How to draw a shark: 32 simple but interesting ways
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
The best marine predators of all shapes and sizes that anyone can draw.
How to draw a cartoon white shark
What you need
- Paper;
- black marker, felt-tip pen or simple pencil;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Children and those who have never been involved in drawing can easily cope with this drawing.
Draw a curved line at the top of the sheet with a pencil or felt-tip pen - this is the top of the shark.
Continue drawing the shark's head, drawing a line down both sides, as if you are depicting the top of an egg.
Now round the line on both sides, continuing to lead it down. You should end up with an egg shape.
Close the shape at the bottom by drawing a slightly curved line from one tip to the other. This is the body of our cartoon shark.
At the top of the figure, draw two small circles - these will be the eyes.
In one of the shapes, draw two smaller circles - these will be highlights. Then draw a curved line at the bottom of the eye - this will be the lower eyelid.
Shade the eye without touching the highlights and eyelid. Then apply short vertical lines to the eyelid to emphasize its volume.
Draw the second eye in the same way.
Between the eyes, draw a shape resembling a crescent moon, which will become the mouth of our shark. And above the eyes, put a couple of horizontal lines to make eyebrows.
In the mouth above and below, draw a few small triangles - these will be the teeth.
Draw an oval shape on the body of the shark - you get a belly.
Draw two triangles on the sides of the shark, which are connected to the body with wide sides. Make the corners of the figures not sharp, but rounded. You will get fins.
At the top, draw something like an equilateral triangle with a rounded corner, and you will get the dorsal fin, which is the hallmark of all sharks.
On both sides of the body, approximately at the level of the fins, draw a pair of bracket-like lines - these will be the gills.
In fact, shark is already done, but you can give it completeness if you paint over the body with a gray felt-tip pen or pencil. But do not touch the belly - it is whiter in sharks than the rest of the body. On the lower right side of the body, you can also add a small pink heart.
The whole process of drawing a shark can be seen in this video.
What other options are there
If you want to draw a cartoon shark in profile, here is a great tutorial on how to do it.
If the previous drawing seemed complicated to you, here is a simpler option.
And this is a master class for those who want to draw a cartoon shark not in profile, but sideways.
Here they tell you how to draw a cartoon shark.
And finally, instructions on how to draw a funny fold-out picture in the style of a poster for the movie "Jaws". When it is folded, it only shows a fishing boat, but when opened, a great white shark is preparing to attack at the bottom.
How to draw a realistic white shark
What you need
- Paper;
- simple pencil;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Let's start with an outline. Draw two circles at a short distance from each other - these will be the centers of mass of our shark: the chest and stomach.
At the left circle, draw an elongated equilateral triangle, its angle should not be sharp, but rounded. This is the face of our shark.
Connect the circles with slightly curved smooth lines. Then, from the right figure, draw two horizontal, gradually converging lines. This will be the tail.
At the end of the tail, draw a figure resembling an irregular trapezoid - you get a fin.
Draw the dorsal and pectoral fins of the shark. The first resembles a right triangle attached to the base of the shark. The pectoral, in contrast, is twisted, the tip of the fin is shifted to the right.
Draw two circles at the tip of the shark's snout. The one above and to the right is her eye. The second, smaller one is the nostril. Paint over the entire nostril, and leave a round white highlight in the eye.
Let's draw the shark's face and mouth. To begin with, outline the sketch of the head properly to make its shape more clear. Then draw a mouth at the bottom as shown in the picture. In it, draw a few small triangles - you get teeth. Remember that in sharks they do not grow in one row, like in land animals, but in several.
Circle more carefully the dorsal and pectoral fins of the shark. Emphasize the volume of the second by drawing a dark line at its base. This will show that the fin does not stick out from under the shark's belly, but is attached to its side.
Draw the tail fin as shown in the picture. Then circle it again to make it clearer.
Draw on the shark's tail three additional fins in the form of small triangles - one on top and two on the bottom.
Outline the body of the shark. Slightly to the left and above the pectoral fin, draw a few curved lines - you get the gills.
Erase all the guides you used when sketching the shark.
Paint the middle of the shark's body and fins with a darker shade, and leave the belly white.
Now paint a darker tone on the shark's mouth, on its lower fin and on the gills. Paint the back with a lighter shade. Leave the belly and highlights on the chest unpainted.
Shark ready. You can see the full process of drawing it here.
What other options are there
If our drawing seemed too simple to you, here is a more difficult option. This shark is drawn with great attention to detail in the technique of photorealism.
For less experienced artists, this option is more suitable.
A completely realistic shark, drawn with only a felt-tip pen. Even a beginner can handle it.
This tutorial will help you draw a realistic white shark in its natural habitat.
How to Draw a Cartoon Hammerhead Shark
What you need
- Paper;
- Pencil, pen, marker or marker.
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Let's draw a hammerhead shark, she is also a hammerhead fish. She has an unusual head shape, which is the reason for the name.
Draw a horizontal, slightly curved line at the top of the sheet - this will be the head of the shark.
Draw a bracketed line to the left of the line.
Add the same line to the right.
Trim the bottom edges of the lines just drawn so that the shark's head has a symmetrical shape.
Draw a curved line from the shark's head down, outlining the left side of its body.
Draw a curved shape on the side, resembling a cropped oval. This will be our shark's fin. It is half-turned towards us, so the fin will be partially hidden by the body.
Draw the second fin, consisting of two curved lines converging towards the end. Its tip should not be sharp, but rounded.
Draw a curved line from the right half of the head down - so that it does not touch the edges of the fin just drawn. This will be the right side of the shark's body.
Add two more curved lines to the ends of the shark's body: the left one should be longer, the right one should be short. They should both curve to the right. This will be the shark's tail.
Draw the shark's tail fin. The bottom half of the fin should be about three times shorter than the top half.
Add another fin to the shark's back.
Draw two small circles on the edges of the shark's head - these will be its eyes.
Shade the eyes, but not entirely - leave small highlights in them to show volume.
Draw a bracket-shaped line between the shark's eyes - you get a smile.
Draw along the entire length of the body, without affecting the head, a curved line separating the back from the white abdomen.
Draw two curved vertical lines next to the eyes to show that her head is not flat but has a rounded shape.
Shark is ready. You can see the full process of drawing it here.
What other options are there
Here is a cartoonish hammerhead shark more difficult. There is a rather fierce expression on her face.
For those who want to draw a less severe and dangerous shark, this option is suitable.
Finally, one more shark, which must be depicted on a pre-folded piece of paper. She will open her mouth when you unfold it. A very interesting idea.
How to Draw a Realistic Hammerhead Shark
What you need
- Paper;
- simple pencil;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Now we will depict a real hammerhead shark. Doing this is easier than it looks.
Draw an elongated rectangular shape on the left side of the sheet. This will be the head of the shark.
Draw a long, curved line from the shark's head. This will be her back.
Draw another curved line below. This will be her belly. The two lines should converge on the left side of the sheet - there you will draw the tail.
Draw the pectoral fins of the shark as shown in the image below.
Draw the dorsal fin - it will resemble the previous two in shape.
Draw an elongated right triangle attached to the tail. Its right angle should look to the right and down, and the sharp one should look up.
Draw a small round eye on the right side of the shark's head. Shade it, but not completely - you need to leave a small highlight.
Make the shark's head more rounded.
Draw an inverted crescent moon shape where the shark's head meets the neck to form the mouth.
Fill your mouth with small triangular teeth. Remember that they grow in sharks in several rows, so one more row should be added behind the front row of triangles.
Add a small line next to the eye - this will be the nostril.
Make the shark's dorsal and pectoral fins darker and round off their ends to make them look more realistic.
Draw four more triangles on the shark's tail, only smaller. One will be on top, two pairs - below, where the belly ends and the tail begins. Another one is in the middle of the tail.
Draw a few vertical, slightly curved lines on the shark's neck - these will be the gills. And then make the contours of her body darker to emphasize the shape of the body.
Draw the tail fin, giving it a more realistic shape.
Erase all primitives and guide lines that we used when sketching the shark.
Paint over the shark's mouth with a dark color, without touching the teeth. Fill her fins and gills with a dark tone, and lighten her back. Shade the belly only lightly, because it is almost white in sharks.
Shark is ready. You can see the full drawing process here.
What other options are there
If such a shark seems too complicated for you, here is a better option - this drawing can be done with only a felt-tip pen at hand.
And this is a more complex colorful option for those who like to paint with watercolors.
An even more complex version, where the shark is drawn with a graphite pencil on a watercolor background. You'll have to sweat, but the result will impress anyone.
And, finally, the real test for any artist is a portrait of a hammerhead shark, executed in the technique of photorealism.
How to Draw a Cartoon Megalodon Shark
What you need
- Paper;
- a simple pencil, marker or felt-tip pen;
- colored pencils for coloring;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Megalodon is the largest known shark in the history of planet Earth. Let's draw this ferocious character.
Draw two short converging lines in the left corner of a piece of paper. Make the bottom line slightly curved, the top line more straight. This will be the face of the shark.
Draw a straight horizontal line from the top edge of the head, slightly rising up, and then draw an acute angle looking up. This is the back and dorsal fin of the megalodon.
Draw one or two small triangular cuts in the fin of the megalodon - our monster will have real battle scars. Then draw a horizontal line from the fin to the right - this will be the tail.
On the tail, draw a small triangle with the tip up - this is an additional dorsal fin.
Draw a sharp open triangle on the tail - this is the upper part of the caudal fin.
Draw another smaller open triangle, this time with a rounded side and a sharp corner pointing down. You will receive the lower part of the tail fin.
Draw a short line from the tail to the left - this will be the belly. Then draw a triangular shark fin at the bottom.
Continue the line of the belly, then add the pectoral fin to the megalodon. It consists of two converging curved lines.
Draw the shark's mouth. To do this, draw two converging curved lines inside the muzzle. The top should be longer than the bottom.
Fill the megalodon's mouth with triangular teeth. Draw a curved line between the jaws - this will make the mouth voluminous.
Paint the mouth black, without touching the teeth, and put a small line on the tip of the muzzle - you get a nostril.
Draw a zigzag line across the muzzle to make it look like a wickedly furrowed brow. Below it, draw an oval squinted eye. Do not paint over it entirely - leave a highlight in the upper right part.
Draw 3-4 short, curved lines on the shark's neck for gills.
In principle, the megalodon is already ready, but if you want, you can color it. Fortunately, this is the easiest part of the drawing. Take a blue or gray pencil or felt-tip pen and cover the fins, tail and back of the shark with even color. But do not touch the belly, the lower part of the nose, the glare in the eyes and the teeth.
Finally, take a darker blue pencil or marker and draw small blue spots on the megalodon's back in a chaotic manner.
Megalodon is ready. You can see the full drawing process here.
What other options are there
If the megalodon above seems too complicated for you, here is an easier option. It can be depicted using only one felt-tip pen.
And here is a funny folding picture with a surprise. It depicts a megalodon with a closed mouth, but if you unfold it, it turns out that the monster intends to swallow a submarine.
Finally, a drawing that shows only the head of a megalodon in a cartoon style, but at the same time its teeth are worked out in detail.
How to Draw a Realistic Megalodon Shark
What you need
- Paper;
- a simple pencil with a hardness of H2 or HB;
- a simple pencil with softness B2 or B4;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Now we will draw a more complicated picture: it will depict a megalodon half-turned to the viewer. It's a pretty tricky angle, but you can do it.
Let's start with an outline. Take a hard (H2) or medium (HB) pencil so that the lines are easy to erase, and draw a small circle in the upper left corner of the paper. This will be the tip of the megalodon's nose. Draw a line from the circle to the right. This is the direction of the shark's body.
Draw an arc from the circle to the opposite end of the straight line and you'll have the outline of the shark's back.
Draw a similar arc, but wider, from below, and you will get a sketch of the belly.
Draw a circle at the top of the resulting figure - this will be the eye of the megalodon.
Draw two converging, curved lines below the eye for the shark's mouth.
Draw a line from the tip of the mouth to the tip of the tail to show the belly.
Draw a black dot between the eye and the mouth - this will be the nostril.
Draw a smooth, curved line from above the shark's eye to a guide line to emphasize the shape of the head.
Make clearer the lines depicting the mouth of the shark.
Draw two spiky shapes representing the fins on the shark's chest. One of them is smaller, because it is further from us and hidden by the body, the second is larger.
A similar figure, only with the tip up, add on the shark's back. Get a dorsal fin.
Draw two narrow shapes with sharp ends on the tail, which will represent the caudal fin. The larger figure should look up, the smaller one should look down. Do not make them too wide, because the shark is depicted half-turned.
Finally, add one small triangle next to the megalodon's tail on top and two others, paired, on the bottom. Get extra fins.
Draw the rows of bared triangular teeth in the shark's mouth and you're done.
Now we will draw this sketch. Take a softer pencil like B2 or B4 and fill in the eye, leaving only a round highlight on the top left side of the eye.
Circle the lines depicting the head more clearly, shade the nostril and draw barely noticeable folds of skin around the eye.
Make your teeth darker and more defined. Add a second row of teeth behind the first.
Shade the mouth of the megalodon, but do not touch the teeth. Do the same with the part of the nose, but make it lighter. This shadow will instantly add volume to the shark's head.
Draw with a darker shade the contours of the body and the fins of the shark.
Shade the belly of the shark and the inside of its fins with a soft pencil.
In a lighter tone, shade the back and outer parts of the fins of the megalodon.
Now put a darker tone on the back and fins, but leave the areas around the mouth and hind fins light.
Draw vertical curved gills on the shark's neck, make its dorsal and pectoral fins darker. The drawing is ready.
You can fully see how to draw a megalodon in this instruction.
What other options are there
Another pencil drawing of a megalodon for those who don't want to bother.
And this megalodon is drawn only with a marker, but at the same time, the shape and volume of the monster are perfectly conveyed in the drawing.
For those who like to draw with colored or pastel pencils or markers, this option can be a great example. Here the megalodon attacks the mosasaurus. We'll have to work on the transfer of color, but the result is impressive.
How to draw a cartoon sawnose shark
What you need
- Paper;
- black marker or felt-tip pen or a simple pencil;
- eraser rubber.
How to draw
Now we will depict a saw shark, or a saw shark. It can be drawn with a pencil, felt-tip pen or pen. Here's how to do it.
Draw a slightly curved line from the top left corner of the paper to the bottom right corner. This will be the back of your saw shark.
Draw a similar line below to get a geometric figure that slightly resembles a footprint. Keep this association in mind, and drawing will be much easier. As a result, we will get a sketch of the body of our cartoon character.
Draw an elongated shape near the lower right side of our sketch, as shown in the figure below. This will be the face of the sawnose shark.
Draw in the upper left part of the sheet, at the level of the shark's back, a half oval. This will be her dorsal fin.
Draw another half of the oval, only smaller, to the left and a little higher. This will be the second fin.
At the upper left edge of the shark's body, draw a curved shape resembling a petal. This will be the top of the tail fin.
Under the "petal" you just made, draw a small, open oval that joins the shark's tail at its ends. This will be the bottom of the tail fin. Your shark is starting to take shape.
Draw another larger open oval to the right, and you will have a shark's lateral fin in your drawing.
Draw another open oval, a little bigger, and place it a little to the right and lower. This is the pectoral fin of a shark.
On the shark's head, next to its nose, draw two intersecting curved lines as shown in the image below. They will help you figure out how to place the eyes.
Draw a flattened vertical oval on the left side of the shark's face, and inside it draw another smaller shape. You will get a great eye with a pupil.
Fill the pupil with black, but leave a small unpainted dot in the upper left part of it - this will be a highlight. Also draw a small line on top of the eye, and you get an eyelid.
Now draw the second eye - it is almost a mirror image of the first. At the same time, it should be slightly smaller and shifted to the right and higher. Fill the pupil with black, but leave a small unfilled dot in the upper left part of it.
Draw two symmetrical lines above the shark's eyes: one to the left and more, the second to the right and less. These will be the shark's eyebrows. Don't be embarrassed by the fact that the right one is hanging in the air above the eye - it will give your work a cartoonish look.
Around the shark's nose, draw several oval teeth of different sizes, sticking out in all directions - as a result, the fish's nose will resemble a circular saw.
Trace the outlines of your sawnose shark with a pencil. In principle, this drawing can be considered complete.
But if you don't want to stop there, you can color the shark with colored pencils or felt-tip pens. Make the shark's body blue, the pupils and eyebrows black, and the teeth around the nose gray or yellow. Then take a darker blue felt-tip pen or pencil and go over the lower half of the shark's body - this way you will add shadows to it, and it will sharply become not flat, but voluminous.
Shark is ready. You can see her drawing process here.
What other options are there
This sawnose shark is also quite simple and cartoonish, but at the same time it has a very villainous look.
You can also draw the Shark King from the Suicide Squad comic and movie of the same name. It is a humanoid shark with legs and arms.
And finally, try to draw an ugly, but at the same time wildly original inhabitant of the depths - a goblin shark.
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Cover: Christina Li / Roman Gorielov / Djomas / Runrun2 / shutterstock / Lifehacker
Text worked on: author Dmitry Sazhko, editor Natalya Murakhtanova, proofreader Natalya Psurtseva