How to Draw Stuff Under the Sea

Colored pencils make a drawing come alive with vibrant shades of yellow and orange.

The ocean is full of active life, such as fish, sea turtles, sea stars and whales. At first glance, drawing an underwater animal seems difficult, but with a little practice, expect amazing results. If using a pencil to draw a circle, oval or straight lines sounds easy, then you can draw things under the sea. Whether the drawing is for a child's bedroom wall or on watercolor paper to paint later, the steps are the same.

Things You'll Need

• 2 pencils, 4B and 5B
• 1 set of colored pencils
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 pad of drawing paper, 8 inches by 11 inches
• 1 large pick eraser
• 1 flat surface

Instructions

1. 

   Draw this easy underwater sea star in a few easy steps.

   Place a piece of drawing paper on a flat surface and set out the pencils, sharpener and eraser. Use a 5B pencil to sketch the outline of a sea star. An easy way to do this is by creating a small circle in the center of the paper. Now draw five lines from the center like the spokes of a wheel. Outline the five straight lines to make fat finger-sized arms. With a little practice, the shape of the star will look just right. Add tiny circles in various sizes all over the skin of the sea star. Shade in the shadows with the side of the pencil to darken an area. Use the eraser tip to keep the tiny circles free from too much shadowing. A colored pencil in light brown or tan will finish the look.

2. 

   This colorful clown fish can be drawn with an oval, and triangle shape.

   Draw a clown fish on the same paper as the sea star. Use a sharpened 4B pencil and put an elongated oval on the paper to represent the body. Add a small triangle as the tail, then make a small circle for where the eye should go. The small fins on a clown fish are located in the deep orange color of the fish. Draw the markings on the clown fish first, so placing the fins will be easy. Fill in the darker shades of the fish with the side of the pencil or use an deep orange shade from the colored pencils. A black pencil will make the dark rim around each fin and the tail really stand out. Leave the white areas alone for contrast.

3. 

   A sea turtle in motion is easy to draw in sections.

   Draw a sea turtle to complete the underwater scene. Use the sharpened 4B pencil to make an oval for the body. To get the look of the shell on this turtle, drop the lower part of the oval to create a saddle shape. Make a small oval for the head and create a circle for the eye. The front fin is a long cylinder shape, and the back fin is a rectangle. Draw the designs on the shell, fins and head. This will bring the sea turtle alive. Aquamarine blue and medium green colored pencils will look stunning.

Tips & Warnings

• Blend circles, ovals and other shapes together once the entire sea animal is created. Use the eraser to take out lines that are unnecessary. Add sand on the bottom of the picture with tiny dots, then use a tan-colored pencil to fill in the area.

References

• Hello Kids: How to Draw a Sea Star
• Moores Art Gallery: Color Pencil Tips

Resources

• Amazon: The Encyclopedia of Colored Pencil Techniques