How to Draw a Fish in 10 Steps (Perch)

by easydrawingtips

This guide shows how to draw a fish (freshwater perch). It’s presented in a step-by-step format with line drawing and shading examples done in pencil.

As mentioned, the example is of a perch. The focus of the guide is on illustrating how you can create a realistic-looking fish drawing. It shows how to first make a line sketch with a shape characteristic of such an animal, and then how to apply shading to give it a lifelike appearance. The tutorial can be helpful if you are looking to improve your line drawing and pencil shading skills.

If you plan on following along, start with light, easy-to-erase lines, as you will need to clean up those from earlier steps as you progress through the guide.

Supplies Needed for This Fish Drawing

Regular HB graphite pencil: For the line drawing and shading.
White paper: Almost any drawing or even standard printer paper will do.
Eraser: A kneaded eraser is highly recommended because the drawing has a lot of small details.

Step 1 – Sketch Out the Shape of the Fish’s Body

The initial goal is to create a “framework” of the major shapes and proportions that you can then use to help you build the more detailed drawing. Begin by sketching out the main shape of the fish’s body and the tail.

First, draw a straight horizontal line through the middle of your drawing area to act as a guide. This guide can make it easier to see the width of the upper and lower parts of the fish’s body in relation to one another. It can also help ensure that the drawing does not become crooked or skewed to one side.

After you have the guide line, sketch out the body and the tail. In this example, the fish’s body is narrower towards the nose, wider in the middle, and narrower again towards the tail. The tail is taller than the body, with a split on its end.

The reason for starting with the “framework” is that it allows for quick adjustments. If, for example, you find that the body is too short or not properly positioned on the page, you can redraw it quite quickly. However, if you go into the details right away, revisions can be far more time-consuming.

Step 2 – Sketch Out the Shapes of the Fins

Onto the sketch of the body, add the fins to create the fish’s rough silhouette. A perch generally has two fins on top, three on the bottom, and two more along the sides of the body (a total of seven). Because the fish is viewed from the side in this example, one of the fins on the bottom is partially hidden behind the other. Also, the side fin facing the viewer will be visible (added in the next step).

Again, just like the body, at this stage of the drawing you can make the outlines of the fins highly simplified. The goal is to get their rough overall shapes and proportions.

Step 3 – Outline the Fish’s Head & Main Body Parts

Inside the “framework” from the previous steps, outline the organic shape of the fish’s body with all of its bends and curves. Next, outline the natural shapes of the fins and tail.

At the front of the body, add the mouth (slightly open in this case), followed by the outline of the eye (as a fairly small circle) and the gill cover. Position the eye near the top of the head (slightly closer to the front than the back).

Also, add the outer details of all the fins, and add the last visible fin on the lower side of the body.

Step 4 – Draw the Details of the Head

Draw the smaller parts of the head, which include the following:

The lips around the mouth
The pupil of the eye (in its center)
The area around the eye (larger circle around the one from the previous step)
The inner area of the gill covers

Please note that in this example, the fish’s head is slightly simplified to make the guide a little easier and less time-consuming.

Once you are done with the above, you can clean up the drawing and erase the “framework” lines and guide line from steps one and two.

Step 5 – Draw the Rays & Spines of the Fins

Add the lines that fish generally have running along their fins. These are small bones called rays and spines. Draw the spines along the large fin on top to be thicker than the rest. You can define the rays (softer, smaller bones) along the other fins with a single line for each. Do the same for the rays along the tail.

Step 6 – Draw the Scales

For the last part of the line drawing, add the scales. To create them, first make a series of slightly curved, angled lines running along the fish’s body. You can draw these going through the fin on the side of the body, as a perch’s fins are slightly transparent. However, make the line segments inside its outline slightly lighter.

Next, draw another series of lines that intersect with the first set. This will create the appearance of fish scales without the need to individually outline each one.

Once you’ve added the scales, check your drawing to make sure everything looks good before moving on to shading.

Step 7 – Shade the Body

Shading the fish in this example is fairly easy. Start by adding a darker area along its back that gradually gets lighter as it goes down (be careful not to make it too dark). Also, add a slightly darker streak running along the lower part of the fish’s body that gets lighter as it goes up and down.

The explanation for applying shading in such a way is quite simple. Perches of this kind, and many fish in general, have a darker back and a lighter belly. Because of their smooth scales and the curvature of their bodies, they tend to get a reflection running along their middle. Thus, the reason for the lighter part between the two darker areas.

When shading, also try to make your pencil strokes flow along the shape of the body.

For more on different shading techniques and stroke types, see:

Shading Techniques and Stroke Types Drawing Tutorial

Step 8 – Shade in the Stripes & Gill Flap

Once you’ve added the first layer of shading, add some tiger-like stripes (perches are carnivores, too).

Draw the stripes running from the top of the body and ending just a little bit before they touch its bottom. Make them gradually lighter as they go down. Also, darken the gill flap (head area) with pretty much the same level of shading used for the stripes.

The reason you want to add the stripes after doing the initial layer of shading is because it would otherwise be far more difficult to keep the lighter parts in between them consistent.

Step 9 – Shade the Fins & Tail

Generally, different perches tend to have slightly different color/shading variations along their fins. For this example, you can make the shading of the large top fin lighter as it goes and make the spines very light throughout their entire length. Make the tail lighter as it goes out (away from the body) as well.

Leave the fin overlapping the body pretty much as is (semi-transparent).

Make each of the other fins darker as they go out away from the body and lighter at the base.

Step 10 – Shade the Eye

Finally, shade the eye. Leave the area surrounding it pretty much white. Make the pupil dark with a light spot towards its front to show a reflection. Make the rest of the eye darker around the edge and gradually lighter toward the center.

Once you’ve shaded the eye, you can better blend and darken the shading where/if needed to finish.

Conclusion – Drawing a Realistic Fish Can be Much Easier With the Right Approach

This guide shows how to create a fairly realistic-looking drawing of a fish. It does so by first explaining how to structure its overall shape with a line drawing and then how to apply shading to give it a lifelike appearance.

Using a step-by-step approach like the one shown in this guide can help you minimize drawing mistakes and create better overall-looking artwork. By first establishing the fish’s basic shape, you can then more easily place the smaller parts of its body and their various details. When applying shading, it can be good to do so in several layers for the more complex parts of the drawing (like the main body of the fish in this example). This can help you keep it more consistent.

Hopefully, you’ve found the provided tips and examples helpful.

For making a line drawing of a different kind of fish, see:

How to Draw a Shark in 8 Steps

For more similar drawing guides, also be sure to try the following: