How to draw a shark — easy step by step drawing ideas

Shark drawing ideas are the most requested sea creature in the studio by a mile, and the requests always come with a grin. Children love sharks the way they love dinosaurs: a little bit scary, a lot exciting, and enormously fun to draw. Learning how to draw a shark is also one of the easiest lessons on this whole site, because a shark is basically one big smooth shape with a handful of fins attached.

I like to teach this one early, because it builds confidence fast. There are no legs to line up, no fur to fuss over and no tricky face — just a plump torpedo body, a big happy smile, and a fin on top. A child who has never finished a drawing will finish this one, and they will finish it looking pleased with themselves.

In this tutorial we will build a friendly blue shark in six easy steps, following the practice sheet below. I will share the pro tips I use when teaching it, the mistakes that trip up nearly every beginner, and quick fixes for when your shark starts looking like a whale or a fish. Grab a pencil and a blue crayon, and let us draw.

The 6 steps to easy shark drawing ideas

Step 1 — Draw the body

Start with the body, right in the middle of the paper, because everything else attaches to it. Draw a long, plump shape lying on its side — think of a fat torpedo or a chubby lemon. The front end, on the left, is big and rounded like a nose; the back end, on the right, narrows down to a soft point where the tail will go.

Make the body generously round. A skinny shark looks mean; a plump one looks cuddly, and cuddly is what we are after. Let the top line curve up gently in the middle and the bottom line curve down, so the widest part of the body is about a third of the way from the nose. Keep the pencil light; you will darken the keeper lines at the end.

Step 2 — Add the face and dorsal fin

Now the shark gets its personality. Draw one big round eye near the front of the body, about a third of the way back from the nose and a little above the middle, with a small white shine dot in it. Beneath and in front of the eye, draw a big curved smile that follows the underside of the nose, and along the bottom edge of that smile add three or four tiny rounded teeth like little bumps. Add a blush circle on the cheek and three short curved gill lines just behind the eye.

Then the dorsal fin, which is the most famous fin in the world. On top of the body, a little behind the middle, draw a tall triangle leaning slightly backward, with a gently curved back edge. It should be about as tall as the body is deep at that point. This is the fin that pokes out of the water in every cartoon, and it makes the drawing say “shark” from across the room.

Step 3 — Add the tail fin

At the narrow back end of the body, draw the tail fin. Here is the important part: a shark's tail stands up and down, not sideways. Draw a crescent shape, like a moon standing on its side, attached to the tip of the body, with the top point reaching higher than the bottom point. The top lobe is a little bigger and curves gently backward.

Let the two lobes meet the body in a soft curve rather than a sharp corner, so the tail looks like it grows out of the body. Do not make it too big — about the same height as the dorsal fin looks right. This upright crescent is the second big shark clue after the dorsal fin.

Step 4 — Add the side fins

Now the side fins, which are what a shark steers with. On the underside of the body, just behind the smile and below the gills, draw a fin pointing down and back: a soft triangle with a rounded tip, about as long as the dorsal fin is tall. This is the near fin, and it sits in front of the body outline.

Then draw a second, smaller fin peeking out from behind the body a little further back, so only its tip shows below the belly line. That little hidden fin is what makes the shark look three-dimensional instead of flat. Two side fins, one big and one small, and the shark is ready to swim.

Step 5 — Add the belly line and bubbles

Now the finishing details. Draw a long, gentle curve along the lower half of the body, from just under the smile all the way back to the tail, following the shape of the belly. Everything below this line will stay white when you color, and everything above it will be blue. That two-tone body is what makes a cartoon shark look like a shark and not a blue fish.

Then add a few bubbles: three small circles of different sizes rising up above the nose, getting smaller as they go. Bubbles are a tiny detail that instantly puts the shark underwater and gives the whole picture a sense of movement. Keep them small and few.

Step 6 — Finish and color

Darken the lines you want to keep and erase the light scaffolding underneath — the bit of the body outline hidden behind the near fin, and any part of the belly line that crosses the smile. Then color: fill everything above the belly line a soft blue-grey, including the dorsal fin, the tail and the tops of the side fins, and leave everything below the line white.

Color the blush cheek pink, leave the teeth and the shine dot in the eye white so they sparkle, and give the bubbles a light blue outline. Then give your shark somewhere to be — a wavy line of water above, some seaweed below, a little fish friend, a sandy floor with a starfish. Sign your name in the corner; every finished drawing deserves a signature.

Common mistakes to avoid

A sideways tail

This is the mistake that turns more sharks into whales and dolphins than any other. Because whales and dolphins are also big and grey and live in the sea, hands often draw their flat, sideways tail flukes out of habit.

A shark's tail stands up and down, like a crescent moon on its side, with the top lobe bigger than the bottom. If yours came out flat, erase it and redraw it upright. It is a two-second fix and it makes the whole drawing read as a shark.

Too many sharp teeth

Children know sharks have lots of teeth, so the pencil wants to draw a whole mouthful of jagged triangles. But a mouth full of spikes makes the shark look angry, and it makes the smile disappear.

Three or four tiny rounded bumps along the smile line is plenty. They say “teeth” without saying “danger”, and they keep the big friendly grin as the star of the face.

A skinny body

A long, thin body makes the shark look like an eel or a torpedo, and it leaves no room for the big eye and the wide smile that make the face sweet.

Draw the body plump and rounded, widest about a third of the way back from the nose, with a big soft nose at the front. A chubby shark is a happy shark.

Troubleshooting

“My shark looks like a whale”

Turn the tail upright, make the dorsal fin taller and more pointed, and add the gill lines behind the eye. Then draw the belly line so the shark is blue on top and white underneath — whales are usually all one color in cartoons.

“My shark looks scary”

Enlarge the eye and add a shine dot, widen the smile, and reduce the teeth to three or four rounded bumps. Add a blush cheek and a few bubbles. Round the nose more, too; a soft nose is the friendliest shape on the page.

“The fins look stuck on”

The fins are probably meeting the body at sharp corners. Erase the joins and redraw each fin so it curves smoothly out of the body outline, and make sure all the fins lean backward together.

Key takeaways

FAQ

What age is this shark drawing tutorial for? This is one of the easiest tutorials on the site, so it works from about age 4 with a grown-up nearby, and most kids around 6 and up can follow the sheet on their own. The whole shark is one big shape with fins stuck on.

How do I make the shark look friendly instead of scary? Big round eyes with shine dots, a wide happy smile, and only three or four tiny rounded teeth. Add blush cheeks and a few bubbles and the shark becomes a cheerful cartoon friend rather than a movie monster.

What materials do we need? A pencil, an eraser, paper, and a blue-grey or light blue crayon or marker for the top of the shark. The belly stays white, so this is a fast one to color.

Which way should the tail fin point? Straight up and down, like a crescent moon standing on its side at the back of the body, with the top lobe a little bigger than the bottom. A sideways tail like a whale's or a dolphin's is the most common mix-up.

That is your shark! Whether it came out sleek and smooth or a little bit lumpy, you built the most famous fish in the sea out of one big shape and a few fins — and that belongs on the fridge. Keep the sheet handy, draw a whole reef full of sea creatures, and come back tomorrow for a new tutorial.

More tutorials: All tutorials · How to draw a whale · How to draw a dolphin · How to draw an octopus