Isn’t it strange? When I started to draw a dolphin I’ve got similar feeling like when I was drawing an elephant.
No doubt that both animals are highly intelligent. There is some special
aura around them, even if you just draw them on a paper.
Some people still have tendency to compare dolphins with sharks although we all consciously understand that dolphins are totally different species.
My guess is that this is caused by similarity in shapes of dorsal fin and pectoral fins (AKA: pectoral flippers)
If you could see only the tails of both; dolphin and shark, the difference would become clear immediately.
Shark’s tail fin (AKA: caudal fin) is shaped vertically while dolphin’s tail fin (AKA: tail fluke) is horizontal.
When shark swims below the water level you can easily see both dorsal and caudal fins at the same time.
Dolphins can show only dorsal fin if they swim right below the water level. Horizontal tail fluke remains under the water level.
Today we will draw a dolphin in one of its most natural motion - jumping.
Before you begin to draw this jumping dolphin take a little time and observe your object.
Comparing to the previous exercises of shark drawing. or fish drawing., dolphin drawing is a bit different.
I picked this jumping nice dolphin body on purpose in order to make the
drawing process a little bit difficult and thus a good drawing exercise.
Hold your pencil loose or tilted and sketch the approximate outline contour of dolphin’s body.
Sketch the fins in the following order: Start with the dorsal fin if possible and sketch the pectoral flippers as last.
I recommend this sequence because it helps you to capture best total balance when you draw a dolphin.
Observe well the length of dolphin’s distinctive beak. Compare the length of the beak to the head.
Pay a little more attention to this important detail. We are drawing a bottle-nose dolphin.
As every animal has its feature, what makes dolphin look like a dolphin
is mainly its rounded head, distinctive beak and a smiling expression.
We can call it the dolphin’s face. If you work diligently on this one detail, the rest of the dolphin drawing will be very easy.
On the contrary, if you cannot capture well the face expression, your
dolphin drawing despite your great effort will not resemble much to a
dolphin.
It is perfectly OK if you practice drawing only the head on a separate paper first.
Draw sharper pencil line over the initial body contours marking out the finalized shape.
Gradually begin erase all unnecessary and excess pencil cluster.
Draw clear pencil line but not too strong in case you need to make some
corrections that you will probably do. Outline the mouth opening and
draw the eye.
Pay special attention to capture good balance of eyes and mouth. Now you have your dolphin drawing virtually ready.
The following is coloring.
Hold your graphite pencil tilted and cover gently the body in grey. The opposite side pectoral flipper is dark (in the shade).
Mark out the blowhole on dolphin’s head. Keep that in mind when you draw
a dolphin or whale, because these animals have blowholes.
You can use also grey colored pencil over the graphite pencil. It will create a good texture.
Finally you can also add some – only very little and gentle touch – blue color over the basic grey layer.
Be careful when you shade the dolphin with blue color not to over saturate it.
Make a color-mixing test first on a separate paper or on the margin of your drawing sheet.
Blue color should be really just a delicate surface finish. Almost invisible.
Please see and enjoy the following collection of personal galleries. We all believe you will have a lot of fun. Observing other’s art work is always, always very inspirational. You may get some new ideas for your own drawings.
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The following Theme Based Galleries are a collection of selected drawings from various authors based on a certain theme. I would like you to get as much inspiration as possible for your own drawings.
Share your own drawings, sketches or doodles by choosing a suitable
category below. You will be guided to the uploading process step by
step.
Feb 20, 21 04:12 AM
Cow And Crane
Feb 14, 21 11:26 PM
Different colours representing different communities... in the pouch there is corruption
Feb 14, 21 04:42 AM
I have drawn Shikamaru Nara from Naruto series.Manga and anime really inspires me and helped me got through the tough times.
Feb 14, 21 04:36 AM
Just started drawing my own cartoon characters.
Feb 09, 21 05:00 PM
Done on my iPod with my fingers sorry if it looks a little messy ... anyway the character is from the princess and the frog . I heard it is trendy to modernise
Feb 08, 21 01:40 AM
Happy Saraswati Puja
Feb 03, 21 07:34 PM
Just a quick face practice! :)
Feb 02, 21 03:06 AM
The aim here is profound details. The pen on the right will give an idea about the size of the art.
Feb 02, 21 03:03 AM
Ballpoint pens art. I have used part of a photo, as reference. But did not copy it literally here, in this art. No grid was used when I started it with
Feb 02, 21 03:00 AM
In-progress art with pens. I am focussing on part of a photo. But not interpreting it literally. No grid has been used with pencil. But started directly
Feb 02, 21 01:46 AM
Just a simple dr.doom drawing from marvel comics.
Jan 29, 21 02:14 AM
Beauty in complexity
Jan 27, 21 05:16 PM
This is my method of drawing Tom and Jerry on Microsoft Paint. They're most famous cat and mouse duo who cause trouble. Tom is a domestic housecat who
Jan 25, 21 05:10 PM
Mother Bengal
Jan 22, 21 06:42 PM
I just love to draw.