Learning how to draw an octopus becomes much easier when you stop trying to organise all eight arms at once. In a real reference, some arms will overlap, disappear beneath the body or leave the frame. You may only see part of each one.
I begin with the octopus’s eye and work outward, following one visible route at a time. When an arm disappears behind another, I stop drawing it. When it returns, I begin again.
This approach allows the drawing to develop through observation rather than through a symmetrical arrangement of wavy tubes. You can use pencil, pen, charcoal, watercolour or any other medium. Keep your first attempts visible and add new lines as your understanding changes. They are thought lines, not mistakes.
Choose an octopus that is doing something
Look for a reference of an octopus crawling across rock, reaching into open water or turning toward the camera. These poses reveal more about how the body and arms connect than a flat diagram.
An aquarium is an excellent place to sketch, although the animal may change position before you finish. Make several small drawings instead of trying to capture every detail in one attempt. A paused video can also provide more natural poses than a carefully arranged photograph.
Choose a reference in which at least one eye is visible and several arms can be followed. Good contrast between the octopus and its surroundings will help you understand which edges belong to the animal.
If you need help selecting a clear image, my guide to finding an animal drawing reference explains what I look for before beginning.
Use the eye as your first anchor
The eye gives you a stable place from which to understand the rest of the animal.
Observe its angle and position within the surrounding tissue. An octopus eye does not sit on the front of a separate round head. It projects from the side of the body and may be partly surrounded by folds, shadows or changing skin texture.
Place the darkest part of the eye first. Then add the upper or lower edge that gives it direction. Avoid enclosing it too neatly. A broken line or small area of value may describe the eye more accurately than a complete outline.
From the eye, look backward toward the mantle. This is the larger muscular area behind the head. Its contour may rise, flatten, fold or partly merge with the surrounding water.
Follow the visible edge instead of drawing a predetermined oval. The mantle may be compressed because the octopus is turning, or it may appear long and inflated as the animal moves.
On the opposite side, part of the mantle may disappear behind the head or an arm. Draw only the edge that remains visible.
Find where the body opens into the arms
The lower part of an octopus does not end before the arms begin. The body spreads into webbing that connects the bases of the arms.
Look beneath the eye and find the first visible change in direction. A fold may travel outward into an arm, while another edge disappears behind it.
Draw this transition before attempting the full length of any arm. It will help the limbs feel connected to the animal rather than attached around its head.
The central area can be difficult to understand because several arms overlap. Do not explain everything. Choose the clearest visible edge and follow it until something crosses in front.
Leaving parts unresolved is better than inventing a tidy central arrangement.
Follow one arm only as long as you can see it
Choose the nearest or most clearly visible arm.
Start where it leaves the body and follow one edge with your eyes. Notice when it widens, narrows or changes direction. Draw that journey with a confident mark.
Return to the base and follow the other edge. The two contours should not run as parallel waves. The arm changes width as it twists and tapers, and one edge may turn more sharply than the other.
When the arm passes behind another form, stop the line. Do not draw through the overlap. Look for the point where the same arm becomes visible again and continue from there.
This may require some patience. An arm can disappear several times, and its direction may change while hidden. If you reconnect it incorrectly, place another line after looking again. The overlapping thought lines will suit the complexity of the subject.
Continue through the reference one arm at a time. You do not need to make every arm equally prominent. One may dominate the foreground while several others remain partial or indistinct.
Count the visible arms only after the main drawing is established. If one is completely hidden, there is no reason to force it into the composition simply because you know an octopus has eight.
Allow the arms to move in different ways
An octopus arm can reach, curl, flatten against a rock or turn its underside toward the viewer. These actions should not be reduced to the same repeated S-curve.
Compare the general direction of each arm before adding smaller bends. One may travel almost straight before curling at the tip. Another may fold tightly near the body. A third may appear much shorter because it points toward you.
The amount of open space between the arms matters. A narrow gap creates tension and overlap, while a broad area of water can make one arm feel extended.
Let the edges cross and interrupt one another. These overlaps establish which arms are close and which recede behind the body.
If the drawing begins to resemble a pile of noodles, there is probably too much repeated movement. Return to the reference and find the arm with the clearest contrasting direction. Strengthening that one path can organise the entire drawing.
My tutorial on how to draw movement explores how different directional lines can work together without becoming repetitive.
Let the suckers explain the twist
The limbs of an octopus are technically arms, although they are often called tentacles in everyday descriptions. The suckers sit along the inner surfaces of those arms.
This means you should not scatter circles across every visible surface.
First determine whether the underside of an arm faces you. If it does, follow the row of suckers as it travels through the curve. When the arm twists away, the suckers may narrow, overlap or disappear completely.
Begin with the largest and clearest suckers. They may appear as open rings, shallow cups or dark oval marks depending on the angle and lighting.
Reduce their size as the arm tapers. The spacing may also appear tighter as the surface turns away from you.
Do not outline every sucker. A few complete forms surrounded by partial and broken marks can suggest the rest. This keeps the arm flexible and prevents the pattern from overpowering the drawing.
The suckers should reinforce the twisting surface. If they remain the same size and orientation along the full arm, they will flatten it.
Build the skin from changing areas
An octopus can contain spots, mottled colour, raised texture and reflected light. Instead of treating these as decorations, look for the largest changes across the body.
The mantle may carry a broad dark area while one side of the head catches light. An arm may blend into the rock beneath it, then become clear where it crosses open water.
Place these larger relationships before adding dots or small skin marks.
With graphite or charcoal, use broad areas of tone and allow the paper texture to remain visible. With pen, combine clusters of marks with open areas. With colour, let several related hues overlap instead of filling the octopus with one flat colour.
The strongest contrast does not have to follow the outline. A dark patch inside the mantle or beneath an overlapping arm may describe the body more effectively.
Allow some edges to disappear into the environment. An octopus drawing often becomes more convincing when you cannot immediately separate every part from the surrounding rock or water.
Stop before every arm is explained
It is easy to overwork an octopus because there are always more suckers, folds and textures to add.
Step back and look at the drawing as a whole. The eye should provide an anchor, the mantle should carry some weight and the arms should lead your attention in several directions.
If those relationships are working, you do not need to complete every contour.
Strengthen a few overlaps where the drawing becomes confusing. Add a darker accent beneath the nearest arm or beside the eye. Leave the remaining lines open, repeated and exploratory.
Understanding how to draw an octopus does not depend on arranging eight perfect arms around a rounded head. Follow what remains visible, stop at the overlaps and let the changing direction of the suckers reveal how each arm turns.
You can continue with more marine subjects in my collection of sea animal drawing tutorials.