How to Draw a Turtle
If you want to learn how to draw a turtle, all you have to do is grab your pencils and get started with our step-by-step guide. These are nine simple steps that will help you draw a very cute turtle in a cartoon style.
Table of Contents
- Basic information
- Steps on How to Draw a Turtle
- Additional Content
- Alternative Drawing Methods
- Conclusion
Basic information on How to Draw a Turtle
In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw a turtle step by step. This lesson will help you develop your artistic skills. It consists of just nine easy steps.
I think you’ve met a turtle at least once. Or maybe a turtle has lived in your home as a pet? Turtles are reptiles with hard shells that protect them from predators. They are among the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles, having evolved millions of years ago. Turtles live all over the world in almost every type of climate.
Let’s get down to drawing this cute animal.
Materials
- Pencil
- Paper
- Eraser
- Coloring supplies
Steps on how to draw a Turtle
Time needed: 20 minutes
How to Draw a Turtle
- Draw the outline of the turtle’s head.
Using a curved line, depict it as an oval-like shape. The turtle’s face is located frontally, so try to draw this figure symmetrically. Place this shape slightly to the left of the center of the paper sheet.
- Add the torso outline.
Add an elongated, oval body. In the future we will draw the details, but for now it is very important to draw it correctly and in proportion. Please note that the torso is located just below the head. The top edges of these figures do not match.
- Sketch the facial features.
Depict the eyes as two identical ovals and the mouth as straight lines. Because of the cartoon style, this is a very simple step. So, draw a couple of ovals to represent the eyes, and then add a mouth as a small angle.
- Add the outline of the turtle shell.
One of the most important features of a turtle’s appearance is its shell. This is dense bone armor that covers the torso. Draw the shell as a rounded shape on the back. Also, don’t forget to draw the side border.
- Outline the two paws.
The turtle’s paws should be similar to each other and drawn at the bottom of the turtle’s torso.
- Add another turtle paw.
Now you can finish drawing the turtle’s legs. In this step we draw only one hind limb, because we cannot see the other due to the angle.
- Draw the decorative elements.
On the outside, the shell of turtles is formed by large plates. Draw the five-point contours of the shell plates, as in our example. In fact, it looks quite similar to a realistic turtle shell structure.
- Erase the auxiliary lines.
Remove extra lines from the turtle drawing. Check the shape and proportions of the shell, legs and head. If there are no problems, proceed to coloring.
- Color the drawing.
You can do a couple of tricks to make the drawing look alive. For example, draw highlights inside the eyes and fill in the eyes with shading like in our example.
Additional Content
I’m sure you got a very cute turtle drawing. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and that you are happy with the result of your work. Write your feedback about this lesson in the comments. I would like to remind you that I have prepared a short version of this tutorial as a PDF file for your convenience. You can download it and use this lesson at any time convenient for you!
Alternative Drawing Methods
Here I will present a few more ways to draw a turtle. Throughout I will use a simplified cartoon style of drawing, but there will be differences which I will talk about in detail.
How to Draw a Turtle for Kindergarten
So, this is one of the simplest variations in the entire guide. This is a drawing that is quite far from realistic, but as simplified as possible. Because of the turtle’s facial expression and pose, it looks quite interesting and cute.
How to Draw a Turtle Step by Step
In this tutorial I decided to draw a turtle in a slightly different pose. This is a sea turtle that swims. This is why you can see outstretched paws and a head pointing in the direction of movement.
How to Draw a Realistic Turtle
So this is a slightly more realistic version of the turtle. So this is a slightly more realistic version of the turtle. Here you can see the correct proportions of the torso, head and limbs that correspond to a realistic turtle.
How to Draw an Easy Turtle
This is another way to draw an animal in a cartoon style. In this drawing guide, a turtle is drawn from round shapes that are placed very close together. This creates the feeling that we are seeing a baby turtle or a soft toy turtle. Unrealistically simple and friendly facial features enhance this effect.
Conclusion
Great job on completing your turtle drawing! You’ve learned important techniques today, and remember, practice makes perfect. Keep trying and experimenting, and feel free to add your own creative touches next time to make your artwork unique.