Let’s add a drawing of a fish to our collection. In this sketchbook challenge, we’ll take a look at how to draw a fish.  Here again, we’ll take a step by step approach to the drawing using basic and easy to draw shapes. Once we have the basic shapes in place, it’s just matter of adding a few details to finish the drawing.

Step 1 – Draw Basic Shapes for the Body of the Fish

Begin by drawing three shapes.  We’ll draw an oval for the center portion of the fish body.  Another oval is drawn for the head.  Another shape is drawn for the tail. The ovals should overlap each other a bit, but the shape drawn for the rear of the fish simply connects to the larger oval.

 

Step 2 – Draw Some Fins

Next, we’ll draw the dorsal fin and the tail fin.  The dorsal fin extends up at a diagonal before descending. At the bottom of the dorsal fin, there’s a slight curve that goes back into the body. The tail fin is somewhat like a “heart” shape without the pointed bottom.

We’ll also need to make the connection from the main part of the body to the head a little smoother with a couple of lines.  Now we’re getting closer to the actual shape of the fish. Draw a fin towards the middle of the body of the fish.  You can use the oval that you drew for the head in the first step to position the middle fin.

 

Step 3 – Draw a Few Details on the Fish

In this step, we’ll draw a couple of circles for the eyes right at the top of the oval that we drew for the head in the first step.  We’ll also add a couple of additional fins on the bottom of the fish.  You can use the shapes that we’ve drawn to help you position the locations of the fins in your drawing.

A few lines are added to the existing fins for added detail. Notice how these lines curve slightly with the form of the fin. A line is drawn right down the middle of the body of the fish as well.  A small sideways “v” is also drawn for the opening of the mouth right at the end of the head.

 

Step 4 – Draw the Gills and Finish the Mouth

A fish has got to breath, so let’s add a few lines for the gills. These gills are very different than the ones that we find on a great white shark. The first line is like a backwards “c”, while the second one is a little squiggle. The third line is like an upside down “v”.

We’ll finish off the mouth by drawing an additional line and a few more lines are drawn on the fin under the body.

 

Step 5 – Finish the Drawing of a Fish

Now it’s time to finish up all of the detail and complete the drawing.  You may go over your lines with ink to make the contours stand out a bit more.  A fish typically has a gradation of value that happens from the top to bottom of the body of the fish.  Adding this slow change in “shading” will make the fish look 3-Dimensional and more realistic.

We’ll also darken up the eye, but leave an open space for a highlight. We’ll also add a few spots on the back and draw a few more lines on the fins to finish off the drawing.

Here are the steps to drawing a fish in one image…