A convincing betta fish drawing depends on one contrast: the body is compact and solid, while the fins spread, fold and drift through the water.
If the body and fins are drawn in the same way, the fish can feel stiff. I establish the body first, then allow the fins to move outward from it with longer, more responsive lines.
For this tutorial, choose a side-view photograph with the fins clearly visible. You can draw with pencil, pen, colored pencil, watercolor or another medium. Keep the marks you make while searching. Those thought lines can be especially useful around the flowing fins.
Choose which kind of betta you are drawing
Betta fish have been bred with many different tail and fin types. Your drawing will be more convincing if you follow one particular fish instead of combining features from several photographs.
Common varieties include:
- Veiltail bettas, with tails that fall downward
- Halfmoon bettas, with broad tails that can spread into a near semicircle
- Crowntail bettas, with separated fin rays creating a spiked edge
- Plakat bettas, with shorter fins and a more compact silhouette
- Double-tail bettas, with the tail divided into two distinct sections
You do not need to identify the variety before drawing. You only need one clear reference that shows the body and fins without too much motion blur.
My guide to choosing an animal drawing reference can help you find an image with enough visual information.
How to draw a betta fish step by step
Give the body its own weight
Begin at the mouth and follow the forehead across the top of the head. Continue into the back until you reach the narrow base of the tail.
Return to the mouth and observe the underside of the head, belly and lower edge of the body.
A betta’s body is much smaller than its fins, but it should still feel substantial. Avoid stretching it simply to fill the space between the head and tail.
If your first contour is too wide or narrow, look again and draw the new observation beside it. Do not interrupt the drawing to make the first mark disappear. The repeated lines show how you arrived at the body.
Place the eye, mouth and gill cover
The eye sits high on the side of the head. Compare its distance from the mouth, forehead and gill cover before darkening it.
The mouth is small and may turn slightly upward. Describe it with the change between the upper and lower edge rather than adding a separate smiling line.
Behind the eye, look for the curved edge of the gill cover. This helps separate the head from the body and provides a useful starting point for the pectoral fin.
Keep the face simple. The eye, mouth and gill cover are usually enough to establish it.
Notice where each fin begins
Before drawing the outer edges, find where the fins attach to the body.
A betta generally has:
- A dorsal fin along the upper body
- A large anal fin beneath the body
- A tail fin extending from the rear
- Two thin ventral fins beneath the head
- Small pectoral fins behind the gill covers
These fins do not form one continuous decorative shape. Each begins in a different location and moves through the water in its own direction.
Mark those attachment areas directly on the drawing. They will keep the fins connected to the fish as they expand outward.
Let the tail open from a narrow base
The tail grows from a relatively narrow area at the rear of the body. Follow one edge outward from that base and observe how quickly it spreads.
Then find the opposite edge.
Do not decide in advance that the tail should be round, triangular or symmetrical. A moving tail may fold over itself, narrow on one side or spread unevenly.
Look for the main sweep before adding smaller ripples. Make long marks that travel from the base towards the outer edge.
If one curve misses, add another. A collection of closely related thought lines can make the tail feel as though it is moving through water.
Draw the dorsal and lower fins separately
The dorsal fin rises from the top of the body. Its edge may be rounded, pointed or broken into several flowing sections.
The anal fin runs beneath much of the body and may extend towards the tail. It often appears larger than beginners expect.
Draw each fin from its attachment point outward. Observe how the edges relate to the direction of the fish. One may sweep backward while another folds downward or towards you.
Allow overlaps to remain overlaps. Do not separate every fin with a complete dark outline.
Add the narrow ventral fins
The ventral fins hang beneath the front of the body, near the gill area.
On many bettas, they appear as two long, narrow points. They may curve backward, cross one another or spread apart.
Make these marks in one movement from their base towards the tip. Their direction contributes to the sense of motion even though they occupy a small part of the drawing.
Draw through the fins, not around them
Once the outer edges are established, look for the fin rays running from the body towards the edges.
These rays support the fins, but they should not look like evenly spaced stripes. They curve, spread, overlap and sometimes disappear into folds or areas of color.
Begin each mark near the body and allow it to travel outward. Change the pressure, spacing and direction according to the reference.
Avoid filling every fin completely. A few well-observed rays can explain the structure, while the surrounding color or value suggests the rest.
For more help following movement through a subject, see my tutorial on how to draw movement.
Use the spaces between the fins
The open water around a betta is part of its silhouette.
Look at the gaps between the tail, dorsal fin, anal fin and ventral fins. Those spaces help separate one section from another and show how the fish is turning.
If the drawing feels crowded, you may have enlarged the fins until these openings disappeared. Return to the reference and redraw the negative spaces with your eyes.
You do not need to remove the crowded lines. Place new edges that restore the spaces and allow the earlier marks to remain within the movement.
Keep the body quieter than the fins
The body has scales, color changes and reflections, but it does not need the same amount of line activity as the fins.
Look for the darkest area around the head and eye. Then notice how the value changes across the middle of the body and towards the tail.
Add a few rows or patches of scales where they are especially visible. Let their direction follow the curve of the body instead of creating a flat pattern.
My tutorial on how to draw fish scales explains how to show the texture without covering the complete fish in identical marks.
Add color in connected areas
A betta may contain blue, red, turquoise, purple, white, black or several colors together. Iridescent colors can also shift across the body and fins.
Begin with the largest color areas. Look for where one color moves from the body into the fins and where it becomes darker, lighter or more transparent.
Allow neighboring colors to meet and overlap. Do not assign a separate color to every enclosed feather-like section of the fins.
In graphite or ink, translate these colors into values and patterns. The body might become the darkest mass, while the fins contain broken lines and more open paper.
The specific reference matters more than a standard betta color scheme.
Preserve the uneven fin edges
The fin edges are rarely perfect waves repeated at regular intervals.
Some sections may be smooth. Others may fold sharply, separate into rays or disappear behind another fin. A crowntail will have especially distinct projections, while a halfmoon may have a broader, more continuous outer edge.
Follow those changes directly.
If every curve repeats at the same size, interrupt the pattern. Add a longer fold, a compressed section or an area where two edges overlap.
Irregularity helps the fins feel observed rather than designed.
Decide where the drawing is most specific
You do not need equal detail everywhere.
I usually make the head and eye more specific because they establish the direction of the fish. I may also choose one section of the tail where the rays, folds and color are especially visible.
Other areas can remain open, crossed by thought lines or suggested through larger areas of value.
This variation keeps the drawing from becoming a decorative outline filled with detail.
If the fins feel stiff
Check whether the internal fin rays are repeating the outer edge instead of growing from the body.
Return to the attachment point and send several new lines outward. Let them curve in slightly different directions and pass through earlier marks.
Also compare the upper and lower fins. If they mirror one another exactly, the fish may lose the uneven movement visible in your reference.
The solution is usually not to add more wavy edges. It is to reconnect the fins to the body and follow their internal direction.
Make a second, quicker betta drawing
Choose another photograph of the same fish or a different variety. Give yourself only a few minutes and concentrate on three things:
- The size and direction of the body
- Where each fin begins
- The largest sweep of the tail
Let the drawing remain open. Keep every thought line and stop before adding individual scales or fin rays.
This second drawing may capture the betta’s movement more clearly than the longer study because you have less time to control every edge.
For more fish subjects and beginner tutorials, explore my complete guide to drawing fish.