How to Draw a Goldfish

Step 1: Eye and kissy lips

Draw a huge eye left of the middle. In front, add kissy lips like a sideways 3 and a smile.

Tip Make the eye really big. Leave lots of room on the right.

Step 2: Fat egg body

From the lips, draw a rainbow over the eye, down to a short neck. Draw the belly the same way.

Tip A fat egg on its side: fattest round the eye, thin at the neck.

Step 3: Fancy fantail

Draw a small curve across the neck. From its ends, sweep 2 floaty lobes to a dent. Add 2 rays.

Tip A fancy fan: long and floaty, each lobe with 2 soft tips.

Step 4: Top fin

Start on the back near the middle. Draw a tall sail leaning back, stopping further along. Add 2 rays.

Step 5: Gill

A finger behind the eye, draw a short C bowing toward the tail, not touching the back or belly.

Step 6: Side fin

Behind the gill, below the middle, draw a small fan fin pointing down and back, with 2 rays.

Step 7: Belly fin

Start on the belly behind the side fin. Draw a small upside-down sail, stopping on the belly nearer the tail.

Step 8: Scales

On the back half of the fish, draw little U's in 3 rows, stacked like roof tiles.

Tip Each row starts half a U further over than the row above.

Step 9: Bubbles

In front of the lips, draw 3 bubbles floating up: small, bigger, biggest.

Step 10: The bowl

Draw 1 huge C round the fish, open at the top. Join its top ends with an oval rim.

Tip The bowl is almost a whole circle, as big as you can fit.

Step 11: Water and sand

From side to side, draw a wavy water line above the top fin, and a sand line near the bottom.

Step 12: Blue water, sandy floor

Colour the sand sandy. Colour the water light blue around the fish, leaving the bubbles white.

Step 13: Colour it orange

Colour a pink cheek, then the body and lips orange around it and the side fin. Leave the eye white.

Step 14: Ginger fins and tail

Colour the fantail and all 3 fins a deeper ginger orange.