How To Draw A Dolphin - HelloArtsy

Discover how to draw a dolphin by following along with this engaging drawing guide!

Beginners will benefit from this simple step by step lesson for learning how to draw a dolphin. This easy dolphin tutorial is perfect for fairly young children looking to learn how to draw.

All drawing steps are included here which make it fun and easy to follow! Expect this drawing to last about 20 minutes, but the art-making process may actually take more time if a background is added in addition to the subject matter.

Learning to draw is much more fun when you have a easy-to-understand lesson to reference. Let’s get drawing!

Materials

• Pencil
• Drawing Paper
• Crayon or Colored Pencils
• Black Marker
• How to Draw a Dolphin Printable PDF (see bottom of lesson)

We will arrive at a finished drawing of a dolphin by drawing one area at a time. It will take 6 steps to complete as we continue to create each area moving closer to the completed drawing. The completed artwork will be detailed with color resulting in a drawing you will want to share with friends!

Time Needed: 20 minutes

1. Draw A Curved Line

   

   In the middle of the page, draw a large curved line to start off the body.

2. Draw The Nose And Stomach

   

   Use another large curved line for the stomach. The nose goes forwards a bit towards the right before connecting to the stomach line.

3. Add The Top Fin

   

   Add the fin on top of the dolphin’s body, and erase the space in between where the lines connect.

4. Draw The Tail And Fins

   

   Create the tail shape using curved lines, and add the fins towards the front of the body.

5. Add Details

   

   Give the dolphin an eye and a smile.

6. Color It In

   

   Dolphins are usually all gray, but can also have a slightly lighter underside.

How to Draw a Dolphin PDF Download

Click the link below to view or download this drawing lesson. The PDF is a printable drawing lesson for How to Draw a Dolphin. The last page of the downloadable PDF includes a coloring book page with just the outlines and an extension exercise for prompting kids to get creative!

Preview How to Draw a Dolphin Drawing PDFDownload PDF

Be sure to checkout this slightly more detailed drawing lesson by my talented artist friend Dawn. She demonstrates how to draw a dolphin leaping out of the water and also includes a background in her drawing!

4 Dolphin Fun Facts for Kids

Dolphins are very intelligent and social animals. They belong to the Cetacean family which includes whales and porpoises. Interestingly, dolphins are not fish, they have evolved independently from other aquatic mammals.

• Dolphins have a higher brain-to-body weight ratio than any other animal on earth. They are the second most intelligent animals on Earth (chimps are first). They use sonar to find food and for navigating through the oceans.
• Dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors and can understand how the mirror works as a reflection of reality.
• Dolphins are also the only non-human animals that use vocal learning. This means that they imitate sounds from their surroundings in order to communicate with other dolphins in their group or species. They do this by making clicking noises with their mouths or whistles with air coming out of their blowholes on top of the head.
• Dolphins sleep with only one half of their brain at a time so they can stay alert while hunting for food.

Dolphins are very social animals. They spend most of their time in groups which are called “pods”. The dolphin pod not only protects them but allows them to hunt more dangerous fish such as sharks.

Dolphins will one have a single set of teeth for their entire life. How many teeth they have varies from 80 to 240 depending on the species of dolphin.

Bottleneck dolphin like the one shown below tend to have between 80-100 teeth.

If you are lucky enough to see a dolphin swimming you might see them leap out of the water. The amazing activity is called “breaching”. Dolphins are known to breach even in the wild!

Bottlenose dolphins are incredibly smart mammals. They use language to communicate and have an incredible memory. For this reason it is typically trained bottlenose dolphins that you see at shows performing tricks.