Stuck for creative inspiration? Take a deep dive into the sea with these 14 ocean drawings underwater. Whether you’re looking to take the plunge and try an ocean drawing or looking for a challenge with fantasy underwater art, we’ve got plenty of ideas to try.
1. Dive into the details
Image: marcella_wylie
Reach for the fine liners and create a detailed seascape like this! From jellyfish to turtles, coral, whales and seals, this drawing really has it all. Framing your drawing in a circle not only adds interest but it also looks like a porthole window on a submarine!
2. Ink drawings
Image: earphonedrawings
Not only a suitable creature for an ink drawing, an octopus can also be fun to try next time you’re looking to get creative. Pick up pen and ink or a fine liner marker and try your hand at this fun creature, we love the little addition of the treasure box too!
3. Seascape practice
Image: zanschaeferart
Seascapes are also great places for practicing your drawing techniques. Crosshatching and hatching are nice ways to add details to shells and sea urchins, while pointillism or stippling dots can be used to look like sand or add details to fish, crabs or seaweed.
4. Add colour, for betta drawings
Image: trinettedenhamer.nl
Looking to add life to your ocean drawings? Reach for the coloured pencils and get colouring! The delicate shading in this artwork, suggests movement and shows off the sheer features in this betta fish. So, if you’re looking to add extra details, turn to coloured pencils and see what you can create.
5. Get sketching
Image: embelliee
This underwater drawing really has shading down pat! Keeping lines close together shows the shadow of the water behind the fish, and keeping lines further apart suggests light coming from the sun through to the water. Whether you’re drawing the deep sea, a pond or a rock pool, hatching can help add light to your work.
6. An Octopuses’ Garden
Image: atelier.c
Stuck for inspo? This octopus garden is a great place to start! A graphite pencil can be used to draw in your focal areas, add in those extra details like coral, sea urchins, pebbles and details, then grab pen and ink or fineliners to add shading!
7. Jump into duo colours
Image: sintacarolina
If creating freely is more your style, then try grabbing two colours or contrasting colours, like this idea and jump into a seascape drawing. Fill your sketchbook or paper with all things underwater and challenge yourself to bring them to life, just by using two coloured pens or markers.
8. Take a stroll along the coast
Image: elizabethshullart
Head to the shore, grab some coloured pencils, some paper and challenge yourself to a realistic ocean drawing in your next creative session. Use the dark of the paper as your shadows, adding in the highlights with a white pencil or try this in reverse and use the whiteness of the paper as your highlights.
9. Inverted inks
Image: kateryna_lysenko_art
Try inverted colours to make your detailed drawings pop. Reach for a white pen and some black paper and let your imagination roam free. Or try an inky creature like this octopus and get stuck into those fine details.
10. Lots of lines
Image: amatthiess.illustration
Ocean drawings aren’t just fun, they’re also a nice way to practice your line work skills too. Focusing on the ocean and the waves will give your lines direction and it’ll show you how to add harmony to your drawings too. Try directional lines and crosshatching to add life and dimension to your works.
11. Go with the growth
Image: flowctopus
If you have a green thumb or you love drawing plants and flowers, try drawing the ocean floor and its beautiful plant growth. From seaweed to rocks, pebbles, coral and fish, underwater seascapes are always great to turn to if you’re looking to get those creative juices flowing.
12. Combining the real world with the dream world
Image: sophiejonashill
Underwater drawings are great for those that love fantasy drawing too! It’s estimated around 80 per cent of the ocean is unexplored and unknown, so you can really let your imagination run wild here. Think alien deep sea divers, mysterious submarines or turtle castles, whatever you can imagine!
13. Draw something you’ve never seen before
Image: emc.artistry
If you’re drawing a blank, head online and find a new species of creature. Learn about your new friend -- what do they look like? How do they survive? Then get drawing! This drawing focusses on the brittle star! This creature is closely related to starfish and live on the sea floor. The brittle star uses their long arms to find and forage for food, pretty cool! Whether it’s a new plant, creature, fish, or seahorse, learn something new and flex your drawing skills at the same time!
14. Add movement to your drawings
Image: pauls_sketchbook_
Use a variety of curved lines and directional lines to add movement to your ocean drawings. Once you have a direction planned out, you can use those lines or hatching as a guide. Don’t forget the details either, we love the water droplets added to theses waves for interest.
Ready to get started? Check out our range of drawing supplies here or check out our paper range.
We hope that you feel inspired to create your own ocean or underwater drawings. Try one for yourself and #montmarteart or tag us @montmarteart on Instagram or Facebook, we’d love to see what you create.
