The wonders of the ocean and the creatures who live there never cease to amaze. Here are step-by-step directions for drawing a dolphin, sea turtle, shark, and whale.
How to Draw a Dolphin
Step 1
Draw a small, curved line for the dolphin’s eye. The overall shape should be similar to an upside down U.
Step 2
Inside the eye, draw a small circle for the iris. Draw it close to the top, left side of the eye.
Step 3
In the middle of the iris, draw a large black dot for the pupil. At the top right of the pupil, draw a tiny oval to represent glare.
Step 4
On the bottom right, near the eye, draw a short, horizontal line for the beginning of the head. Extend the line so that it curves up and to the left to create the top part of the head.
Step 5
On the lower right, draw a curved line for the mouth. Curve the line up and end near the eye. Add a small line at the end.
Step 6
Beneath the mouth, draw a line that curves to the left for the bottom part of the body.
Step 7
To the left, draw a line similar to a curved V for the first flipper. Curve the left end of the line slightly.
Step 8
Draw another V-shaped line on the bottom right for the other flipper.
Step 9
At the top, extend the line for the head toward the left to create the top of the body.
Step 10
To the left of the left flipper, extend the line for the bottom part of the body. Imagine the two body lines meet behind the left flipper.
Step 11
Connect the top and bottom parts of the body by making a curved V for the left side of the tail.
Step 12
Make another curved V (curving opposite of step 11) for the right side of the tail.
Step 13
At the top middle of the body, draw a sideways V for the dorsal fin. Draw a small, sideways semi-circle above the eye for the blowhole.
Final Step
Color your dolphin! I left the black outline, and used grey for the body, white for the under belly, blue for the iris, and a darker grey for the blowhole.
How to Draw a Sea Turtle
Step 1
Draw two curved upside-down U’s for the eyes.
Step 2
Under each curved U, draw small ovals for the irises.
Step 3
In the middle of each iris, draw black solid ovals for the pupils. On the top left of each pupil, draw small open circles for glare.
Step 4
Inside each iris, on the lower right, draw another tiny open circle for more highlight. Below the eyes, near the middle, draw a small, curved line with a pointy tip for the mouth.
Step 5
Draw the lower half of the head by first making a small mark below the mouth. Now draw lines that curve from the sides of the eyes down to the mark at the bottom. The right side should be farther from the right than the left side so that the eyes are not exactly centered on the head.
Step 6
Draw the top of the head by first making a small mark high above the eyes. Extend the lines for the sides of the head up to meet the small mark to complete the shape of the head. The top of the head should be tall, so don’t draw it too close to the eyes. The top should be slightly more narrow than the bottom.
Step 7
Starting on the lower right of the head, draw a line that stretches to the right for the middle of the shell. Draw a line from the top right of the head to the previous line to complete the top of the shell. The top line should curve in more than the bottom line.
Step 8
Inside the shell, near the bottom, draw a curved line for the shell’s pattern. Draw a few lines along the bottom edge. Inside the main part of the shell, draw a big Y-shaped line to complete the pattern.
Step 9
Below the shell, on the left side, draw a curved sideways triangle for the first flipper.
Step 10
Draw a long, curved line from the bottom of the head to the right for the bottom of the shell.
Step 11
On the left side, draw another sideways, curved triangle slanting the opposite of the first for the second front flipper.
Step 12
On the lower, right side of the shell, draw a small, curved triangle for the hind flipper.
Step 13
Draw a few small to medium circular and oval shapes on the top part of the head to represent scales. Draw most of the scales at the top and fewer as you get closer to the eyes. Don’t draw them too close to the eyes. Draw more shapes inside the flippers for more scales. Draw a few small circles for bubbles on the left of the turtle.
Final Step
Color your sea turtle! I used a lighter green for the head and flippers, medium, grass green for the scales, dark green for the irises, light brown for the under belly, and a mixture of medium and dark brown for the shell. Color the bubbles light blue with a white curved line to represent glare.
How to Draw a Shark
Step 1
Draw a short, curvy diagonal line for the top part of the eye. Curve the tips of the line so that it looks like a furrowed brow. Draw a curved line underneath for the bottom part of the eye.
Step 2
Inside the eye, draw a small black dot for the pupil. Above the eye, draw a line that’s slightly parallel to the top of the eye to emphasize the brow.
Step 3
Starting slightly above the brown, draw the front part of the head by first drawing a sloping line to the right of the eye. Now angle the line down and back to the left side so that it looks like the right side of a rectangle. Now curve the line to the left side so that it forms the top part of the mouth. It should stretch farther left than the eye.
Step 4
Draw a long curved line underneath the line from step 3 for the bottom part of the mouth. Add a short line on the right to connect the top and bottom.
Step 5
Draw lines on the right and bottom that are parallel to the mouth for the bottom lip.
Step 6
Draw a couple of curved lines on the top left side of the mouth for a grin. Add a small semi-circle on top of the head, to the right of the eye, for the brow on the other side. Draw a small slit above the mouth, close to the tip of the nose for the nostril.
Step 7
Draw the top row of teeth using small upside-down triangles lining the top edge of the mouth. Leave enough room underneath for the bottom teeth.
Step 8
Draw the bottom row of teeth using triangles. This time they are right-side up.
Step 9
Draw the tongue as a couple of curved lines between the teeth. Don’t overlap the lines for the teeth.
Step 10
To the left of the mouth, draw three short, curved vertical lines for the gills.
Step 11
Below the gills, draw the pectoral fin using two long, curved lines.
Step 12
To the left of the eye, draw a long, curved horizontal line to continue the top of the head. Add a long, curved line that connects the lower lip to the pectoral fin for the lower part of the head.
Step 13
Add the dorsal fin by drawing an upside-down curved V at the top left of the body.
Step 14
To the left of the dorsal fin, draw a long sloping line for the second part of the body. Add another sloping line underneath that connects to the first sloping line and the pectoral fin. The end result should look like a sideways V.
Step 15
Add the top part of the tail by drawing an upside-down curved V at the top of the connection from step 14.
Step 16
Add the lower part of the shark’s tail the same way except the curved V is right-side up.
Step 17
Draw two small triangles on the top and bottom of the body for the other fins.
Final Step
Color your shark! I left the black outline and used dark grey for the body, light grey for the mouth area and under belly, dark red for inside the mouth, pink for the tongue, and blue for the iris. I left the sclera and teeth white.
How to Draw a Whale
Step 1
Draw two curved upside-down U’s next to each other for the eyes.
Under each curved line, draw ovals for the irises. In the middle of each iris, draw black, solid ovals for the pupils. At the top right of each pupil, draw a tiny, open circle to represent glare.
Step 2
Below the eyes, draw a small U-shaped line for the mouth.
Step 3
Add the whale’s head by drawing a circle around the eyes. Leave the left side of the circle open. Make sure the eyes are below the mid-point of the circle.
Step 4
To the left bottom of the head where you left the circle open, draw a curved U for the flipper.
Step 5
Add the body by extending the line of your open circle at the top toward the left. Curve the line down and then up a bit at the tip. Make the line at the bottom longer. The two lines should almost meet on the left.
Step 6
To the left of the tip of the body, draw a heart-shape for the tail to connect the two lines from step 5.
Step 7
Draw a small curved line at the top of the head for the blowhole. Draw three slanted vertical lines at the bottom for extra detail on the body.
Step 8
On the lower right side, draw a small semi-circle for the other flipper. Above the blowhole, draw three small circles for bubbles.
Final Step
Color your whale! I left the black outline and used medium, purplish blue for the body, light purplish blue for the under belly, bright blue for the irises, and light blue for the bubbles. I left the sclera and glare white.
