How to Draw Deep Sea Life
The deepest parts of the world's oceans are mysterious places that exist in complete darkness. Light shines through only the upper layer of the oceans, but the depths continue for thousands of feet below that threshold. Some of the most bizarre-looking creatures ever seen have been discovered in this complete darkness. They have adapted to these conditions using special sensory glands that detect vibrations and glowing lures that extend from their bodies to attract prey. Anglerfish, which grow up to 5 feet long, use such lures and can make for an intriguing drawing.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Set up your drawing station with a good reference image that shows the fine detail and contours of the fish. Draw an outline of the deep-sea fish, in this case an anglerfish. Draw a line beginning with the lure protruding from the nose area and work your way along the back of the fish. The lure resembles a matchstick with frayed cotton on the end instead of sulfur. Include the outline of the spikes near the top of its head and draw a smooth line to the end of the tail fin.
-
2
Go back to the lure and draw a line to indicate the sharp long teeth along the top and bottom of its mouth. Continue along the bottom side of the fish until you reach the end of the tail. Keep the same proportions you see in the image. The width of the tail fin is about half the width of the head. Draw a frayed jagged line to the top and bottom of the tail fin to complete the outline.
-
-
3
Use shading to give the fish volume. Graduate your shading by lightly increasing the dark area along the bottom and top, going to no shading at all in light areas near the center. Use your finger or a cloth to carefully blend in the shading. This will eliminate the lines and give the surface of the fish a three-dimensional quality. Draw the eye and the pectoral fin with a frayed edge. Use parallel lines to detail the bones in the tail fin. Draw the pectoral fin at the half-way point between the eye and the beginning of the tail fin.
-
4
Detail the eye to add life to the fish and draw other markings, such as spike-like protrusions and the tangled filament hanging from the underside. Continue to detail the teeth, which will be the most striking element of your drawing. Use crisp sharp lines to draw the teeth and continue to add details until you are satisfied with the results.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Reinhold Thiele/Valueline/Getty Images
