How to Draw Kokopelli

Kokopelli is a popular and immediately-recognizable icon of the southwestern United States, and a symbol of ancient Native American spiritual tradition. He can, however, be a challenging figure to draw well freehand. There are endless variations on the appearance of Kokopelli, from the somewhat realistic to the heavily stylized, but the general form of the figure remains relatively similar throughout them all. Use these instructions to get yourself started with a basic, simple version of the Kokopelli figure.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil

Instructions

1. 

   Draw an oval tilted on a diagonal. This will be Kokopelli's head. The ends of the oval do not have to be identical; if you want, you can make the downward end (the "nose") more pointed and the upward end (the "crown") more flattened, giving the head a somewhat more triangular appearance.

2. 

   Draw two curved lines extending from the upper section of the head downward and connect them with a straight line at the bottom to form Kokopelli's body. The body may be the same width all along its length, or it may be uneven; often, Kokopelli is drawn with a "hunchback" and a thin waist. The straight line forming the lower end of the body should be drawn at an angle opposite to the angle at which the head is tilted.

3. 

   Extend the curved lines of the body beyond the straight line to form two legs. The legs should be bent so as to point roughly downward and should have simple "stick" feet at the ends. The feet should not both be at the same level horizontally. Connect the inside edges of the legs to the bottom line of Kokopelli's body.

4. 

   Draw two straight, parallel lines extending from the "nose" end of Kokopelli's head at an angle roughly the same as the angle at which the head is tilted. Connect these lines at the lower ends with another straight line. This forms Kokopelli's flute.

5. 

   Connect the underside of Kokopelli's flute with the underside of his body, close to the head, with two bent lines close and parallel to each other. Do this again, slightly further down the flute and the body. This forms Kokopelli's arms. The arms will not be the same lengths and the bends at the elbows do not need to be at the same angle.

6. 

   Draw three to five protrusions extending from the "crown" end of Kokopelli's head. These can take virtually whatever form you want; they can be short and spiky, long and wavy, wild or very neat. These protrusions can be considered either hair or a headdress.