How to draw a fish in 5 easy steps
The easiest fish is an oval with a triangle: an oval for the body, a triangle for the tail, two small fins, a round eye and a smile. A child of three or four can draw it, and older children can add scales, stripes and spots.
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The five steps
- Body. Draw a big oval, like an egg lying on its side. Make it large: small drawings are hard to colour.
- Tail. Add a triangle to one end, with its point touching the oval.
- Fins. One fin on the back, one on the belly. Half circles or small triangles both work.
- Face. A round eye near the front, with a dot inside, and a short curved line for the mouth.
- Pattern. Stripes, spots, zigzags or scales made of small arcs. This is where every fish becomes different.
Make it your own
- A long thin oval turns the fish into an eel or a barracuda.
- A round body with spikes is a pufferfish.
- A triangle on top and a pointed nose make a shark.
- Long wavy fins make a betta.
Looking at real animals helps. Each of our 34 sea creature pages tells where the animal lives, how big it is and what colours it has.
Tips for drawing with small children
- Draw the outline with a thick marker, then let the child colour inside.
- Praise the choice of colours, not the accuracy. A green shark is a good shark.
- Keep it short: ten minutes of drawing is plenty for a four year old.
- Give the fish a name and ask what it likes to eat. A story keeps a child drawing longer than any instruction.
Then let it swim
A finished drawing can become a moving 3D fish in Live Aquarium: draw it on the blank sheet inside the app or, with Plus, photograph the paper drawing. See how a drawing becomes a 3D fish.
What is the easiest fish to draw?
An oval body with a triangle tail. Add an eye and one fin, and it already reads as a fish.
What should we draw with?
Thick markers or crayons. Bold outlines and bright colours are easier for small hands, and they are also recognised best if you later photograph the drawing.
