, and clean up the lines. Even a simple decoration will look intricate if you add some variety in the thickness of the lines. It will add visual interest to your Day of the Dead skull design.

draw sugar skull in ink

Good Job! You Learned How to Draw Sugar Skull Art

Now you know how to draw a sugar skull!

5 Premium Skull Illustrations From Envato Elements

Skull designs are cool and trendy, but if you don't know how to draw a skull or don't have the time/interest to learn, there are plenty of top-notch options from Envato Elements.

For a low monthly subscription, you get access to unlimited downloads of premium skull illustrations. Not only that, but you can also find high-quality logo templates, videos, stock photos, and more.

Check out a few of the best skull drawings:

1. Skull Astronaut Space Surfer (JPG, PNG)

Let's begin with this cute illustration of a skull in outer space. It's a fun spin that can give your projects a whimsical look and feel. The illustration is ready to use and comes in high resolution.

2. Skull Head Illustration (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG)

Now, we're going to go with a more realistic skull illustration. You can print it, put it on merchandising, use it for a logo, or try out any other cool idea you have. It's 1000x1000px and has well-organized layers. If you don't know how to draw a calavera, this is the best option for you.

3. Stylish Skulls (AI, EPS)

This colorful, beautiful design depicts skulls from animals and seemingly mythical creatures, adorned with flowers, candles, and other mysterious elements. It's an Illustrator file, so you can use the platform to edit it.

4. Mohawk Skull Illustration (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG, PSD, SVG)

For an edgier skull, you can't get better than this one. It's got fangs, a fire mohawk, crazy eyes, and sharp lines. It features editable colors, Photoshop and Illustrator files, and the ability to make everyone feel a little bit intimidated. You can use it if you're not sure how to draw a calavera on your own.

5. Halloween Skull and Ghost Clipart (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG, SVG)

Last but not least, download this adorable Halloween design with playful ghosts. Plus, it comes with some friendly ghosts too. With this asset, you'll get 18 clip art designs in high resolution at 2000x2000px.