How to draw
How to Draw an Underwater Coral Reef Scene
- Challenge (level 5 of 5)
- 50 min
- 14 steps
- Ages 10–14 (a guide, not a rule)
Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil, Eraser. Optional: Colored pencils: blues, coral pink, purple, yellow and orange.
Draw it on the screen
A reef scene is a landscape under water. You will draw it in three depths, nearest first, so farther lines simply stop behind nearer ones. Corals teach new shapes: branches that split, tubes with ellipse tops, and a dome with curving grooves. Under water, far things fade into blue, so keep them light.
Rather color it? Print the coral reef coloring page.
Step by step
- New lines: purple, thick and glowing
- Lines you already drew: gray
- Guides: dashed blue, draw them lightly
- Erase: dotted pink with an eraser
Step 1 of 14
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Step 1 of 14 Split your paper into three depths with two light guide lines: the far reef at the back, the middle ground, and the sandy foreground nearest you. -
Step 2 of 14 Start with the nearest thing: a branching coral at the bottom left. Each branch splits into two thinner branches, with round tips. -
Step 3 of 14 On the right, draw three tube sponges. Each top is an ellipse, because you see the round opening from a little above. Add a smaller ellipse inside each. -
Step 4 of 14 Add tall blades of sea grass, two rocks and a starfish with five arms. The second rock is behind the first, so stop its line there. -
Step 5 of 14 Draw the edge of the sand: a gentle wavy line on the lower guide. Stop it at the coral, sponges, grass and rocks in front. -
Step 6 of 14 Draw a big fish swimming left: a long oval body with a pointed nose, a forked tail, a fin on top and one below, a gill line and an eye. -
Step 7 of 14 Draw a small striped fish facing right near the sponges, the same way but smaller. Add a trail of bubbles above the sponges and the starfish. -
Step 8 of 14 In the middle ground, draw a brain coral: a dome behind the rocks. Draw wavy grooves that curve around the dome, like lines on a ball: they show its shape. -
Step 9 of 14 Behind the coral on the left, draw a sea fan: a short stem that splits again and again into thinner branches, spreading out like a fan. -
Step 10 of 14 Far away, draw the back of the reef on the top guide with a few coral bumps and a school of tiny fish. Use thin, light lines: far things look pale under water. -
Step 11 of 14 Erase the two guide lines. -
Step 12 of 14 Sunlight shines down from the surface. Draw a few beams of light: pairs of long, light lines slanting down from the top, stopping behind the fish. -
Step 13 of 14 Light comes from above, so shade the right side of each coral branch and sponge, the dome's shady side and the lower half of each fish: a middle value. -
Step 14 of 14 Make the darkest values up close: inside the sponge openings, under the rocks and the shadows on the sand. Far things stay pale; near things get the strongest darks.
You did it!
Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.
Tips for this drawing
Helpful hints
- Plan where the big fish goes before you draw the middle ground, so it does not get lost behind the coral.
- Draw coral branches with smooth, rounded tips; sharp points make them look like trees or antlers.
- Keep the far reef small and simple, with thin lines. Detail belongs up close.
Common mistakes
- Everything is the same size and darkness, so the picture looks flat. Make near things bigger and darker, and far things smaller and paler.
- The tops of the sponges are drawn as flat lines. A round opening seen from above is an ellipse. Draw the whole oval.
- Lines from the back show through the fish. The fish is in front: erase the lines inside it, or draw it first next time.
Make it simpler
Draw a wavy sand line, one branching coral, two tube sponges with ellipse tops and one fish. Add bubbles and shade the near coral darker than the rest.
Foreground, middle ground, background
Big, detailed corals and fish up close, a brain coral and sea fan in the middle, and a small, simple reef far away give the picture depth.
Overlap
Draw the nearest things first. Each farther line stops where it meets something in front, so the picture stacks up in layers.
Branching
Many corals grow by splitting: each branch divides into two thinner ones. Repeat the same split, smaller each time.
Ellipses and contours
The round top of a tube seen from above is an ellipse. Grooves that curve around the brain coral, like lines on a ball, show that it is round.
Value under water
Water makes far things pale and blue, like haze on land. Keep the far reef light, shade near shapes with middle values and save the darkest values for up close.
