Medusa is one kind of snake/human hybrid.
One of the most rewarding aspects of being able to draw is the ability to create creatures that exist only in our imaginations. With TV series like "V" and movies like "Clash of the Titans" these fantasy type creatures offer us a feast for the eyes. If you’d like to draw your own mythical creatures - specifically snake/human hybrids - keep this in mind. Despite the fact that these are mythical creatures, they must still have a logic to their physical construction or they will not be visually believable.
Instructions
1. Study pictures of different hybrid creatures. Look at mythical beings like mermaids or Medusa. You want to see how the artists who drew these creatures fused the two types of bodies together. For example, where the mermaid’s hips would be were she a mortal woman is instead the body of a fish. This fusion is natural looking because the fish body is wide in the way that the woman’s hips would be. You want to consider this kind of physiological fit as you draw your snake people.
2. Gather reference photos of people, snakes and dragons. In mythology, dragons and snakes are interchangeable. This gives you more possibilities in terms of body types to be able to fuse together.
3. Make some drawings of both the human and the snake. Get comfortable drawing both types of bodies. This will give you further understanding into the particulars of the anatomy of each. This will help you as you begin to make concept sketches of your snake people; you will get some idea of what kinds of features make something what it is. For example, snakes have slit pupils, people don’t.
4. Create some concept drawings of your ideas for snake people. This is a common practice among artists and animators who must create make-believe beings. For example, draw a few drawings in which you draw snakes with human clothing and limbs. In other sketches draw humans attached to snake or dragon bodies like the mermaid. Look often at your reference photos for inspiration.
5. Begin your final drawings based on your sketches.
