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How to Draw a Dolphin (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)

To draw a dolphin, start with a long curved body. Add a short snout, a fin on the back, a tail with two flukes and a flipper. Finish with an eye, a smile and a belly line.

Finished cartoon dolphin jumping to the right, blue with a light gray belly and a pink cheek
The finished dolphin
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Blue, light gray and pink crayons

Updated

Teaching this to a class?

Show one step at a time on the board and wait for the class before the next. The directed drawing for kids page explains how to run it.

How to draw a dolphin step by step

  1. A long curved body shape, round at the front on the right and thin at the back on the left

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a long curved body, round at the front on the right and thin at the back on the left.

  2. A short rounded snout added to the front of the body

    Step 2 of 6: Add a short rounded snout at the front of the body.

  3. A curved fin on top of the back

    Step 3 of 6: Draw a curved fin on top of the back.

  4. The back redrawn curving down into a tail with two flukes, and a flipper under the body with the belly line erased inside it

    Step 4 of 6: Add a tail with two flukes curving down and a flipper. Erase the thin end and lines in the flipper.

  5. An eye with a shine dot, a brow, a smile, and a new lower line from the snout to the flipper under the belly line

    Step 5 of 6: Draw an eye, brow and smile. Erase the line under the smile and draw a lower one to the flipper.

  6. The dolphin colored blue with a light gray belly, a white eye and a pink cheek

    Step 6 of 6: Color the dolphin blue and the belly light gray. Leave the eye white and add a pink cheek under it.

Tips for little artists

  • Tip: Press lightly with the pencil first. Trace the lines you like with the marker, then erase the rest.

  • Tip: Draw the body like a big curved banana. The curve makes the dolphin look like it is jumping.

  • Tip: Keep the fin and flipper small next to the body.

Make it yours

  • Dolphin in the waves

    Draw blue wavy lines under the dolphin and a few water drops around the tail.

  • Dolphin friends

    Draw a second, smaller dolphin jumping next to the first one.

  • Dolphin with a ball

    Draw a striped ball just above the snout.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • It looks like a fish

    Add the short round snout, the curved fin on the back and the flipper under the body.

  • The dolphin looks stiff

    Curve the whole body like a rainbow so the tail bends down.

  • The belly is all blue

    Follow the belly line and leave the strip under it light gray.

Fun facts about the dolphin

  • Bottlenose dolphins use sound both to communicate and to hunt for food. (Source: NOAA Fisheries)

  • Bottlenose dolphins don't chew. They grip fish with their teeth, then swallow them whole, head first. (Source: NOAA Fisheries)

  • Common bottlenose dolphins are found throughout the world, in both offshore and coastal waters. (Source: NOAA Fisheries)

Questions grown-ups ask

How to draw a dolphin easy?

Draw one long curved body, then add a short snout, a back fin, a tail with two flukes and a flipper. Finish with an eye, a smile and a belly line.

How to draw a dolphin for kids?

Start with the curved body and snout, then the fin, the tail and flipper, and the face. Color it blue with a light gray belly last.

How to draw a dolphin jumping?

Curve the whole body like a rainbow, with the snout up on one side and the tail bending down on the other. The curve makes the dolphin look like it is leaping.

If your dolphin's jump came out extra curvy, that's fine. Your dolphin is having fun. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A long curved body shape, round at the front on the right and thin at the back on the left
Draw a long curved body, round at the front on the right and thin at the back on the left.