In this guide, I’ll show you how to draw a whale shark. Known for their massive size and spot patterns, whale sharks are gentle giants of the ocean. Let’s go through their features step by step so you can create an accurate and detailed drawing.

Key Features of a Whale Shark’s Design

• Broad, flat head with a wide mouth.
• Streamlined body with smooth curves for its large size.
• Distinct spot patterns along its body.
• Prominent dorsal fin on its back and large pectoral fins for balance.
• Eyes placed towards the sides of its head.

Once you’ve finished your whale shark drawing, you might want to try sketching other large marine animals like blue whales, dolphins, orcas, or sharks to build a collection.

Step-by-Step Guide and Color Guidelines

• Red Color: Highlights the step you are currently working on.
• Black Color: Represents the lines you’ve already completed in earlier steps.
• Grey Color: Shows the basic sketch framework.

These color-coded instructions make it easy to keep track of your progress while drawing, ensuring a neat and structured result.

Step 1: This guide has 12 steps, and we won’t be creating a basic sketch. We’ll start drawing the whale shark directly. In the first step, draw a line that represents the top of the body and extend it for the shark’s mouth, just as shown in the image for this step.

Before You Get Started

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Step 2: From the left end of the previous line, draw the bottom part of the body, extending to where the pectoral fin will be.

Step 3: Draw the pectoral fin as shown in the image for this step.

Step 4: Draw the dorsal fin and the smaller fin behind it in a continuous line, as shown in the image. Extend the lower part of the body to the point where the tail will be.

Step 5: Draw the whale shark’s tail fin and add simple lines on the dorsal fins from the previous step to give them a more dimensional shape.

Step 6: Draw the two small pelvic fins visible from this angle.

Step 7: Draw the visible eye of the shark next to the mouth line from the first step. It’s a circle filled with black, leaving a small uncolored area for the highlight, and an incomplete circle around it for depth.

Step 8: Add some details to the front part of the shark and along the mouth line. Draw five curved lines like brackets in front of the pectoral fin to represent gills.

Step 9: Now we’ll add many small circles to the front part of the body and the pectoral fin to create the characteristic spotted pattern of our whale shark.

Step 10: Next, add larger circles and ovals along the entire body, as shown in the image. Also, include smaller circles on the tail fin and dorsal fin.

Step 11: At this stage, we’ve completed the sketch of our whale shark. Review the drawing, make any necessary adjustments, erase or add details as needed. Optionally, you can outline the sketch with a pen or ink and erase the pencil lines once the ink is dry. In the next step, we’ll color the shark.

Step 12: If you want to color your drawing, you can use the colors and shading shown in the image or pick your own colors that you feel best suit your whale shark. And with that, our guide on how to draw a whale shark is complete.

Bravo on Completing the Steps!

Ready to unwind? SketchOk's Coloring Pages Collection is a great way to de-stress and add a splash of color to your day. Feel free to explore and experiment!

When your whale shark drawing is finished, don’t forget to share it in the comments section of our pinned Pinterest post. It’s a great way to show off your artwork and connect with other artists!

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