How to Draw a Coral Reef - Easy Step by Step Drawing Guide for Kids and Beginners

1. Draw several series of curved lines, one series overlapping the next. This begins to shape some of the rocks and coral that make up the reef. Detail the coral with curved lines.

2. Draw another series of curved lines above the others, and detail the top with a curved line. These are known as shelf corals. Then, draw a staghorn coral. Use series of curved lines that double back upon themselves to form rounded branches that resemble the limbs of a tree or a deer's antlers.

3. Draw more staghorn coral. Again, use series of curved lines that double back upon themselves to form rounded branches.

4. Draw a long horizontal line to form a sandbank on the ocean floor. Upon it, use a series of curved lines to outline a five-pointed star. Draw curved lines from its center to the tips of the arms. This is a starfish. Then, to one side of the page, draw layers of wavy lines, indicating sponges.

5. Draw more layers of wavy lines, connecting the pile of sponges or corals to the seafloor.

6. Draw "U" shaped lines to further detail the sponges. Then, draw more sponges on the opposite side of the page.

7. Draw more series of "U" shaped lines. Then, draw some seaweed or seagrasses. Use pairs of wavy curved lines that meet at points at the top.

8. Draw a large sponge. Use overlapping curved lines to form the arms or branches of the animal. Shade an oval-shaped opening at the end of each branch. In the open water above the sponge, begin drawing a jellyfish. Draw a large "U" shaped line, and connect the ends with a series of smaller "U" shaped lines. This forms the animal's body or bell.

9. Draw curved lines to indicate the stinging tentacles. Use curved lines to outline a tropical fish. It is shaped like a heart, with three curved lines extending between the bulges and forming a triangular tail. Detail the fish with vertical curved lines for stripes, and shade a small circle to indicate the eye.

Color your cartoon coral reef. Healthy reefs are full of brightly colored creatures. Sick or dying reefs experience coral bleaching, meaning that the tiny animals that make up the corals die and the remaining structures turn white.