Easy animal drawing • Ages 5–8

How to Draw a Dolphin for Kids

Here is how to draw a leaping dolphin in four easy visual steps. Smooth curves and a pointed fin make this a graceful, screen-free drawing activity for beginner artists ages 4–8.

Difficulty: Medium Age guide: 5–8 Time: 10 minutes 4 visual steps

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The dolphin begins with a single wavy line that already forms the rounded forehead and the pointed snout. Keeping the body smooth rather than lumpy is the one thing worth practising here. Sit together, take the curves slowly, and your artist will have a dolphin mid-leap in four steps.

Make it your own

Draw your dolphin bursting out of a curling wave with splashes around its tail, add a hoop to leap through, or put a second dolphin jumping alongside so they arc through the water together.

Draw a dolphin in four steps

Step 1

Draw one wavy line with a rounded bump and a small pointed beak underneath at the left. This is the dolphin’s face.

Step 2

Sweep the back up and over into a long curved body that narrows down to a tail with two wide flukes.

Step 3

Add a tall pointed fin standing up on the back and one curved flipper reaching down from the side.

Step 4

Finish with a round eye, a shiny highlight and a long smiling line running back from the tip of the beak.

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How to Draw a Dolphin for Kids

Make it your own