Follow this step-by-step tutorial on how to draw a manatee and sketch a cute underwater mammal with large flippers and a distinctive body.

How to Draw a Manatee: Introduction

The manatee is a slow-moving aquatic mammal with a rounded body, flat paddle-like tail, and large snout. In this tutorial on how to draw a manatee, we’ll create a simple version of this cute animal. This version, as all my drawing tutorials, is created to be easy to draw but still recognizable as this unique sea creature.

When drawing the manatee’s body, it’s important to keep the overall shape smooth and wide. The body narrows slightly toward the tail, which should remain short and rounded. Pay attention to the placement of the head – it blends into the body without a strong neck, so keep the transition between the two parts very soft.

The front flippers should look small and very simple. When you will draw the manatee, avoid any sharp angles, and place the flippers near the middle of the body for an authentic look. The facial features, like the eyes and nostrils, should be kept minimal and placed close together on the front of the snout to create a recognizable look.

You can color the manatee drawing with shades of gray or use more saturated tones. If you want, include simple background elements like water plants, bubbles, or coral. This version keeps things minimal, allowing you to experiment with additional underwater details later.

Manatee Drawing Tutorial

Materials

Pencil
Paper
Eraser
Coloring supplies

Time needed: 35 minutes

How to Draw a Manatee

Sketch a large body shape.
First, draw the manatee’s overall body shape using a large, rounded oval that narrows slightly toward the left side. It should resemble a soft, droplet-like shape. Keep the lines smooth and light to make room for adjustments later as you refine other parts. This body outline is important for establishing the proportions.
Draw the manatee’s snout.
Inside the front end of the body, begin sketching the outline of the face. Sketch two overlapping curves that extend out from the front part of the body. These soft, rounded shapes represent the snout and upper mouth area. Sketch a small curved fold above. Place the snout low on the head.
Sketch the nostrils and chin.
Below the snout from the previous step, sketch a small curved line to illustrate the lower jaw of the animal. Just above the mouth, draw the manatee’s nostrils as two small dots, spaced close together. These sit near the top of the manatee’s muzzle.
Place the eyes on the face.
Next, draw the eyes of the manatee to complete the face, sketching two small circles above the snout. At this stage, the manatee drawing has a full face with nostrils, mouth, and eyes in place. You can make the eyes look more realistic, sketching them as two almond-shaped forms.
Draw the manatee’s flippers.
Sketch an oval shape on the left flipper, just below the head. Repeat the process for the second flipper on the opposite side. These flippers should be thick and rounded, mimicking the real manatee’s broad paddle-like limbs. Flippers are used by manatees to steer and move along the seabed.
Sketch the tail of the animal.
Now draw the manatee’s tail at the back end of the body, sketching a large, flattened oval shape that connects smoothly with the body’s tapered end. The tail should look broad and fan-like, resembling a soft triangle with rounded corners. This is one of the most recognizable features of a manatee.
Detail the flippers and tail.
To make the limbs and tail look more realistic, draw short curved lines on these parts to illustrate creases and fin divisions. On each flipper, sketch three short vertical lines near the tip. For the tail, draw three or four gentle, radiating lines starting near the base and moving outward to the tip.
Trace the final sketch.
To give your manatee drawing a finished look, trace all major lines of the artwork. Clean up any overlapping sketch lines so that the form appears smooth and complete. You can slightly thicken the outer lines while keeping interior lines like the mouth or creases lighter and more delicate.
Fill in the manatee with color.
Complete the manatee drawing by adding soft gray tones to the animal’s body. Darken the eyes, leaving a small white highlight in each. You can use a darker tone for the nostrils. Manatees have smooth, rubbery skin, so avoid hard texture lines. Instead, use soft and smooth strokes to color the animal.

Conclusion

This manatee drawing tutorial is especially useful for practicing how to draw other similar animals. For example, using principles from this guide, you can draw a walrus or other animal with a similar body shape. It’s also a good exercise in learning simplified animals proportion.

If you’d like to expand this drawing, try placing your manatee in a full underwater scene. You can draw a fish, coral, or visit my sea turtle drawing tutorial or my basic seaweed drawing tutorial to build a complete aquatic environment.

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