How to Draw a Humpback Whale

1. Begin by using long curved lines to outline the whale's lower jaw. Use one line for the top of the jaw, another for the bottom. Draw a short line at the corner of the mouth.

2. Draw the whale's large eye. Outline the square shape of the eye using a series of curved lines. Shade a circle within the eye to indicate the pupil. Contour the upper and lower lids using curved lines.

3. Extend a long curved line from the front of the mouth to trace the top of the head and back. Bend the line at the end to encompass the curved "V" shape of the small dorsal fin.

This gives them their name, "humpback." Then, draw another curved line overlapping the end of the first.

4. Extend a long curved line downward from the mouth, outlining the whale's belly. Then, use a series of overlapping curved lines to form the pectoral fin.

Notice how one line doubles back upon itself, giving the tip of the fin a three-dimensional appearance.

5. Use a curved line, wavy on top and doubled back upon itself, to enclose the remaining pectoral fin. Then, extend a long curved line from behind the first fin, completing the outline of the belly and tail.

6. Draw the flippers of the tail or caudal fin. First, extend curved lines from the sides of the tail. Notice how the narrow portion of the tail extends beyond these lines.

Then, connect the ends of the lines using two curved lines that meet in a sharp inward-facing point.

7. Rib the whale's throat with curved lines. These folds of skin allow it to gulp large amounts of seawater and filter out its food - tiny krill and plankton. Then, draw curved lines above the flipper.

8. Draw barnacles or bulges on the whale's mouth, erasing as necessary. Use a "U" shaped line for each bump.

9. Texture the whale's flippers. Use curved and wavy lines.

Color your cartoon humpback whale. Whales are darker on top and lighter on the bottom as a form of camouflage. They blend in with the sunlight when creatures look from below, and with the dark ocean water when creatures look from above.

What color are humpback whales? Their backs are grey or black, appearing blue in the water. Their undersides are cream or white. A few whales are famously solid white!