How To Draw Koi Fish As A Simple Sketchbook Exercise

Every artist or crafter has likely experienced the situation where in something done with ease and relatively quickly somehow ends up being nicer than things that you labored over for hours! Such is the case with these koi fish, and so I present to you, how to draw koi fish as a simple sketchbook exercise, or even on a piece of watercolor paper, or how about on a watercolor paper card? Fish are a major symbol for Rosh HaShana, so a koi fish Rosh HaShana card could be wonderful! Okay, I’m in a fishy mood, having recently completed my DIY patio fish pond, so lets draw some fish!

You’ll Need:

• a water color sketchbook or sketchbook primed with gesso for thickness (in my case)

• water-soluble pencils or crayons in a range if blues plus orange, in my case stabilo woodies

• a black waterproof pen, mine in a micron

• masking tape

• how to draw koi fish tutorial from Peggy Dean at pigeon letters

Instructions:

1. Use masking tape to make a border on your page or card
2. Using the tutorial linked to in the supplies above, draw the koi fish in pencil and then go over the drawing with a thin waterproof pen such as a micron
3. Put pieces of masking tape over the bodies of the fish, roughly, and not worrying about the tail
4. Paint a wash of blues over the whole page using lots of water and just a bit of crayon/woody/etc.
5. Once color wash is mostly dry, remove tape from fish and color in fish with black and orange
6. Remove masking tape border and voila, a lovely piece of fish art is born!

Now create some water lily artwork on the opposite page?