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How to Draw a Hippocampus
Draw a hippocampus in 20 steps, about 15 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: horse head.
Step 1: Horse head
In the upper left, draw a horse head like a fat peanut: a big round cheek, a smaller nose end.
Tip A hippocampus is a horse from old sea stories: half horse, half fish.
Step 2: Big eye
In the round cheek, draw 1 big eye. Colour in a big pupil and leave a little white shine.
Step 3: Nose and smile
Start at the nose top, curve a line down and stop at the chin. Add a nostril and a smile.
Step 4: Two ears
On top of the head, behind the eye, draw 2 pointed leaf ears, the back one peeking out.
Step 5: The sea
Low down, draw a gentle wavy line from one side of the paper to the other for the sea.
Step 6: Arched neck
Start behind the ears. Draw a thick arched neck line like a rainbow and stop just past the middle.
Step 7: Round chest
Start under the cheek. Draw the front of the neck down round a big chest, and stop on the sea.
Step 8: Fish tail
Start at the neck end, dip along the back, rise up, round a tail tip and stop on the sea.
Tip Let the tail get thinner as it curls over at the top.
Step 9: Tail fin
Start at the tail tip, draw 2 round fin lobes and stop at its other side. Add 2 lines.
Step 10: Flowing mane
Start behind the ears. Draw 3 joined locks of hair along the neck and stop near its end.
Step 11: Front leg
From the chest, draw a front leg reaching forward, bending at the knee down to a round hoof.
Step 12: Other front leg
Above it, draw the other front leg peeking out from behind, with its hoof a little further forward.
Step 13: Back fin
Start on the tail's back line, draw a small fin with 3 round bumps and stop on the same line.
Step 14: Where the fish starts
Start at the neck end, draw a curved line down and stop on the sea. The fish half starts here.
Step 15: Scales
On the fish half, draw 4 little U scales in a zigzag, never in a row.
Step 16: Tan horse
Colour the head, ears, neck, chest and legs tan. Leave the eye and the hooves white for now.
Step 17: Teal tail
Colour the fish tail teal, from the curved line all the way up to the tip.
Step 18: Green fins
Colour the tail fin and the back fin green.
Step 19: Brown mane
Colour the 3 locks of the mane and the 2 hooves brown.
Step 20: Blue sea
Colour the sea blue, from the wavy line down to the bottom of the paper. Your hippocampus is done!
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: a hippocampus, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
