How to Draw a Dolphin: A Simple Guide For Beginners

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to draw a dolphin, this guide will help you capture its smooth and streamlined appearance. Follow along as I break down its key features and guide you step by step.

Understanding the Dolphin’s Features

• Elongated body with a sleek, curved shape.
• Distinct dorsal fin on top, positioned slightly behind the middle of the back.
• Long, pointed snout.
• Small pectoral fins on each side.
• Tail fin that spreads horizontally.
• A streamlined design with minimal visible details.

Once you’ve finished your dolphin drawing, you might want to try sketching other sea creatures, such as a blue whale or a sea turtle.

About This Dolphin Drawing Guide

To make the drawing process easier, this guide uses a color-coded system:

• Red Color: Represents the current step to focus on.
• Black Color: Shows lines that you’ve already completed.
• Grey Color: Indicates the basic sketch used for structure.

This approach keeps the drawing organized and allows you to track your progress easily.

Step 1: Let’s start drawing the dolphin without a basic sketch. First, draw a long curved line forming an arc to shape the upper part of the dolphin’s body up to the tail.

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Step 2: Draw the upper part of the dolphin’s rostrum, which is the top of its mouth or beak.

Step 3: Draw the lower part of the dolphin’s rostrum and continue this line down to where the fin will be.

Step 4: Draw the fin that’s closer to us, as we’re drawing the dolphin from a side view.

Step 5: Draw an oval near the mouth and fill it in with black, leaving a small area uncolored for a highlight. This will be the dolphin’s eye.

Step 6: Continue the line of the dolphin’s lower body from the fin down to where the tail will be.

Step 7: Draw the outline shape of the tail.

Step 8: In this step, we’ll draw the second side fin of the dolphin, known as the pectoral fin, and also the dorsal fin on its back.

Step 9: With the sketch of the dolphin complete, refine any details, add missing elements, or erase any excess lines. Optionally, you can outline your sketch with a pen or ink and then erase all pencil marks to achieve a clean, crisp drawing.

Step 10: You can also color the dolphin. Use the attached image as a reference or choose your own colors.

Bravo on Completing the Steps!

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Don’t forget to share your completed dolphin drawings in the comments on Pinterest! It’s exciting to see your creativity in action.

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