How to Draw the Mexico Coat of Arms
- 1). The Mexico coat of arms is composed in a circular fashion, so begin by drawing a large circle on your paper using a compass and HB pencil, with the point of the compass in the center of the paper. Leave a margin of about an inch on either side. Adjust the compass to draw a slightly smaller circle and lightly draw it inside the first circle from the same center point. Repeat this until you have three or four concentric circles lightly drawn on the paper. Now lightly draw a vertical line through the center point of the paper, and a horizontal line through the center point of the paper. These will help guide you as you compose the elements of the Coat of Arms on the paper.
- 2). The outermost circle can be used as a guide to sketch in the first element in the Mexico coat of arms, the oak and laurel leaves that encircle the eagle. Refer to your reference image of the coat of arms and sketch the leaves in the lower half of your outermost circle. Note that the leaves are tied together at the center bottom with a ribbon in the colors of the Mexican flag, but do not use color yet as this is a line art sketch. It is okay to erase and redraw until satisfied with the results.
- 3). Repeat the last step for each element in the Mexico coat of arms, again referring to the circles in the background and to your reference art to organize the overall layout of the drawing. The remaining elements are the eagle, the snake, the cactus, and the pedestal in water.
Sketch the eagle in a combative stance, note that the eagle's body fills the center of the coat of arms, while the outside of it's wing follows a circular shape. The snake is held by the claw and beak of the eagle. The cactus bears some fruits, known in Mexico as tunas. The cactus, or nopal, grows on a pedestal immersed in the Aztec symbol for water. Erase and redraw until all the elements are pleasing to the eye. - 4). When the Mexican coat of arms has been successfully sketched in pencil, finish the drawing by covering the pencil lines in ink. A black marker or drawing pen is ideal. When the ink dries, erase any pencil lines left over.
- 5). The finished ink drawing can be scanned into a graphics program on a computer, or used to make black and white copies. It may also be colored in using crayons, colored pencils, water color or colored markers. If scanned into a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop, the drawing can be colored on the computer.