Easy fish drawing step by step (9 free PDFs)

Easy fish drawing step by step

Here are some easy fish drawing step-by-step instructions that you can print as free PDF pages. With these guides, you can sketch realistic fish in a simple manner. Just follow each step closely and watch them appear.

You don’t need to follow the instructions with pinpoint accuracy; a bit of variation will add character! Similarly, you can ignore the coloring guides and use whatever colors you like when finished. Many of the species included, such as guppies and betta, have endless variations of color in nature.

There are 9 PDF pages here so far. They include worksheets on how to draw a clownfish, a guppy, a betta, an angelfish, an anglerfish, a pufferfish, a paradise fish, a discus, and a simple lionfish.

What you will need for the easy fish drawing activities

Once you have printed out the PDF pages of the fish drawing you like, you will just need a few basic things –

Graphite pencils
An eraser
Pencil sharpener
Blank paper or anything else you can draw on
Colored pencils or crayons to complete the fish

You can draw the fish with a pen, but if you make any undesired mistakes, you will probably have to start over. Note that it seems to be a lot easier to replicate the size on the instructions. Try drawing a small fish first before scaling up to a larger one.

Using the easy fish drawing worksheets in the classroom

Note that these drawing tutorials are intended for use with later primary and high school students. They can be quite challenging for a lot of younger learners. If you need sketching guides that are much more basic, check out the easy drawing for beginners page. There you will find many animal drawing instructions that will be more suitable.

Now, if you are planning to use these drawings in an English language class environment, here are a few thoughts that may help you.

Walk the students through the steps orally, describe what they are looking at, and what they need to do. This is great for listening comprehension. Next, ask learners questions about what they have done and what they will do next.
Use the easy fish drawing activities as a way to teach fish anatomy. Once the drawings are completed, students can mark in the different fins, gills, mouth, nose, eyes, scales, and so on.
Completed fish drawings can be used for writing prompts. This can either be a factual report on a species, or a fun fantastic story.