Uploaded:	May 1, 2008
Artist:	Dawn
Difficulty:	Intermediate
Steps:	5
Updated:	April 20, 2010
P.O.V:	Front
Favorited:	15 Times

How to Draw Anubis

In this next tutorial you will be learning and drawing an Egyptian God called Anubis. I wanted to draw this character because I think it is a cool looking image of Egyptian mythology. Let’s talk about this symbolic god for a sec shall we. First off the name Anubis is Greek for “jackal headed god”. In the ancient Egyptian language Anubis is spoken as Inpu, this is the name used by the Egyptian culture when they refer to the ancient god. Some say that he is the “God of Death” and there are others that say he is associated with mummification and the after life. Anubis is an extremely ancient deity and he is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in his most celebrated role as a guardian and protector of the dead. Anubis is also known as the embalmer who washes the internal organs of the dead and guards over their physical bodies as well as the places that house them where they lay. There where also Priests that wore masks of Anubis and they were responsible for the Opening of the Mouth ritual that reawakened a dead person's senses, this ceremony took place often with the mummified bodies. The appearance of this God looks almost exactly like the image you will be learning to draw today. Of course I had to put my twist on this ancient being by making his legs and body more muscular and also drawing his legs and feet that of a jackal. He has the body of a man and the head of a black jackal or just a black jackal. When ever I want to get creative with my depictions of characters or gods, I always have to add my own style to the image. Now before Osiris was known to be “the god of the dead” Anubis was the original holder of that name or label making him an incredibly old ancient God. Even though Anubis carries plenty of images of standing in one position at all times, he is also depicted in a jackal form sitting like an animal on the tops of tombs or on the sides of columns, this gives him the label of being the guardian of the dead. There are also some stories where Anubis is the son of Ra and Nephthys or Set and Nephthys. Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming and who embalmed the dead and he is known to hold a divine scepter carried by kings and gods alike. Anubis also carried the name of “Lord of the Hallowed Land”. Egyptians use to see jackals roam around graveyards but didn’t think much of it because they knew why they were there. In this tutorial you will be learning "how to draw Anubis", step by step. The instructions are easy to read and understand as with all my tutorials. You can even put your own twist on Anubis when you draw your own. I had a lot of fun with this piece and I am happy to share my hard work with all of you.