1. Design & Illustration
  2. Animal Anatomy


How to Draw Animals: Cows and Other Bovines
How to Draw Animals: Fish and Sharks
Final product image
What You'll Be Creating

Pigs are a big family of characteristic animals with short legs and special snouts. Domestic pigs, also called hogs, are a popular theme of many childish drawings, yet few adults can draw them properly.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to draw a domestic pig, a wild boar and a warthog. You'll learn about their basic anatomy and all the details of theirs. Even if you're not interested in pigs in particular, you can use these lessons to create some new kind of beast.

Draw the Domestic Pig


The most important thing about pigs' skeletal structure is that they're longer than they are tall. The head can't be raised higher than the shoulders, so the body has a characteristic, simple line.

pig skeleton
Skeleton of the domestic pig


Since pigs are quite fat, an accurate drawing of muscles isn't something we'll need. However, if you're feeling like drawing a muscular pig, here's a diagram for you:

pig muscles
Muscles of the domestic pig

Body Features

  1. The snout is long, with a flat tip;
  2. The ears are big, wide, with a tendency to drop to the front. They can easily cover the eyes, so it's a good method to avoid drawing them when you're feeling lazy;
  3. The body is big, rounded, with a wide barrow;
  4. The tail is short, with very slight and messy tuft of light hair. The tail can be curled;
  5. The neck doesn't stand out, it's very wide and merged with the body;
  6. The legs are short, thick, ended with cloven hooves.

The color of the skin depends on the breed. The classic farm pig has a pinkish skin covered with sparse blond hair.

pig body
Body features of the domestic pig


You can use the steps from below to draw a pig's head. It's important to see them as they really are, without trying to convert the snouts to more doggy manner. Don't focus on the details at this point, as we're only going to take care about them later on.

how to draw pig head side profile
Pig head - side
how to draw pig head front
Pig head - front

Draw the Wild Boar


The silhouette of a wild boar is very similar to the domestic pig (in fact, they're the same species!). To stress the difference, you can draw them with the head raised as high as possible, what creates a kind of shoulder hump, but what makes a real difference in the silhouette is a stiff mane along the back.

wild boar skeleton
Skeleton of the wild boar

Body Features

  1. The snout is a bit longer than on domestic pigs. There are two pairs of tusks protruding from it;
  2. The ears are fluffy;
  3. Whole body is covered with coarse, bristly fur. There's a row of hair along the back—making it high and thick will give your boar a powerful posture;
  4. The tail is short and tufted;
  5. The neck is still wide and not apparent;
  6. The legs are short and hairy.

The fur is dark, grayish brown.

wild boar body
Body features of the wild boar


Using pig's head structure can be risky here, since the wild boar has a longer snout and the fur changes the overall appearance.

how to draw wild boar head side profile
Wild boar head - side
how to draw wild boar front
Wild boar head - front

Draw the Warthog


Warthogs are the only pig of these we've discussed that can raise their heads so high. Because of their muscular body and lack of fur the legs seem longer, the head bigger, and the silhouette more slender.

warthog skeleton
Skeleton of the warthog

Body Features

  1. The snout is long and flattened, with two pairs of tusks;
  2. The ears are fluffy inside;
  3. The back is covered with a mane, usually in two colors: black with blond or red highlights;
  4. The body is skinny, with visible angles;
  5. The tail is medium long and tufted;
  6. The neck is apparent, but still very strong and wide;
  7. The legs seem long and thin.

The skin of the warthog is hard, wrinkled, covered with sparse dark hair all over the body and whitish, more thick hair on the lower part. The skin is brownish gray or black.

warthog body
Body features of the warthog


The head of a warthog is very specific. The most important here are highly placed eyes, but also characteristic "warts" that we'll talk over later.

how to draw warthog head side profile
Warthog head - side
how to draw warthog head front
Warthog head - front

Details of a Pig's Body


First, we need to notice that pigs' hooves, though cloven, aren't the same as cows' hooves. Instead of simple "dew claws", they have full fingers that can also be used to walk. For a clarification, there are two main toes (true hooves) and two inferior ones (dew claws).

cow hooves pig difference
The difference between cow hooves (1) and pig hooves (2,3)

To draw the hooves, follow the process below:

Step 1

Draw the "wrist" ball and find the spots on the ground where the hooves will be standing. Also, add the visible dew claws.

how to draw pig hooves 1
Start with the wrist and toes

Step 2

Stress the line between the hoof area and the rest of the foot.

how to draw pig hooves 2
Start the hoof area

Step 3

Add simple balls to define the characteristic roundness over the hooves.

how to draw pig hooves 3
Define the over-hoof roundness

Step 4

Use the guide lines to outline the shape.

how to draw pig hooves 4
Outline the shape

Step 5

Shade the feet and add some details.

how to draw pig hooves 5
Add details


The eyes of pigs are quite small, with apparent wrinkles around.

how to draw pig eyes
The process of drawing a pig's eye

The actual look of the eyes depends on the species. Warthogs tend to have more wrinkles because of their thick skin, and at wild boars the eyes can be partially hidden under the fur. The eyes of every species tend to be dark, brown, black or reddish, but blue eyes may also occur at domestic pigs.

pig wild boar warthog eyes difference
The eyes of domestic pig, wild boar and warthog


The ears are big and wide.

how to draw pig ears
The process of drawing pig's ear

Domestic pigs have the ears covered with sparse hair, while wild boars' ears are as fluffy as their whole body. Warthogs are a kind of compromise—their ears are fluffy inside and covered with sparse hair on the outside.

pig wild boar warthog ears difference
The difference between ears of domestic pig, wild boar and warthig


The snout of every pig is very sensitive, usually light in color and slightly wet.

how to draw pig snout
The process of drawing the snout of a pig

When observed from the side view, the "nose" part looks strongly defined. We can also observe it's not flat, but rather made of two pillows.

pig snout profile shape
Pig's snout isn't simple in shape


Domestic pigs' males may have tusks, but never as big as wild boars. The latter have two pairs of them, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower jaw. They're so big that they don't fit into the mouth and protrude outside, wrapping the upper lip. Again, don't make a dog out of a boar—odd curves are something normal for them.

wild boar skull side front tusks
The skull and tusks of the wild boar
Both male and female warthogs have large tusks, larger in the upper jaw and smaller in the lower one. They're not the only characteristic thing on a warthogs face—actually, we also need the "warts" that made their name. They're not bones, but rather are fat pads used to amortize the strokes during a battle. Females have them smaller or even absent. They occur in three places:
  • Under the eyes, at the end of zygomatic archs;
  • Before the tusks;
  • Along the lower jaw—this area is also covered with thick whitish hair, almost looking like sideburns.
warthog skull side front tusks
The skull and tusks of the warthog

We're Done Here!

That's all for today! I hope you enjoyed the lesson and learned a lot about these grunting animals. Make sure to check out my other animal-based tutorials!

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