How To Draw A Fish Tail

The fish is a scaly-skinned vertebrate that breathes using its gills. With its distinct features and colorful scales, drawing a fish is definitely a fun way to showcase your artistic skills.

Who knows? Learning how to draw a fish could lead to crafting more complex drawings in the future, such as a beautiful underwater scenery with lots of fishes swimming around!

We have created a step-by-step tutorial on how to draw a fish, summarized in 9 easy and simple steps.

Each step is accompanied with detailed illustrations that can be used as a visual guide as you follow the instructions. drawing fish in 9 easy steps

So whether you learn best through seeing visuals or through reading detailed instructions, we got you!

Whether you are a beginner or an expert in drawing, we're sure you can follow these steps effortlessly.

The best part about this tutorial is that you can add your own style and customize in every step.

Feel free to use your artistic skills and personalize the colors too! So, go ahead and grab a piece of paper along with your favorite drawing tool and start drawing!

Have fun and unleash your inner creativity!

What's in this Blog Post

How to Draw a Fish — Let's get started!
- Step 1
- Step 2 — Draw the Gill Cover of the Fish
- Step 3 — Next, Draw the Fish's Caudal Peduncle
- Step 4 — Afterwards, Draw the Pectoral Fin
- Step 5 — Complete All the Fins of the Fish
- Step 6 — Then, Draw the Mouth of the Fish
- Step 7 — Draw the Fish's Large Circular Eyes
- Step 8 — Now, Add Patterns All Over its Body
- Step 9 — Draw Bubbles Coming Out of its Mouth
- Your Fish Drawing is Complete!

How to Draw a Fish — Let's get started!

Step 1

Create an outline of the shape of the fish in the center of your paper.

In order to make sure that the fish will be drawn in the middle of your paper, create reference lines by drawing an intersecting horizontal and vertical line across your paper.

The point where the two lines meet marks the center and it's where you should draw the outline.

Step 2 — Draw the Gill Cover of the Fish

Draw a curved line within the outline to form the gills of the fish, creating a division between its head and its body.

Step 3 — Next, Draw the Fish's Caudal Peduncle

Draw another curved line on the tapered part of the body of the fish right before its tail.

Step 4 — Afterwards, Draw the Pectoral Fin

In this step, we will be working on the fin on both sides of the fish, which is called the pectoral fin. Since the fish is positioned sideways, as seen in the illustration, only one fin is visible.

Structure the shape of the fin by drawing two connected curved lines. Both end points of each of the curved lines should be connected to create the pectoral fin.

When drawn correctly, its shape should look like a sideways oval with pointed sides.

Step 5 — Complete All the Fins of the Fish

Now, we will be drawing the fins affixed at the top and at the bottom of the fish, which is called the dorsal fins and pelvic fin respectively.

Starting from the dorsal fins, draw an elongated curved shape directly connected at the top of the fish's body.

Then, draw an upside down triangular shape at the bottom to create the pelvic fin. See, it's as simple as that!

Step 6 — Then, Draw the Mouth of the Fish

On the corner of the face of your fish, draw a connected downward and upward diagonal line, forming an outline similar to the shape of a half rhombus.

Step 7 — Draw the Fish's Large Circular Eyes

Draw a circle on its face to create the eye. Then, inside the eye, draw another circle to outline the pupil. Now, draw a tiny circle inside the pupil to highlight the iris.

When shading the eyes, shade the entire pupil while leaving out the iris unshaded, creating a dramatic "sparkling eyes" effect.

Step 8 — Now, Add Patterns All Over its Body

Draw elongated triangular patterns across the body of your fish, as shown in the illustration.

The position of the shapes should be alternate, meaning you must draw the first triangle shape at the top edge of the fish's body, then draw the second at the bottom edge, and so on.

Feel free to customize the patterns imprinted on the fish. For instance, the angelfish has distinct diagonal lines across its body while common carps only have scales.

Determine which species of fish you want to draw first, and go from there. You can also create a unique pattern of your own, resulting in a one-of-a-kind fish!

Don't forget to draw parallel lines on the fins to add texture!

Step 9 — Draw Bubbles Coming Out of its Mouth

Draw multiple circle shapes above the head of the fish to create bubbles. This will create an illusion that the fish is breathing underwater, making it appear more realistic.

As you can see, the fish drawing is complete. All it's missing is a dash of colors to make the fish vibrant and colorful!

Now that we have successfully drawn a fish, it's finally time for the most exciting part, which is picking the colors and coloring your drawing!

This is the part where you can showcase your artistic skills and your ability to mix and match various colors.

Depending on the species, fishes come in a wide range of colors. So, you'll definitely have a lot of color options to choose from when coloring your fish. Have fun playing with colors and watch as the fish ultimately comes to life! fish drawing - 9 steps

Your Fish Drawing is Complete!

We hope you enjoy this step-by-step fish drawing tutorial. This guide is designed for beginners and experts alike who want to learn how to draw a fish along with its intricate features.

If you love the sea and the majestic creatures that live underwater, we're sure you'll have fun!

We are always updating our catalog of "how-to-draw" series, so make sure you keep re-visiting our website to continuously enjoy brand-new drawing tutorials.

What kind of sea creature would you like to draw next? Let us know and we'll do our best to deliver your requests.

Once you've successfully drawn a fish and colored it, don't forget to exhibit your work of art by sharing it on our Facebook page and on Pinterest.

Don't be afraid to show off your masterpiece! You've worked hard for it, so it is definitely worth sharing!

We are excited to see your colorful fish drawing! how to draw a fish in 9 easy steps