How to Draw Under-the-Ocean Fish

Draw fish.

Drawing under-the-ocean or aquatic sea life offers the opportunity to appreciate weird and wonderful fish. Therefore, it is a great way to teach children about the ocean environment and understand different types of animals. To make the pictures fun, draw cartoon interpretations of the fish, but refer to actual pictures of fish that are found under the sea to make them look authentic. This also will help you color the fish in the right colors, and proportion their bodies correctly.

Things You'll Need

• Picture of fish
• Paper
• Graphite pencil
• Colored pencils
• Eraser

Instructions

1. Pick a fish to draw. Choose an under-the-ocean fish, which is brightly colored and has a unique shape to add interest to the drawing. For example, an angel or banner fish.

2. Refer back and forth between your paper and the picture of the fish to ensure you get the shape and dimensions of the fish accurate. Since under-the-ocean fish are streamlined and flat, pay particular attention to its body shape.

3. Identify the main shape of the fish's body, and then sketch this. For example, an angel fish basically is a box shape with fins, while a banner fish is a large triangle with extended fins.

4. Mark the position of the fish's gills, eye and fins. Add these to the drawing. Fish have small eyes, which require little detail in the drawing, so just put a black dot to illustrate these.

5. Follow the guidelines created during step 3 and 4, to add curvature and shape to the body of the fish. Smooth out corners, and use soft lines to illustrate the fish since they are delicate creatures.

6. Add the pattern and texture of the fish's scales and skin to the image. For example, a butterfly fish simply is bright yellow but it has a black edge around the perimeter of its body. If you are drawing pink snapper, it is pinky-grey in color with clearly visible scales. You can illustrate these by drawing small 'C' shapes across its body.

7. Blend the tones of the fishes colors together. First, shade the lighter or paler areas of color, then layer the darker ones on top. The colors of an angelfish merge, so create a gradient of shading by building up layers of different colors.

8. Show that the fish is under the ocean by sketching a few bubble coming from its gills. Draw a series of four or five different-sized circles in line above the fish.

Tips & Warnings

• Use watercolor paints to color in the fish. One of their advantages is the ability to blend, and the watery texture adds an alternative dimension to the picture.

• Include background features in the drawing, such as coral or rocks, to put the fish in context.

References

• Artyfactory: Drawing a tropical fish
• How To Draw It: Angel Fish