How to draw · Confident · about 20 minutes

Octopus

You need: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Pink, red or purple crayons, colored pencils or markers.

Thick lines: draw these now. Thin gray: already drawn. Dashed: light guides you erase later.

Finished
  1. center line

    1. Draw a tall light oval for the head and a light line straight down the middle of your paper.

  2. 2. Plan the arms with one light curvy line each: two curl down in front, two reach out to the sides and two wave up behind. Make the right side a mirror of the left.

  3. 3. Draw the head over the top of the oval. Make both sides curve the same way, and stop a little above the bottom of the oval.

  4. 4. Draw two big round eyes the same distance from the center line, with a dark pupil in each. Add a small smile on the center line.

  5. 5. Draw the two front arms around their guide lines. Each arm starts wide under the head and gets thinner as it curls out to a rounded point.

  6. 6. Draw the two side arms the same way. They are behind the front arms, so stop each line where it touches a front arm.

  7. 7. Draw the two back arms waving up. Start them at the side of the head and stop their lines at the arms in front.

  8. erase

    8. Erase the guides: the head oval, the center line and the six arm lines.

  9. 9. Draw round suckers along the curled end of each arm. Make them smaller as the arm gets thinner.

  10. 10. Shade the right side of the head with short slanted lines: the light comes from the top left. Add a few spots on the head.

Practice here

Tip: Draw the arm guide lines first and turn the paper as you go: curls are easier when your hand moves around them.