How to draw a turtle step by step with a pencil. Great Step by Step Instructions on How to Draw a Turtle Sea Turtle Drawing for Kids

Drawing is a fun activity for children. Depicting nature, animals and birds undoubtedly brings them great pleasure. Marine inhabitants, and in particular turtles, are distinguished by their special beauty and grace.

Drawing a reptile is not an easy task even for adults, but by depicting each part of the body step by step, you will be able to quickly reproduce a beautiful and believable turtle on paper.

The difficulties of depicting a reptile lie in the structural features of the body: a rather unusual shape of the shell, the presence of many folds and wrinkles on the limbs, head and neck.

All these appearance features can be drawn at the very end, when the torso is completely depicted and the limbs are sketched in pencil. For children, such a task will be quite difficult, so the help of parents is simply necessary here.

Please note that such drawings are best created using contours; this will simplify the task for children. If you want to draw a turtle as realistically as possible, then you should make sketches by drawing simple geometric shapes.

Try to recreate the animal by drawing rectangles, circles and triangles. Using this drawing technique, you can quickly hone your skills, and it will be much easier to depict animals and birds on paper.

Before you start drawing a turtle with a pencil step by step, you need to prepare everything you need: paper, pencils of varying degrees of hardness, an eraser.

Don’t forget about a stick designed for rubbing hatching; if you don’t have such a tool at hand, you can use plain paper that has been previously rolled into the shape of a cone.

Having drawn the turtle step by step with a pencil, you can begin to paint the resulting image. For this purpose you will need both colored pencils and paints (preferably gouache).

Well, now we draw a turtle together with the children step by step, following the instructions described below.

The process of creating an image of a reptile

  • First you need to prepare a sheet of paper. We draw a horizontal as well as a vertical line that will intersect in the center. This procedure is necessary so that you can easily navigate and understand where exactly you need to start drawing a turtle. This is what the markup looks like before starting work.
  • Next, we draw simple geometric shapes and get a kind of blank. The shell makes up most of the body, so it should be sketched out first; then it will be easier to determine the proportions of the remaining parts of the turtle’s body.

It is worth taking into account that sketching with a pencil should not be too thick strokes. Thick lines will be much harder to erase later with an eraser.

  • Now you need to make the neck more distinct, draw the eye, and detail the forelimbs. Don’t forget to draw a small tail, draw it as clearly as possible.

  • Step by step, we schematically draw the shell with a pencil, draw the muzzle, and make adjustments to the structure of the front part of the reptile’s body. This activity can be entrusted to a child, he will quickly cope with the task.

  • Upon completion of the drawing, you can erase unnecessary lines with an eraser, draw folds on the front and hind limbs, and draw toes on the paws. It is also necessary to round the depicted cells of the shell, thanks to this they will look more voluminous.

  • Finally, we will paint the turtle using gouache. To draw the cells of the shell, it is better to use several different shades to make the image lively and realistic. Applying shading in the area of ​​the neck and muzzle will help create a shadow, thereby conveying all the structural features of the body as accurately as possible.

There are many options for how to draw a turtle step by step, but the proposed method is quite simple, and besides, the drawing turns out very bright and lively.

For children, this activity will be very fun and entertaining. Thanks to the guidance of adults, a child will be able to draw a reptile in 10-15 minutes.

However, you don’t have to paint the sketch with a pencil; it already looks great; by rubbing the shading, we clearly highlight the parts of the body, as if we “revive” the turtle.

Anyone can draw on craft paper; we use simple available tools and materials. However, colored pencils alone will not be enough. After all, you need to bring the picture to life, and this difficult task can be accomplished perfectly with a white marker or gel pen.

So let's get started!

Necessary materials:

  • colour pencils;
  • eraser and HB pencil;
  • sheet of kraft paper.

Steps for drawing a turtle:

Draw the body of the turtle in the form of a circle. At the top we will add an oval, which will become the head of the animal.

At the top of the head we will draw two large ovals and one small one in the middle of each figure. These will be the turtle's eyes.

Then we will add highlights and pupils in the eyes, as well as eyelashes on the sides of the eyes. At the bottom of the head we draw a mouth in the form of a small smile.

Let's move on to creating the body. To do this, add the lower and upper legs to the circle. We draw a line for the base of the shell.

Then, on top of the outline of the circle, we will add another arc, which can create the shell of the animal. We draw the texture in the form of geometric shapes, having decided on the contour and base.

Now you can move on to coloring the picture. First, take a light green pencil, which we use in the muzzle, paws and some areas of the shell.

Use a dark green pencil to add volume to the already painted areas of the drawing.

Using a yellow pencil we add a tint to the lower part of the shell-tummy. Then in orange we get the volume in these areas of the picture.

To color the upper part of the turtle's shell, you should use three pencils of different colors at once: beige, turquoise and dark brown.

You can't color a picture without a black pencil. After all, it will help create a contour and add color to some parts. For example, the depressions in the shell or the pupils and upper eyelids.

A white pencil will help to “revive” the drawing of a turtle on craft paper a little. Apply strokes to the eyes. If you are drawing on plain paper, you can skip this step.

Sea turtles have a very unusual shape compared to other sea inhabitants, so draw a turtle very exciting, but not the easiest task. The difficulty is that the turtle has a very unusual shell shape, and it is difficult to draw its relief pattern. In addition, the turtle’s skin has a lot of folds and wrinkles that also need to be drawn. Drawings of turtles are most often found using the pencil technique, since it is easier to create shadows of the shell pattern and deep wrinkles of the turtle’s skin with a simple pencil. In this lesson you will be able to draw a turtle with a pencil, step by step.

1. Draw the outline of the turtle shell


Let's start the drawing with the outline of the shell. To do this, draw an oval stretched from left to right, and in the center of the oval draw a line dividing the turtle's shell in half. Any picture will correctly display the proportions of the drawing object in subsequent steps if the primary proportions of the drawing are made as accurately as possible.

2. Contours of the head and paws


At this stage of the drawing, mark the outlines of the turtle's paws. The turtle's legs also serve as its fins, so draw them in the shape of triangles. The middle line will divide the turtle's body, and will serve as the boundary for the mirror reflection of the details of the drawing, and only the head will be one, although it happens that turtles are born with two heads.

3. How to draw the shell and head


Inside the outline of the turtle's shell, draw an oval with a slightly smaller diameter. At the very bottom of the shell, remember to draw a small triangular tail and start drawing the head. First draw the neck with two lines, and then the eyes.

4. Detailing the drawing of a turtle


At this stage, drawing a turtle is not difficult, but you will need to do a lot of small details. First of all, correct the contours of the fins.

5. The drawing of the turtle is almost finished


The shell must be drawn so that all segments of the shell are symmetrical, relative to the line dividing the shell in half. You can choose the sizes of the shell segments at your discretion, as well as their number. To draw a turtle more realistically, you need to pay attention to the little things. For example, you can make small specks on the head and fins, since its skin is rough, with “pimples.” Then take care of the shell, and lastly draw in detail the turtle's head.

6. Final stage


At this stage, the drawing of the turtle is already completed, you just need to check if there are any missing details and start applying shadows. The relief pattern of a turtle shell can be depicted with the shadows of a simple pencil, darkening the boundaries of this pattern, and, on the contrary, make the “paths” between parts of the shell lighter. Paint turtle drawing It's not worth using paints. In reality, she is not a very beautiful color; her skin and shell are the usual earth color. Therefore, drawing a turtle with a simple pencil will be even more beautiful.

Video on how to draw a turtle.


Turtles, like dolphins, live in the sea and they are called sea turtles. But unlike the dolphin, turtles can also live on land. You will definitely get accurate drawings, whether of a turtle or a dolphin, if you draw them step by step, first with a simple pencil, and then color them with paints or colored pencils.


Many children keep turtles at home. If you have a turtle at home, then you can draw it “from life”. Drawing a turtle is much easier than drawing a kitten, because it is very slow.


Pictures of dragons are definitely difficult to draw. In fact, a dragon is a symbiosis of a lizard and a bird, and in the drawing of a dragon it is necessary to reflect the plasticity of these two creatures.


Kangaroos, like turtles, are unique. Firstly, kangaroos live only in Australia, and secondly, the kangaroo mother carries the baby in a “bag” on her stomach, in which it sits until it grows up. Therefore, such animals are called marsupials.


Anyone who loves turtles probably also loves frogs. And sometimes you just want to draw a picture of the characters from a book you read about a frog traveler or how a frog turned into a princess. Drawing for children with a simple pencil is best done in stages, first outlining only the general contours of the frog. And then, step by step, draw the whole picture.


Drawing together with a child is not only interesting, but also incredibly useful. Drawing has a positive impact on children's development. Therefore, as soon as you have the opportunity to create or draw something with your child, you should not neglect this chance. Even if you don’t know how to draw, don’t worry, step-by-step drawing lessons were invented just for such cases. You will need a little perseverance, attentiveness and, most importantly, desire.
Children really like turtles, and they definitely won’t refuse to draw one of them. That's why today's lesson is about drawing a turtle step by step.
What do you need for drawing?
Blank sheet of paper;
Pencil;
Eraser;
A little patience.

Step one - turtle body

We draw an oval, it will serve as the body of a turtle. To make it easier to explain to your child what an oval is, say that it is similar in shape to an egg. And remind us that turtles come from eggs.

Step two - draw the shell

The shell is an integral part of any turtle. This is not only her home, but also the main means of protection from danger. To draw the shell, separate the lower part with lines

Step three - draw the turtle's head

The turtle's head is also oval. It should be placed under the edge of the shell.

Step four - draw the paws

The turtle's legs are very short, but no less strong. With their help, she covers long distances and digs deep holes.

Step five - remove extra lines

Now all the drawn details need to be correctly and smoothly designed. Use an eraser to remove excess lines and go over the outline with a pencil again.

Step six - divide the shell into 2 parts

Visually, the turtle shell can be divided into two parts. To do this, separate a small area with a smooth line, as shown in the picture below.

Step seven - shields on the shell

The bottom of the shell consists of small scutes. Draw them all together in one row. Those shields that gradually rise up are larger in size and are located in a circle. The closer to the top of the shell, the smaller they become again.
Another detail of a turtle's body is its large claws. With the help of their sharpness, the reptile can dig itself a deep hole.

Step eight - draw the “scales”

In appearance and tactile sensations, the skin of turtles is very rough and has many wrinkles. Therefore, when depicting a turtle, its entire body should be painted with such “scales”.

Don't forget to draw the turtle's mouth and one eye, since it is positioned sideways.

Option one

Option two


Option three

Option four (step by step)

Step one. On the left side of the sheet we will draw a large horizontal oval - the future head. Below, closely, we will place a figure similar to a semicircle.

Step two. Now, using two curved lines emanating from one point, we will connect the shell and the head of our turtle. On top of the oval - let's draw a figure: it feels like there is a circle hidden behind the oval.

Step three. Let's draw three legs: two larger, one smaller. We don't see the fourth one. The animal’s body peeks out from under the shell: let’s draw a line. Let's draw a sharp small tail.

Step four. This is perhaps the most difficult step. To find out how to draw a turtle that looks like a real one, you will have to take a closer look. Let's be patient and put an eraser nearby just in case. Our cute and playful turtle has two large eyes.

We see only one, it is located at the top of the face. Above it is a fold of skin. Therefore, it is as if we are starting to draw a circle above the eye, but, resting on the oval of the face, we finish the line. Exactly the same fold above the other eye, it peeks out from behind the head. And then we’ll draw a small corner of the second cheek next to it. Two long curved lines on the oval will show us the nose. Let's add a dot a little lower. And below is a wide smile. A couple of dashes and folds on the neck will add liveliness to our image. Step five. Now we take a soft pencil in our hands and trace the outline of the drawing. Carefully erase the auxiliary lines with an eraser.

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