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How to Draw a Butterflyfish

13 steps · Medium · about 10 min

Draw a butterflyfish in 13 easy steps, about 10 minutes. Free, with a printable worksheet.

Each picture adds one red line. Draw that line, then scroll to the next picture. Rub out any dashed helper lines at the end. First up: tall round body.

Step 1: Tall round body
Draw a tall rainbow back, from a pointy snout on the left down to a neck. Add the same below.
Tip Leave a small gap at the snout for the lips.
Step 2: Kissy lips and eye
In the snout gap, draw kissy lips. Near the front, draw a big eye with a dot and 2 shines.
Step 3: Small fan tail
From the end of the back, draw a small round fan out and back in to the tummy.
Step 4: Long top fin
Start on the back above the eye. Draw a long rounded fin along the back, stopping next to the tail.
Step 5: Long bottom fin
Start on the tummy below the eye. Draw the same long fin upside down and stop next to the tail.
Step 6: Gill
A little behind the eye, draw one short C for the gill, bowing toward the tail.
Step 7: Side fin
Behind the gill, in the middle of the body, draw a small leaf fin pointing back, with 2 short rays.
Step 8: Eye band, fake eye
Curve a line from back to tummy each side of the eye. Add a ringed fake eye near the tail.
Tip The fake eye tricks hungry fish into biting the wrong end.
Step 9: Bubbles
Above the kissy lips, draw 3 bubbles going up: small, bigger, biggest.
Step 10: Sand and seaweed
Draw a long wavy sand line across the bottom. Stand up tall wiggly seaweed leaves on the sand.
Step 11: Yellow body, sandy floor
Colour the body and lips yellow, around the band, side fin and fake eye's middle. Colour the sand sandy.
Step 12: Blue bubbles, orange fins
Colour the bubbles light blue. Colour the tail and all 3 fins orange.
Step 13: Green weed, black band
Colour the seaweed green, and the band and fake eye's middle black. Leave the eye white. Go over your lines!