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

To draw a fish, start with a wide oval for the body. Add a tail on the left, then an eye and a smile on the right. Finish with two fins, wavy lines of scales and three bubbles.

Finished cartoon fish with an orange body, yellow tail and fins, wavy lines of scales, a big eye, a smile and three blue bubbles
The finished fish
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Orange, yellow and blue 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 fish step by step

  1. A wide oval for the fish's body

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a wide oval for the body.

  2. A tail on the left side of the oval with a small notch in its middle

    Step 2 of 6: Add a tail on the left side with a small notch in the middle.

  3. A round eye with a black pupil and a shine dot near the right end, and a small smile below it

    Step 3 of 6: Draw a round eye with a black pupil near the right end and a small smile below it.

  4. A rounded fin on top of the body and a smaller fin underneath, each with two curved lines

    Step 4 of 6: Add a rounded fin on top and a smaller fin underneath, each with two curved lines.

  5. Three wavy up-and-down lines of scales on the body, the one nearest the tail shorter, and three round bubbles in front of the face

    Step 5 of 6: Draw three wavy up-and-down lines of scales and three bubbles in front of the face.

  6. The fish colored with an orange body, a yellow tail with fin lines, yellow fins and blue bubbles

    Step 6 of 6: Color the body orange, the tail and fins yellow and the bubbles blue. Add lines on the tail.

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 each scale as a little curve like the letter C. Stack the curves in a line from top to bottom.

  • Tip: Put the eye close to the front of the body. That shows which way the fish swims.

Make it yours

  • Rainbow fish

    Color each line of scales a different color and add a few shiny dots.

  • Fish in a bowl

    Draw a big round bowl around the fish with a wavy water line near the top.

  • Striped fish

    Skip the scales and draw two wide stripes across the body instead.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • The tail looks like a fin

    Make the tail bigger than the fins and give it a small notch in the middle.

  • The fish looks like it swims backward

    Put the eye and the smile at the end opposite the tail, with the bubbles in front.

  • The scales cover the eye

    Start the scale lines behind the eye and stop before the tail.

Fun facts about the fish

  • There are more than 30,000 species of fish. They live in fresh water and salt water all over the world. (Source: Britannica)

  • Fish generally breathe through gills. Most species have paired fins and skin covered with scales. (Source: Britannica)

  • Fish species range from 0.4 inches long to more than 60 feet long. (Source: Britannica)

Questions grown-ups ask

How to draw a fish easy?

Draw a wide oval and add a tail on one side. Add an eye, a smile, two fins and scales. The 6 steps above follow that order.

How to draw a fish for kids?

Use simple shapes: an oval for the body, a triangle with a notch for the tail and two rounded fins. Curved lines make the scales.

How to draw a fish step by step?

Start with the body, then the tail, the eye and smile, the fins, and the scales and bubbles. Color it last.

If your scales came out uneven, that's fine. Your fish is ready to swim. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A wide oval for the fish's body
Draw a wide oval for the body.