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The Fixes / How to Draw / Sea Turtle
All year · Grades 4–6 · 14 steps

How to Draw a Sea Turtle

Ocean Turtle from The Drawing Fix™. An easy step-by-step drawing for Grades 4–6. Draw it with your class in about 15 minutes, one step at a time. Free to use and print. No sign-up.

By Christopher Allen · Ontario elementary educator14 stepsAbout 15 minutesUpdated Nov 5, 2026
Run it on the projector →Printable step sheet (PDF)

This one asks for a little more patience: overlapping shapes, pattern and detail. It is a calm, focused few minutes, and the finished drawing looks like real art.

Before you start: a pencil, an eraser, a sheet of paper and something to colour with.

Draw lightly at first. Dark lines come at the end, once the shapes look right.

Step-by-step: how to draw a sea turtle

  1. Step 1. Shell

    Draw the large swimming shell shape.

  2. Step 2. Head

    Add the head and neck reaching forward.

  3. Step 3. Front flippers

    Build the two long front flippers.

  4. Step 4. Back flippers

    Add the smaller back flippers and tail.

  5. Step 5. Face

    Add the small eye and mouth.

  6. Step 6. Inner shell

    Draw the large inner shell plate.

  7. Step 7. Shell sections

    Divide the shell into panel sections.

  8. Step 8. Panel details

    Add a few short curved marks inside the shell.

  9. Step 9. Bubbles

    Place bubbles in several open spaces.

  10. Step 10. Sea plants

    Add the tall sea plants from the bottom.

  11. Step 11. Coral floor

    Build the sea-floor and coral shapes.

  12. Step 12. Fish

    Add the small fish beside the turtle.

  13. Step 13. Current lines

    Add two soft current lines behind the turtle.

  14. Step 14. Create

    Make one part completely yours.

The pink line is the new part in each step.

Make it theirs

  • Add a background that tells a story. Where is it?
  • Give it a name and write it underneath.
  • Try it again tomorrow from memory.
  • Colour last. There is no wrong colour for a sea turtle.

Teaching it with the projector

The projector version draws each step slowly on the board, pauses while students copy it, then checks in before the next step. Nobody has to talk, so you are free to walk around and help.

Quick Fix: 10 steps, about 10 minutes. Good for a brain break or the last few minutes before recess. Full Focus: all 14 steps, about 15 minutes, with the extra detail.

Open Ocean Turtle on the projector → It works on any classroom screen. No accounts, no student names, no ads.

Curriculum connections

Visual arts: the elements of design (line, shape, pattern and texture) and creating art for a purpose. Language: listening to and following multi-step directions. Directed drawing also builds fine motor control and focus.

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