How to Draw A Fish –Easy Steps

Here is a tutorial for learning how to draw a fish with simple step by step instructions.

The good news is we made this easy enough for even a young artist to draw. Plus, you can use the same to make several different types. 

Whether you want to draw a cartoon fish, a cute fish, or even Little Nemo, just follow these instructions to create your favorite type of fish! 

So grab your favorite drawing paper and pencil and get ready.

Here are a few interesting facts for you!

There are over 1,000 species of fish swimming in the fresh waters of North America alone! Worldwide there are over 35,000.

Also, groups of fish travel together as a way to protect themselves. This is called a school. 

Have you learned any new things about fish today? Now that we’ve shared these fun facts let’s move on to the simple fish drawings.

Materials Needed To Learn How To Draw A Fish

• Piece of paper
• Pencil
• Pencil sharpener
• Eraser

A helpful tip when learning to draw is to keep an eraser nearby in case you need to start again.

Also, you can use a pink or white eraser, but I recommend using white. A pink eraser can leave red marks or streaks. Be sure to keep extra paper within reach too.

You may also be interested in our tutorials for how to draw a frog and a grasshopper.

Step by Step Tutorial For How to Draw A Fish

Step 1. Draw the Head of the Fish and Part of the Body Shape

The first step is to draw a big circle for the fish’s head. This is an easy step to creating the basic structure of a fish.

Fun Fact
Fish talk to each other. You read that right. They communicate with their own species using acoustic sounds. Pretty cool!

Step 2. Draw the Back End of the Body

Now, let’s draw the back of the fish’s body. This is done by creating a curved line from the bottom of the fish head and then connecting it to the head’s top in a soft triangular shape.

Next, simply erase the left side of the circle you drew in the previous step.

Step 3. Create the Tail of the Fish

For the next step, you want to create the fish tale. Start at the bottom of the fish and draw a half moon shape.

Be sure to remove pointed edges to create the tale fin.

Step 4. Draw the Fish’s Eye, Head, and Mouth

For the eye of the fish, draw a round circle in the top right corner of the head. Next, draw a small curved line to make the head of your fish.

The minute you add that curved line, the body of your fish comes together! Draw a pair of rounded small half circles for the fish lips.

Step 5. Draw the Pupil

For the pupil, simply draw a moon shape in the middle of the fish eye.

Step 6. Draw the Top Fin 

Now it’s time to draw fins. We will start with the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin helps to stabilize a fish and keep it from rolling.

Start at the front of the fish by drawing a curved lateral line ending in a point. Continue drawing a wavy line down to connect with the rest of the body.

Step 7. Make the Shape for the Pectoral Fin

Let’s continue by drawing the pectoral fin, a side fin. This helps the fish move forward, turn and stay upright.

This can be drawn as a rectangular shape along the belly of the fish. 

Step 8. Draw a Pelvic Fin

The pelvic fin is located along the bottom of the fish and is used to help control the direction of the fish.

This is done by drawing a pointed oval shape attached to the gill covers.

Step 9. Provide the Additional Details on the Fins

To add extra detail, draw parallel lines along the dorsal fin and a pair of thin lines across the fish tail.

For fun ocean-themed activity, check out the I Spy Ocean Animals printable.

Don’t forget to Pin it for later!