Fish Drawings for Beginners
You’re only limited by your imagination. Get started with some simple fish drawings, and then move on from there to see what other ideas you can come up with.
Let’s get started by looking at some basic art supplies we’ll be using today.
* Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
Art Supplies
How to Draw a Fish Easy
The first thing we need to do is draw the basic shape of our fish. You can draw an oval or a circle for your fish. As you get into more advanced drawings it’s really important to use basic shapes to rough out your drawing. You can learn more about this at How to Use Shapes to Draw.
If you want to change how your fish looks, then you can use squares, triangles, or rectangles for the body shape. Not be afraid to try new things and experiment.
Next, let’s draw the fish’s tail. To draw the tail, draw a line at the top that curves up. Then a line the curves the opposite direction and comes back down towards the body of your fish.
Do that a second time for the lower part of the tail.
Now we’re going to move onto drawing the head of your fish. Make a curved line toward the front of it’s body.
After that, draw a circle for the eye with a smaller circle inside that for the highlight. For more ideas on how to draw the eyes check out the drawing ideas at the bottom of this tutorial.
Next, draw a mouth for your fish. You can draw it like a smiley face. Or you could draw lips for your fish.
How to Draw Fish Fins
Now we’re going to draw the rest of the fins. Draw the top fin by making a half circle on top of your fish’s body.
For the bottom fins you’ll need to draw what looks like a sideways D shape.
And then repeat that shape right in front of your first fin, stopping when you get to your other lines.
This is called overlapping and we can use it to show depth in a drawing.
When you have all of your fins drawn in, go back and add some lines to show an extra level of detail. Draw three or four lines in each fin that follow the curve of your fins. Finish the tail this same way.
How to Draw Fish Scales
Now you get to draw the scales. This is the fun part of drawing a fish. And there are a lot of different ways to draw the scales. Drawing some scales will give your fish texture.
We are going to make several rows of curved lines for our fish scales. Start next to the line you drew for the head and draw a row of backwards C shaped lines.
For the second row, draw your scales between the first row that you drew.
Follow this same process for the rest of your scales until the body of your fish drawing is filled.
Using Colored Pencils
To finish up your drawing, add in some extra details like bubbles or seaweed.
When you’re all done with your drawing, add some color. Pick any color for your fish, and use two or three different shades of that color for your drawing.
In this example I used three shades of pink and colored the scales in a pattern using those three colors.
I used colored pencils, but you can use whatever medium you like using for your artwork. Or, you could try something completely new to you.
There are so many different ways to draw a fish. You can change the fins, the scales, and even the shape of your fish. Repetition and practice are the best ways to improve your art and drawing skills. It will also help you with your creativity and to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Drawing Ideas and Improving Your Artwork
Art and drawing are learned skills that anyone can work on. The more you practice, the better you will get. But don’t feel like you have to spend half of your day with a pencil in your hand. You can dramatically improve you skills by practicing a few minutes each day, if you’re consistent.
And don’t forget to keep it fun. Try new things and experiment with your ideas. To save time try using Artist Trading Cards for your artwork. They are a great time saver even if you don’t want to trade them to other artists.
Challenge yourself to do 7 drawings in 7 days and see what you come up with. It’s a great way to improve your skills and push your creativity.
Grab your FREE 7 Days to Better Art Guide
How to Draw a Fish Easy Step by Step Art Tutorial
That’s it for our lesson on how to draw a fish. We hope you enjoyed the art tutorial and we can’t wait to share our next tutorial with you.
Whether it’s drawing fish, or anything else, make sure you’re practicing and working on your skills as many days as you can. You don’t have to spend hours a day working on your art. You’ll improve if you’re drawing for only a few minutes a day.
If you need help or have any questions as in the comments and we’ll get back with you.
More Art Tutorials Like How to Draw a Fish
- Artist Trading Cards Guide
- How to Draw a Daisy
- Cake Drawings for Beginners
- How to Draw a Butterfly
- Graffiti Art Beginner’s Guide
