Easy Realistic Goldfish Drawing with this how-to video and step-by-step drawing instructions. Easy animals to draw for beginners and kids.
Please see the drawing tutorial in the video below
You can refer to the simple step-by-step drawing guide below
Step 1:
Build the main body of the goldfish
The first step when drawing any animal or object is to find a building shape that will serve as the basis for the main shape. For a goldfish, this step is quite simple. Goldfish, in their claws, are oval in shape. As such, we will be using an elongated oval as the building shape for the main body of the goldfish. You want this oval to be slightly slanted down the right side of the canvas.
Step 2:
Draw the upper fin of the goldfish
In this second step, we will draw a structural shape for the large fin on the back of the goldfish. Start at the very center of the main body oval and bend the line up, through, and down again to a point just above the back of the oval. Then, gently bring this line back to the top of the main body oval with a slight curve.
Step 3:
Draw the main lower fin of the goldfish
You’ll need to hone your freelancing skills again for this next step. You can start over at the center point of the main body oval bottom. Take this line down in a fairly straight line, slightly curving behind the goldfish. You can then bring the line almost directly back towards the main oval, but just before you hit the oval, bend the line forward and upwards.
Step 4:
Draw the secondary lower fin of the goldfish
Goldfish actually have a total of six fins, including a pair of large fins on their abdomen. The large bottom fin that we drew in the last step is the fin closest to the pair of fish, so it is larger than the fin we will draw now. You just need to repeat the process from the previous step but on a smaller scale. In fact, this second bottom goldfish fin should be half the size of the first. One important thing to note is that you should start with the second, slightly smaller fin before the first.
Step 5:
Draw the side fins of the goldfish
In addition to the main fin on the back and the two main fins on the bottom of the goldfish’s body, we also need two smaller auxiliary fins. These lateral fins grow from one side of the goldfish’s body, and this leads to our first need for perspective.
Because we are looking at the goldfish from the side, we will see the tip of the fin on this side as it protrudes from the side of the goldfish, but we will only see the tip of the other fin when it protrudes from the side. under the goldfish.
Start by drawing the fin on the closer side to use. Start this fin just before the smaller lower fin and just inside the oval of the main body. Curve the top line of the fin slightly upward before lowering it, overlapping slightly with the lower main fin. Then, return the rope to the main body to connect to the starting point. For the other side fins, simply draw two small “Vs” protruding from the bottom of the oval on the main body, just before the start of the other fins.
Step 6:
Draw the bottom bottom fin of the goldfish
At this point in the tutorial, it looks like the bottom half of the goldfish is a bit tight with five out of six fins. The reason for this is that goldfish actually use the bottom fins to do most of their swimming and movement in the water, while the top fin is mainly used for balance.
Step 7:
Draw the tail of a goldfish
This step is the final step before we create the final outline of our goldfish drawing. Starting from just below the end of the top fin at the back of the goldfish, draw a curve up before going down a bit, then double back to the back of the upper body oval. Before you get too close to the body’s oval, bend this line outward and downward. After a slight bump, this line will reach a fairly sharp point, before curving up to meet the end of the last fin we drew in the previous step.
Step 8:
Create the final outline of your goldfish sketch
In this tutorial, we only used one real structural shape, and that is the oval for the main body. The result of this is that you can outline all your fins perfectly and focus on contouring your body from the oval. For the most part, you can stick to the oval outline to outline the main part of your goldfish sketch. However, you want to make the front end of the car more pointed and less oval. You can add a few small protrusions in your outline and finish by drawing a slight indent and curve right in front of your goldfish drawing.
Step 9:
Draw goldfish eyes
This is a very simple step, but the trick is to make your goldfish position perfect. Start by drawing a fairly large circle close to the mouth and align with the ends of the lower front fins. Within this circle, you can draw another circle that is slightly smaller. Inside this second circle, draw and color the last circle that is just smaller than the second circle.
Step 10:
Draw the details of the goldfish’s gills
Step 10 is another fairly simple step in the goldfish drawing process. Using two long curved lines in the opposite direction to the front of the goldfish’s nose, draw the goldfish’s gills. You can then use two slightly shorter lines that embrace these long lines to add detail and definition.
Step 11:
Add the first goldfish color layer
Now the excitement begins! Choose a medium-tone orange to use as the base color for your goldfish sketch. You want to make sure that your base orange isn’t too dark or too light, as we’ll be adding darker shadows and brighter highlights in the next few steps.
Step 12:
Add shadow color to your goldfish
The main goal of this step is to define the three-dimensional nature of your goldfish drawing by using shadow colors to highlight points of the body that are located away from us. Choose a slightly darker orange and carefully use it to add some color to the different parts of the goldfish that don’t catch the light.
Step 13:
Draw scales for your goldfish
In this step we are taking our goldfish drawings to the next level of realism by adding scales. Using a very fine brush or pen of the same darker orange color from the previous step, start drawing scale lines starting at the largest gill and moving to the back.
An extra tip we have for you is to draw one scale line at a time, then move on to the next. The scale lines should also be drawn according to what we call a Running Bond. This technique involves ensuring that each of the following layers does not meet the endpoints of the former. In other words, you want the dip points of each scale to be at the center of the vertices of the scales in the previous row.
Step 14:
Add the first highlights to your goldfish drawing
In this step, we’ll use your lighter orange highlighter to add some strokes to the highlights and highlights. Using the brush, lightly paint the tail and fin areas that you haven’t painted before. You want the tail and fins to be much lighter than the rest of the body, but you want to maintain the blend from the shading on each fin. Add some highlights around the face and in the gills, and finally, add a little bit of light inside each scale.
Step 15:
Extra highlight for your goldfish
In the final step, we use a light orange color to add highlights. In this step we will use white to make some highlights stand out even more. Using white not only makes your highlights more dramatic, but it also helps create a sense of color fading.
While you want to add some white highlights to the areas around the face, you want to focus mostly on the edges of the tail and fins. In fact, you want to make these ends as white as possible, so that they appear to be fading into transparency.
Step 16:
Add some final details to your goldfish
We’re nearing the end of the goldfish art tutorial, but before we wrap up, we’ll add a few details to accentuate the realism in this drawing. Use a very fine brush or a white pen, and use it to draw some fine, sharp strokes all over the tail and fins. You want these hair-like strokes to flow towards the back of the drawing.
Step 17:
Finishing the goldfish ball
To add a final touch of realism to your goldfish drawing, use the smallest amount of black paint to give a slight shadow to the bottom of the goldfish. You simply want to give the impression of shadow and dimension, be careful not to overwhelm your drawing. You can also add a little shadow around the eyes and gills to contour the face a bit more.
Step 18:
Erase the outline and admire your goldfish sketch
The final step of this goldfish drawing tutorial is to remove the border. If you don’t want to delete the outline, you can keep it. However, if you are looking for the most realistic feel, then removing the border is the way for you.
Other drawings for your reference:
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