How To Draw A Turtle In Just A Few Easy Steps
One of the most loved sea creatures in the world are turtles and it’s not surprising to me that you are here to learn how to draw a turtle.
Turtles can live for many years and are known to be some of the oldest animals in the world where some can even live up to more than 50 years.
They are also known to have a second shell beside the most obvious outer shell that creates a skeletal box when joined to the top one.
As cool as turtles are, it’s even more exciting to draw a turtle on your own.
If you would like to follow a complete step by step guide on how to draw a turtle that is not only easy but looks amazing, then you’ve found the perfect place.
All you need is some paper and a pen to get started. So, grab yours and let’s begin.
Reference
Here is the reference photo we will be using to draw our turtle.
It’s a simple angle and you shouldn’t have too hard of a time drawing this turtle if it’s your first time.
However, to make things easier for you we will begin by drawing the shell and then move onto drawing the head and hands of the turtle.
You can choose to leave the details of the shell for last or do it when you complete the shell. Totally up to you.
Steps For Drawing A Turtle
Step 1
To begin this turtle drawing, start by drawing a curved line like this. Make sure to draw the top part higher than the bottom since this will be the top of the shell.
Step 2
On the right side, draw slightly round shape for the head and then draw a line towards the bottom of that for the mouth. Then draw two lines making the one below the mouth slight more curved.
Step 3
Now you’ll want to draw the eyes and the nose of the turtle. You can do this by drawing two circles for the nose and a few curved lines for the eyes. You can draw a circle first if you need a guideline for the eyes.
Step 4
It’s time to work on the shell. Start by drawing wavy line from the head to the other end of that first line you had drawn.
You’ll then want to draw a second line within that shape to slightly match the wavy line you had just drawn. Complete it by drawing smaller lines to make it look like squares.
Step 5
To draw the legs of the turtle, on the left side, draw two lines that come out in an angle as done over here making sure the top line is longer that the bottom one.
Step 6
Draw another wavy line to join those two lines together. Then draw another line that curves below the sell. This will be the lower half of the turtle’s body.
Step 7
Continue drawing that line until you get to half way of the shell. Then draw a jagged line coming down in a angle and then another line that goes up as shown above,
Step 8
Extend that line by making it go up and then curving off towards the very top to create the arm shape.
Step 9
To draw the other arm of the turtle, continue drawing a line down from the line you already have and make sure it narrows down .
Once you reach the length you are satisfied with, draw a line up to join with the first arm you had drawn in the other step.
Step 10
Now all that is left to do is add the detail onto the shell by drawing these rounded shapes. You can start by drawing the first three and then filling in the rest of the shell with shorter lines in the places where need.
And that’s all there is to drawing a turtle. You can now add more details if you would like or color it in.
Conclusion
It does seem a bit complicated when you look at the reference image but if you break it down into simpler shapes, it’s so much easier to draw.
I’m actually really happy with the way this turtle drawing came out and I can’t wait to create an illustration with other sea creatures too.
Did you find this tutorial on how to draw a turtle easy? What do you plan to do with this turtle drawing? We would love to hear your thoughts.
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