Watch it draw itself · tap to replay
How to Draw an Octopus Swimming
Draw an octopus swimming 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: rocket head.
Step 1: Rocket head
Draw the head as a tall egg leaning up and right. The narrow end points the way it swims.
Tip A swimming octopus squeezes its head into a smooth rocket shape.
Step 2: The face
Inside the fat end, draw 2 big round eyes with black dots. Add a little smile below them.
Step 3: Two middle arms
From the fat end, draw 2 long wavy arms trailing back, fat at the head, thin at the tips.
Tip All 8 arms stream behind the head like the tail of a kite.
Step 4: Two more arms
Just outside the middle pair, draw 2 more arms trailing back and bending a little further out.
Step 5: Another pair
Outside those, draw another pair starting a little higher on the head and curving out more.
Step 6: Two outer arms
From high on the sides, sweep 2 outer arms out wide, one curling to each side. That makes 8.
Step 7: Two spots
Near the top of the head, draw 2 round spots, one big and one small.
Step 8: Seabed
Draw a long gently wavy seabed line across the bottom of the paper, well under the arm tips.
Step 9: Seaweed and bubbles
On the left, draw a tall seaweed leaf up from the seabed. Behind the octopus, draw 3 bubbles floating up.
Tip The bubbles stream out behind: the octopus squirts water to zoom forward.
Step 10: Pink cheeks and suckers
Colour the spots pink. Dot 3 pink suckers down each middle arm, and 2 pink cheeks under the eyes.
Step 11: Purple octopus
Colour the head and all the arms purple, around the spots, cheeks and suckers. Leave the eyes white.
Step 12: Green seaweed
Colour the seaweed leaf green.
Step 13: Blue bubbles
Colour the 3 bubbles light blue.
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: an octopus swimming, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
