How to Draw a Seahorse

שריט־פֿאַר־שריט

1. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס A lumpy body built from careful short strokes.

   באַשטעטיק The body should be symmetrical about its long axis.

2. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס A small tail tucked against the body.

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

3. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס A straight gill line, which flattens the head.

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

4. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס Centring the eye in the head.

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

5. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס A large smiling mouth.

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

6. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס A fin sitting on the outline without crossing it.

   באַשטעטיק Fin lines should visibly cross the body outline.

7. שריט 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.

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

   באַשטעטיק The two fins should differ, deliberately.

8. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס Making the side fin as big as the others.

   באַשטעטיק It should be clearly the smallest fin.

9. שריט 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.

   װײַז אױס Covering the whole body in scales.

   באַשטעטיק Most of the body should still be empty.

10. שריט 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.

    װײַז אױס Markings drawn flat across a curved body.

    באַשטעטיק Stripes or patches should bend with the form.

11. שריט 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.

    װײַז אױס Even tone everywhere, which flattens the body.

    באַשטעטיק The belly should be clearly darker than the back.

12. שריט 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.

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

    באַשטעטיק The bubbles should get smaller as they rise.

13. שריט 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.

    װײַז אױס Every line at the same weight.

    באַשטעטיק The outline should dominate when you squint.