Fish scales can quickly make a drawing feel stiff if they are treated as a repeating pattern. The scales need to follow the fish’s body, change size and disappear into areas of light, shadow and movement.
I do not begin by covering the fish with rows of identical marks. I first look at the direction of the body and decide where the scale texture is actually visible. Then I describe a few areas clearly and allow the rest to remain suggested.
You can use this approach with pencil, pen, colored pencil, watercolor or another medium.
Start with the fish, not the scales
Complete the main observation of the fish before adding surface detail.
Establish the head, body, fins and tail from your reference. Look at whether the fish is swimming straight, turning or bending. The scale pattern needs to follow that movement.
A side view is easiest for your first attempt because the scale rows are more visible. Choose a photograph with enough resolution to see the texture, but do not feel that you must copy every scale shown.
If you need a better image, my article on choosing an animal drawing reference explains what makes a photograph useful for drawing.
Look for the direction of the rows
Before drawing individual scales, follow the rows across the body with your eyes.
Near the middle of a side-view fish, the rows may appear relatively even. As the body curves towards the back, belly or tail, those rows begin to bend, narrow and compress.
Make several direct marks across the fish to record that flow. These are not lines that must be hidden later. They are thought lines showing how you understand the body.
If one mark does not follow the form as expected, add another after looking again. The adjustment can remain visible beneath the scale texture.
The important observation is that the rows wrap around the fish. They do not sit on top of it like a flat grid.
Draw a small patch before covering the body
Choose an area near the middle of the fish where the scales are easy to see.
Look at one scale. You may see a curved outer edge, a change in color or a small shadow where it overlaps the next scale. Draw the visible part rather than enclosing every scale as a complete shape.
Continue with several neighboring scales. Notice how their edges overlap and how the next row sits between the scales above it.
This staggered arrangement keeps the pattern from becoming a collection of straight vertical columns.
Once the small patch feels convincing, extend the rhythm outward. Stop periodically and compare it with the fish’s overall form.
Allow the rows to curve
As you move away from the middle of the body, change the direction of your marks.
Along the upper body, the scale rows may turn towards the back. Near the belly, they can curve downward and become less visible. Towards the tail, the rows often compress as the body becomes narrower.
Do not force every scale to face the same direction. Follow the changing surface.
A useful check is to imagine your hand moving across the fish. The scale rows should describe the surface your hand would travel over, not a flat pattern placed in front of it.
Change the size of the scales
Scales do not remain the same apparent size across the entire fish.
They may look larger and clearer across the broad middle of the body. Near the head, belly and tail, they may appear smaller, compressed or partly hidden.
Perspective also changes their shape. A scale facing you directly may appear broad, while one turning away may become narrower.
Let these differences happen in your drawing. Perfectly matched scales usually make the fish look mechanical.
If a scale becomes too large or sits at the wrong angle, place the next observation beside it. A page of confident thought lines will usually feel more natural than a texture that has been carefully corrected into uniformity.
Remember which direction the scales overlap
Fish scales generally overlap in the direction of the tail. The visible outer edges create a layered surface that allows the body to bend and move.
Look closely at your reference to see which edge catches the light and where a small shadow appears beneath the overlap.
You do not need to outline the complete boundary of every scale. Often, a repeated curved edge and a narrow area of shadow are enough to establish the layering.
Keep checking the direction. Reversing the overlap can make the texture feel less connected to the fish, even if the individual marks are carefully drawn.
Avoid the chain-mail effect
Fish scales begin to resemble chain mail when every scale is:
- The same size
- Completely outlined
- Equally dark
- Arranged in straight rows
- Given the same amount of detail
Break the pattern intentionally.
Allow some scale edges to disappear. Join several into a darker area. Leave an open patch where light reflects from the body. Make a few scales especially clear near the focal point and reduce the detail elsewhere.
The viewer does not need to see every scale to understand that the fish is covered in them.
Use value to describe the surface
Look at the complete light and dark pattern before shading inside individual scales.
A fish may have a bright band across its side, a dark back and a softer underside. Reflected light can interrupt the visible scale pattern, while shadow may merge several scales into one area.
Add these larger values across the body. Then allow selected scale edges to appear within them.
In pencil, I may darken the lower edge of some scales and leave the upper surface closer to the paper. In pen, I use broken marks, hatching and areas of open space. With colored pencil or watercolor, I establish the larger color changes before adding selected edges.
My animal drawing in pencil tutorial includes more advice on using value without covering the entire drawing in detail.
Do not use one scale pattern for every fish
Different fish have different scale sizes, shapes and visibility.
Large scales may be easy to see on koi, carp and many tropical fish. On other species, the scales are so small that the body appears almost smooth from a distance. Some fish have reflective scales, while others have patterns that are more noticeable than the scale edges themselves.
Study the particular species in your reference.
When drawing a tropical fish, color blocks and markings may be more important than outlining the scales. In a betta fish drawing, the flowing fins may deserve more attention than the body texture.
The scales should support the identity of the fish rather than becoming the entire subject automatically.
Make some areas specific and leave others open
Choose the part of the fish you want the viewer to notice first. This might be near the head, along a reflective section of the body or where the scales meet a fin.
Describe the scale texture more clearly in that area.
As you move away from it, use fewer edges. Let the scales merge into value, color or open paper. You can bring them back briefly near the tail or along another important change in direction.
This variation makes the surface feel more natural and keeps the drawing from becoming visually crowded.
Try a close scale study
Before adding scales to a complete fish, make a larger study of a small section.
Choose an area where you can clearly see:
- The overlapping edges
- Changes in scale size
- Reflected light
- Shadows between scales
- Color variations
- A scale that bends or differs from its neighbors
Draw the section larger than it appears in the photograph. Use direct marks and allow your earlier observations to remain visible.
Then make a second drawing of the complete fish using far less detail. This will help you decide which parts of the close study are actually necessary when the subject becomes smaller.
Know when the scales are finished
Step back from the drawing and look at the complete fish.
If the body feels rounded, the rows follow its movement and the texture changes across the surface, you probably have enough information.
Adding more scales will not always make the drawing more convincing. It may only make every part equally busy.
I stop when the scales contribute to the fish’s form and character. The goal is not to prove that I can draw each one. It is to show how the surface changes as the fish turns through the water.
For more fish subjects and tutorials, explore my complete guide to drawing fish.