To learn how to draw a dolphin, start by following the long curves of its body. A dolphin has a rounded forehead, a distinct snout, a smoothly tapering body and horizontal tail flukes. Getting those relationships right will make your drawing recognisable before you add the eye or shading.
In this tutorial, I’ll use a bottlenose dolphin as the example. I approach the drawing through a few connected contours, looking carefully at how the animal bends and where its fins interrupt the body. You can follow along with pencil or pen, using a photograph as your reference.
Find a clear bottlenose dolphin reference
A side view is a useful place to begin. Look for a photograph showing most of the dolphin’s body, including the head, dorsal fin, pectoral flipper and tail.
I particularly like references where the dolphin is swimming in a gentle curve. That pose gives the drawing a clear sense of direction without making the anatomy too difficult to read.
The NOAA Fisheries guide to bottlenose dolphins is a useful starting point for studying their appearance. Notice the short, thick snout, curved dorsal fin and difference in tone between the back and belly.
Try to work from one photograph throughout the drawing. Combining the head from one image with the tail from another can create conflicting angles and proportions. My guide to choosing an animal drawing reference explains what I look for in photographs before beginning a sketch.
Follow the upper contour from the snout to the tail
Begin at the front of the dolphin’s snout, also called the rostrum.
Follow the upper edge backward until it rises into the rounded forehead. This area is called the melon, and its shape is one of the features that makes a bottlenose dolphin recognisable.
Continue over the forehead and along the back. Study how the direction changes. A swimming dolphin may form a shallow arc, while a jumping dolphin can have a much stronger bend through the middle of its body.
I try to follow that changing direction with a long, connected mark. If I misjudge part of the curve, I look back at the reference and draw a more accurate line alongside it. The earlier mark can remain as part of the sketch.
When you reach the dorsal fin, follow its visible contour up from the back and around its tip, then continue toward the tail. The fin is part of the animal’s silhouette, so there is no need to isolate it with a separate outline around its base.
As the contour moves beyond the dorsal fin, observe where the back begins to taper into the narrow tail stock. Don’t reduce the body’s width too soon. The dolphin needs enough volume through the chest and middle to look powerful in the water.
Draw the underside as a second flowing contour
Return to the snout and find the lower edge of the jaw.
Follow it backward into the throat and chest. The lower contour often curves more fully through the front of the body before narrowing toward the tail.
As you draw, compare the space between the upper and lower contours. Where is the body widest? How quickly does it narrow? Does the belly curve in the same direction as the back, or do the two edges change direction at slightly different places?
Those relationships tell you more about the animal’s form than trying to memorise an ideal dolphin outline.
If the middle of your dolphin looks too thin, the lower contour may be rising toward the back too early. Look again at the chest and belly before continuing into the tail.
At this stage, the drawing should already have the overall silhouette of a dolphin. The remaining features will clarify its anatomy and position in space.
Shape the dolphin’s horizontal tail flukes
A dolphin’s tail is one of the easiest places to make a drawing look anatomically wrong.
Unlike most fish, dolphins have horizontal tail flukes. They propel themselves through the water by moving their tails up and down.
Find the narrow tail stock at the end of the body. Observe where it widens into the two flukes.
Draw the visible leading edge of one fluke from its attachment outward toward the tip. Then follow its trailing edge back toward the central notch. Repeat for the other fluke, drawing only what is visible from your reference angle.
In a side view, one fluke may partly hide the other. If the dolphin is turning or diving, the two may appear quite different in length and width. Avoid forcing them into a perfectly matched pair.
Also observe the angle between the tail stock and the flukes. A dolphin bending its tail downward will produce a different silhouette from one lifting its tail upward.
Place the dorsal fin and pectoral flippers
The fins help establish which way the dolphin is facing and how its body is turning. Their placement should respond to the pose in your reference.
Dorsal fin
The dorsal fin rises from the dolphin’s back, generally around the middle of the body. In a bottlenose dolphin, it is often curved backward rather than shaped like a simple upright triangle.
Look at the slope of the front edge and the inward curve of the rear edge. The exact shape varies among individual dolphins, so let the photograph guide you.
If the dorsal fin was already included in your upper contour, use this moment to check its height, position and connection to the back.
Near pectoral flipper
The pectoral flippers attach to the sides of the dolphin behind and below the head.
Find the attachment of the nearer flipper and follow its outer edge away from the body. It may angle backward, downward or partly toward the viewer.
Observe how the width changes from the base to the tip. The flipper should appear to extend from the body rather than sit on top of it like a decorative shape.
Far pectoral flipper
Depending on the angle, you may see part of the second flipper on the far side.
Draw only the visible section. It may be partly hidden by the chest or appear shorter because it points away from you.
These overlaps are useful. They explain the dolphin’s three-dimensional form without requiring heavy shading.
Add the dolphin’s eye, mouth and blowhole
Once the body and fins are established, return to the head.
Eye: A bottlenose dolphin has a relatively small eye positioned on the side of its head, behind the base of the snout. Compare its location with the corner of the mouth. A small dark mark is often enough in a full-body drawing.
Mouth: Follow the visible mouth line back from the snout. Its natural curve creates the familiar smiling appearance of a dolphin, but exaggerating the curve can make the expression look cartoonish. Let the line gradually disappear where it becomes less visible.
Blowhole: Look near the top of the head, behind the rounded forehead. The blowhole may appear as a short dark opening or subtle mark, depending on the viewpoint. Include it when you can actually see it in the reference.
Resist the temptation to enlarge these features. Their placement is more important than the amount of detail you add.
Shade the dolphin’s smooth body
Dolphins have smooth skin, so I concentrate on broad areas of value rather than surface texture.
Start by comparing the upper and lower body. Bottlenose dolphins are commonly darker along the back and lighter toward the belly, although lighting and reflected water can change the appearance of those tones.
In pencil, I use the side of the lead to place broader shadows, then strengthen selected areas around the eye, mouth and overlapping flippers. I keep the marks moving with the body so that the shading supports its curves.
Watch for reflected light from the water. It may produce bright or dark patches across the dolphin’s surface. Draw the larger value relationships first instead of copying every small reflection.
A uniformly dark outline around the whole dolphin can make it appear flat. Vary the strength of the edges, especially where the upper body meets a dark background or the belly catches more light.
If you’re working in graphite, my animal drawing in pencil
Drawing a dolphin jumping out of the water
A jumping dolphin is a good subject for studying movement because its entire body often forms a visible arc.
Look at the relationship between the head, the highest point of the back and the tail. The dolphin may be rising, reaching the top of its jump or beginning to descend. Each moment changes the body’s curve.
Draw the complete dolphin before adding the surrounding water. Its pose should communicate the movement even if you leave the background blank.
When the body feels convincing, observe the splash. Use broken, directional marks for foam and droplets, and let some of the water overlap the lower part of the animal.
A few marks at the point where the dolphin leaves or enters the water are usually enough. You don’t need to surround the entire body with splashes.
For more on expressing action through the direction of your marks, see my guide to drawing movement.
Why your dolphin drawing might look like a fish or shark
If the drawing doesn’t look quite right, check these features before adding more detail:
- Forehead and snout: A bottlenose dolphin has a rounded forehead that rises distinctly above its projecting snout. Losing this transition can make the head look too pointed.
- Tail orientation: Dolphin flukes spread horizontally. A vertical tail fin changes the silhouette toward that of a fish or shark.
- Body taper: The chest and middle should retain substantial width before narrowing into the tail stock. A uniformly thin body often looks less convincing.
- Flipper placement: The pectoral flippers attach behind the head, not halfway down the tail. Their visible lengths depend on the viewing angle.
- Dorsal fin: Check the curve and position against your reference. A generic pointed triangle can make the dolphin resemble a shark.
Return to whichever part is causing the problem. Look carefully at the reference and place a new contour where you now see the edge. There’s no need to erase the earlier observation or restart the entire drawing.
Practice drawing a dolphin in motion
One of my favourite ways to study an animal’s movement is to draw several moments from the same action.
Find a video of a swimming bottlenose dolphin and pause it at three different points: one with the back strongly curved, another with the body relatively straight and a third with the tail bending in the opposite direction.
Draw each pose as a small sketch, concentrating on the upper and lower contours. Add the dorsal fin, flippers and tail, but leave out most facial detail.
Compare the three drawings. The dolphin’s anatomy remains recognisable while the relationship between the head, back, belly and tail changes.
This is where observational drawing becomes especially interesting to me. The marks don’t have to be perfectly controlled. They need to follow what the animal is doing.
For more subjects to study, browse my sea animal drawing tutorials, including guides to drawing manta rays, whales and other marine animals.