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

To draw a shark, start with a long body that is round at the front and thin at the back. Add a top fin and a tail, then an eye, a toothy smile and a side fin. Finish with gills and a belly line.

Finished cartoon shark, blue with a white belly, three gill lines, a toothy smile with a red mouth and a pink cheek
The finished shark
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Blue, red 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 shark step by step

  1. A long body shape, round and wide at the right end and thin at the left end

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a long body, round at the right end and thin at the left end.

  2. A curved, pointed fin on top of the body

    Step 2 of 6: Add a curved, pointed fin on top of the body.

  3. A two-part tail on the left, one part pointing up and one pointing down, replacing the thin end of the body

    Step 3 of 6: Draw a tail with one part pointing up and one pointing down. Erase the thin end of the body.

  4. A round eye with a shine dot, a smile with small pointed teeth and a fin under the body

    Step 4 of 6: Add a round eye, a smile with small pointed teeth and a fin under the body.

  5. Three curved gill lines behind the eye and a belly line from the tail to the mouth

    Step 5 of 6: Draw three curved gill lines behind the eye and a belly line from the tail to the mouth.

  6. The shark colored blue with a white belly, a red mouth and a pink cheek

    Step 6 of 6: Color the shark blue and the mouth red. Leave the belly white and add a pink cheek.

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 teeth as tiny triangles along the smile. Small teeth keep the shark friendly.

  • Tip: Draw the three gill lines as small curves, all bending the same way.

Make it yours

  • Hammerhead shark

    Make the front of the head wide and flat, with an eye on each end.

  • Shark in the waves

    Draw wavy blue lines above the top fin and a few bubbles near the mouth.

  • Whale shark

    Color the body dark gray and add rows of small white spots on the back.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • It looks like a goldfish

    Add the tall pointed fin on top and the gill lines. Those make it look like a shark.

  • The tail is too small

    Make each part of the tail about as tall as the top fin.

  • The teeth fill the face

    Keep the teeth small and only along the smile, under the eye.

Fun facts about the shark

  • Sharks do not have bones. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, the same stuff in your ears and nose tip. (Source: NOAA Fisheries)

  • There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world's ocean. (Source: Smithsonian Ocean)

  • Sharks keep shedding their teeth and replacing them. A shark can lose and replace thousands of teeth in its lifetime. (Source: Smithsonian Ocean)

Questions grown-ups ask

How to draw a shark easy?

Draw a long body, a top fin and a tail. Add an eye, a toothy smile, a side fin and gills. The 6 steps above follow that order.

How to draw a shark for kids?

Use simple shapes: a long rounded body, a curved triangle for the top fin and a two-part tail. Gill lines make it look like a shark.

How to draw a shark step by step?

Start with the body, then the top fin, the tail, the face and side fin, and the gills and belly line. Color it last.

If your shark's smile came out crooked, that's fine. Your shark is just grinning. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A long body shape, round and wide at the right end and thin at the left end
Draw a long body, round at the right end and thin at the left end.