Learn how to draw a great looking Tropical Fish with easy, step-by-step drawing instructions, and video tutorial.
By following the simple steps, you too can easily draw a perfect Tropical Fish.
Jump to the step-by-step instructions.
Tropical fish live in warm environments around the world. You can use this tropical fish drawing guide to draw a whole school of them!
Tropical fish may be freshwater or saltwater inhabitants. The one in our illustration is an ocean dweller. How can you tell?
Look at the overall shape of the fish. Its body and its tail are roughly triangular. At the mouth, the triangle's point becomes very narrow.
Look, too, at its pattern. It is banded with wavy vertical stripes, and it has a round spot near the top.
Scroll down for a downloadable PDF of this tutorial.
If you were to look this fish up in a field guide, you would find that it is called a copperband butterflyfish or beaked coral fish. It lives in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Tropical fish are often kept in aquariums. You can learn how to draw a fish tank that will keep your fish happy.
Or, you can draw a coral reef, its natural home. This cartoon fish drawing on a reef looks like an easy version of the tropical fish from this illustration!
For more easy and fun guides, see the How to Draw a Fish Tank or Rainbow Trout Drawing tutorials.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Drawing a Tropical Fish
How to Draw a Great Looking Tropical Fish for Kids, Beginners, and Adults - Step 1
1. Begin the tropical fish outline by drawing the eye. Use four curved lines to enclose the rounded rectangle shape, with another small line indicating the eyelid.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 2
2. Draw an oval within an oval inside the eye. Shade between them to indicate the pupil. Then, use a long curved line that doubles back on itself to trace the characteristic triangle-shaped beak of the fish. At the corner of the mouth, draw a short curved line.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 3
3. Extend the top of the line to form the dorsal fin on top. Extend another line below the beak to form the bottom portion of the mouth.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 4
4. Continue the lower line to form the fish's belly and lower fin. From each of the two fins, extend a curved line. These outline the top and bottom of the tail.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 5
5. Connect the top and bottom of the tail with a wavy curved line. Draw a curved line behind the eye, separating the head from the rest of the body.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 6
6. Draw a shorter curved line within the body. From it, extend a curved line and double it back on itself to enclose the irregular round shape of the pectoral fin. Texture the fin with short curved lines.
Then, extend a curved line below the fish's body. Connect it to the front of the anal fin with a series of short lines that meet at jagged points. This is the pelvic fin.
Easy Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 7
7. Draw the characteristic oval-shaped spot on the fish's dorsal fin. Then, band the base of the tail with two curved lines, enclosing a stripe. Texture the tail and pelvic fins with curved lines.
Add More Details to Your Tropical Fish Picture - Step 8
8. Draw wavy curved lines across the dorsal and anal fins.
Complete the Outline of Your Tropical Fish Drawing - Step 9
9. Band the butterflyfish with its namesake stripes. Use pairs of long curved lines.
Color Your Tropical Fish Drawing
Your tropical fish outline is now complete. You can color the copperband butterfly fish in a realistic manner, as you can see in our illustration.
In nature, copperband butterflyfish have a silvery-white body with orange or yellow stripes. We've given the silver portion of our fish a purplish hue, as they may appear in deep water. The eyespot on the dorsal fin is black, and some of the stripes are outlined in black.
For more great sealife drawing tutorials, see the collection of Beginner Sealife Drawing Tutorials.
Tropical Fish Drawing Tutorial - Easy & Fun Printable Pages
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