Drawing Koi Fish in a Few Simple Steps

Koi fish are generally known as a domesticated and ornamental variety of carp that are used for decorating ponds and water gardens. Commonly known as the Japanese koi fish, they are a symbol of love and friendship. They come in various colors like white, red, black, yellow, blue and their shape signifies their ethnic origins.

Japanese Koi Fish Drawings

These drawings are considered legendary in art, as it has been symbolically practiced and portrayed from ancient times. Koi fish are not only a famous form of art but are also used as tattoo designs by many tattooers. Koi fish tattoos are a favorite with many tattoo fans.

Step 1
The simplest way to draw koi fish is to start with some basic shapes like a round circle for the head and an oblong shape for the body. Draw a big triangle for the tail and you can make one small circle on the head for the eyes. You can also draw two parallel lines right below the head and other small lines extending from the body to make outlines of fins.

Step 2
In this step you have to start drawing the face of the koi fish so, start with the two whiskers (join the two parallel lines with the head). Now join the extensions you drew from the body to make the fins, three in the bottom and a big one on the top. Add some details to the tail fin as well.

Step 3
Further to make the koi fish look more natural, detail the fins with small scratching sketch lines on the five fins and a few on the body to show the curves. Now make the face or head detailing by drawing a small semi circle on the side of the face to show the position of the gills and roundness of the head. Also use the eye ball in the eye.

Step 4
Once you've done all these minor sketching details, the last step will be to draw the different markings on the body. You can draw any design on the body but make sure they are precise and of the same pattern. Now erase all the basic outlines that you made and let the secondary details be.

Step 5
After you erase all the rough lines, sketch the body and other parts with some more sketching lines and in no time you koi fish drawing is made. To make your koi fish look a little more attractive, you can shade the body and the head with red and white colors and the fins with a darker shade of red.

Oil painting and watercolor painting enhance the fish drawings and aid in reviving the authenticity of Japanese culture. You can teach these drawings to kids as well, and also make them into life size portraits for exhibitions and art galleries. Koi fish look very pretty when they are seen from above the water. If you like to sketch fish or other aquatic animals, a koi fish can be a great choice. They are not only easy to draw but elegant and artistic to look at.

Koi fish drawings, though simple to make, totally depend on the artist for recognition. If you are a beginner and want to be an artist, koi fish drawings will definitely help.