How to Draw a Seahorse

ຂັ້ນ​ຕອນ​ຕໍ່​ຂັ້ນ​ຕອນ

1. ຂັ້ນ 1

   Begin with the body shape.

   One long oval, drawn fast. Fish bodies are smooth in a way hands are bad at producing slowly, so go round the shape in one continuous motion and keep the best pass.

   ລະວັງ A lumpy body built from careful short strokes.

   ກວດ The body should be symmetrical about its long axis.

2. ຂັ້ນ 2

   Add the tail at the back.

   The tail is bigger than you think - often a third of the body's length. An undersized tail is the single thing that makes a drawn fish read as a leaf.

   ລະວັງ A small tail tucked against the body.

   ກວດ The tail should be about a third of the body length.

3. ຂັ້ນ 3

   Add the gill line.

   One curve, following the round of the head, roughly a fifth of the way along. It separates head from body and does more work than any other single line on the fish.

   ລະວັງ A straight gill line, which flattens the head.

   ກວດ The gill curve should bow the same way as the nose.

4. ຂັ້ນ 4

   Add the eye near the front.

   High and forward - roughly where the gill curve meets the top third. Round, dark centre, one highlight. Too low or too far back and the fish stops looking alert.

   ລະວັງ Centring the eye in the head.

   ກວດ The eye should sit above the body's midline.

5. ຂັ້ນ 5

   Add the mouth.

   The mouth sits at the very front, lower than the eye, and it is smaller than instinct says. A short curve is enough - an open grin turns the fish into a cartoon.

   ລະວັງ A large smiling mouth.

   ກວດ The mouth should be below and forward of the eye.

6. ຂັ້ນ 6

   Draw the fin on the back.

   Start the fin lines INSIDE the body so they cross the outline. That overlap is what attaches the fin - drawn outside the line it floats like a flag.

   ລະວັງ A fin sitting on the outline without crossing it.

   ກວດ Fin lines should visibly cross the body outline.

7. ຂັ້ນ 7

   Draw the fin underneath.

   Compare it to the top fin, not to your idea of a fin: position, rake and size all read against the one you already drew.

   ລະວັງ A bottom fin that mirrors the top exactly - they rarely match in nature.

   ກວດ The two fins should differ, deliberately.

8. ຂັ້ນ 8

   Draw the pectoral fin behind the gill.

   The pectoral fin is the smallest and it sits just behind the gill curve, angled back. It is the one nearest the viewer, so it draws over the body.

   ລະວັງ Making the side fin as big as the others.

   ກວດ It should be clearly the smallest fin.

9. ຂັ້ນ 9

   Add a few scale marks - not all of them.

   Suggest, never itemise. A handful of marks near the head lets the eye tile the rest of the body; drawing every scale turns the fish into a texture swatch.

   ລະວັງ Covering the whole body in scales.

   ກວດ Most of the body should still be empty.

10. ຂັ້ນ 10

    Put in the features specific to a seahorse.

    Species markings follow the body's curve and fade toward the belly. Put them on deliberately - they are the difference between a fish and this fish.

    ລະວັງ Markings drawn flat across a curved body.

    ກວດ Stripes or patches should bend with the form.

11. ຂັ້ນ 11

    Shade so the body reads as a cylinder.

    The underside is darker - light comes from above, even underwater in a drawing. One soft band of tone along the belly makes the whole fish read as round.

    ລະວັງ Even tone everywhere, which flattens the body.

    ກວດ The belly should be clearly darker than the back.

12. ຂັ້ນ 12

    Add rising bubbles and a drifting ripple line.

    Three bubbles of different sizes rising off the mouth and two long ripple lines are the entire ocean - more reads as boiling. The bubbles shrink as they rise, and the ripples drift horizontal, which is what places the seahorse in water instead of in white space.

    ລະວັງ A column of same-size bubbles, or ripples that wave like flags.

    ກວດ The bubbles should get smaller as they rise.

13. ຂັ້ນ 13

    Weight the outline, erase the construction.

    Darken the silhouette and the tail, keep pattern marks light, erase the construction oval. Weight contrast finishes the drawing.

    ລະວັງ Every line at the same weight.

    ກວດ The outline should dominate when you squint.