Free Activity Page: How to Draw a Tropical Fish | 6 Easy Steps | Step-by-Step Drawing Page

by | Apr 9, 2025 | Animals, Free Activity Pages, How to Draw Books for Kids

Learn to Draw a Tropical Fish in 6 Easy Steps

From How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures, and More

If you’re looking for an easy and enjoyable drawing activity for kids, I’ve got a free step-by-step drawing page to share today. It comes straight from my book How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures, and More, and it features a tropical fish character that’s simple, colorful, and fun to create.

This page walks kids through 6 easy-to-follow steps. It starts with basic shapes and adds one small element at a time, making the process feel manageable—especially for beginner artists. By the final step, they’ll have a finished cartoon-style fish that’s bright, bold, and full of character.

All you need is a pencil, some paper, and a few minutes of quiet drawing time. Once they’ve completed the freebie, kids can jump right into the full book, which is packed with more sea creatures just like this one.

Book Details


Inside the Book: How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures, and More

This book is part of my beginner-friendly drawing series, and it focuses entirely on creatures from the ocean—real and imagined. If your child enjoys sea life, this is a great way to turn that interest into a creative activity.

Inside, you’ll find:

  • 50 characters to draw, from tropical fish to sharks, dolphins, jellyfish, sea turtles, crabs, eels, and more.
  • Step-by-step instructions on every page, designed specifically for beginners.
  • A range of creatures that keep the drawing experience interesting, approachable, and rewarding.

Whether your child is learning at home, taking a break from screens, or just loves to draw, this book is built to give them hours of fun while supporting creative skill development.

How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures…


What Makes This Book a Good Fit for Beginners?

This series is designed with first-time artists in mind. Every page breaks a drawing into small, incremental steps—no skipping ahead or overwhelming instructions. The goal is to help kids build confidence through repetition and success.

Some of the benefits include:

  • Clarity – Each new line is shown in a different color, making it easy to see exactly what to do next.
  • Pacing – The drawings are neither too simple nor too complex, which means kids stay engaged without getting frustrated.
  • Skill building – Each page helps reinforce important early drawing skills like shape recognition, line placement, and proportion.

The book also encourages kids to slow down, focus, and enjoy the process—something that can be valuable in both creative and everyday learning environments.


Sea Creatures Kids Love to Draw

The ocean theme adds variety and excitement to each page. The characters are a mix of realistic sea animals and creative cartoon-style versions, which keeps things fun and lighthearted. You’ll find:

  • Playful octopuses and stingrays
  • Sharks and dolphins with big personalities
  • Gentle giants like whales and sea turtles
  • And of course, plenty of bright, tropical fish

These designs give kids a chance to explore facial expressions, movement, and design without needing to be anatomically correct. It’s a great way to foster creativity while still learning how to draw structured characters.

Get The Book!


Designed for Ages 5 to 12 (But Others Might Enjoy It Too)

This book is aimed at ages 5–12, but the content is accessible enough for younger children with some help, and flexible enough for older kids who just want a light, creative activity. It’s also a good fit for classroom art time, at-home enrichment, or travel-friendly quiet time.

Even reluctant drawers tend to engage with these books because the results are immediate and the tone is playful.


Encourages Artistic Independence

One of the strengths of this series is that it encourages independent use. The layout is intuitive, so kids can follow the steps on their own without needing ongoing help from an adult. That gives them a sense of ownership over their finished work and builds self-confidence in their creative ability.

That said, these books can also work well in guided settings—especially for families drawing together or teachers leading an art session.

Learn More


No Special Supplies Required

One of the things I always keep in mind when creating these books is accessibility. You don’t need anything fancy to get started—just paper and a pencil. If kids want to add color afterward, crayons, markers, or colored pencils all work great.

This simplicity makes it easy to fit drawing into everyday life without needing to prep materials or manage messes.


A Good Fit for Gifting, Classrooms, and Art Shelves

How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures, and More is part of a growing collection of drawing books with a wide range of themes. This one fits well as a:

  • Gift for kids who enjoy animals or the ocean
  • Rainy-day or travel activity
  • Screen-free alternative during downtime
  • Starter for kids who are new to drawing

It also works well in classroom settings, especially for art enrichment programs or stations focused on skill-building and creativity.

Get The Book Today!


Try the Free Tropical Fish Page First

If you’re curious about the book, I recommend starting with the free drawing page. It’s a good example of the structure and tone you’ll find throughout the book. The tropical fish is cheerful, easy to complete, and makes a great first project for any new young artist.

Once your child has finished the page, it’s easy to move on to new creatures and keep the momentum going.

Free Activity Page (save and print):


In Summary

How to Draw: Fish, Sea Creatures, and More offers:

  • 50 ocean-themed characters
  • Beginner-friendly step-by-step instructions
  • A balanced mix of real animals and creative cartoons
  • Easy, screen-free drawing practice
  • A gentle, confidence-building approach to learning how to draw

And if you’re just getting started, don’t forget to download the free tropical fish drawing page and give it a try.

Thanks for reading—and happy drawing!

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Meet The Author & Artist

Kevin Coulston is a children’s book author, illustrator, cartoonist, and member of the National Cartoonists Society. Over the course of his career, he has published more than 100 books, including instructional drawing books, activity books, comics, graphic novels, and children’s picture books.

His popular How to Draw, Trace Then Color, and Draw by Grid series have helped thousands of aspiring young artists learn to draw through simple, approachable lessons featuring hundreds of Kevin’s original cartoon characters.

Kevin is also the creator of the comic series Dylan McVillain and The Adventures of a 4th Grade Space Captain, as well as the children’s picture book series Alexis and the T-Rexes. In addition to his publishing work, Kevin created, wrote, illustrated, and animated the web series Bad Jokes with Ugly Folks, starring legendary voice actors Rob Paulsen and Tara Strong.

Kevin believes anyone can learn to draw—and that learning is a lot more fun when the characters you’re drawing are weird, silly, and just a little ridiculous.

What Our Customers Are Saying

“The author really does a great job demonstrating how easy (and rewarding!) it can be to draw seemingly ordinary things you (and your little ones!) may feel too intimidated to try drawing without the step-by-step guide! Putting already-known shapes together and making something new and original is a fantastic way to learn! And recognizing that you can add your own twists and personality to your drawings makes all the difference. I think it’s a fun, original approach to building confidence for a lifelong hobby. I have the ebook copy, and can only imagine how great a physical copy would be!”

– Daenarah [Amazon Review]

“There are several of these fun books by this author. My kids and I have had a lot of fun with these. It’s a great activity to do as a family and see how they all turn out. Almost like a sip and paint but more of a juice box and draw.”

– Allison B. [Amazon Review]

My kids can’t wait to start drawing these monsters in their illustrations! The many different moods of the monsters appeal to their different personalities. We love the many options, styles, and opportunities to expand upon the characters. Recommended for all ages!

– Kasey [Amazon Review]

“Kevin has put out many books on drawing and animation, and has such a great feel for HOW to explain the process. His art is so expressive and kid-friendly, but his real strength is in his ability to really explain and show how it’s done, making it accessible to kids and adults. I’m a firm believer that not everyone who “can do” can teach, but Kevin does both beautifully! Pick this up and watch kids have a blast making robots of all sorts, while learning great fundamental art skills at the same time!”

– Tom R. [Amazon Review]

“My 5yo LOVES this book! The drawings are cute and the instructions are easy to follow along with. She gets a kick out of drawing muffin monsters and ketchup monsters and it actually keeps her pretty focused for long periods of time.”

– Monica [Amazon Review]

“This is a fantastic book for kids who love art, cartoons, comic books, or just having fun! There are a lot of characters to choose from, and really easy step-by-step instructions to follow. You child will have a blast drawing these fun, silly characters! And just in time for Easter baskets!”

– Bestmomever [Amazon Review]

“This is a very good book for kids that want to learn to draw, my sons love it and Kevin does a great job of making drawing fun and not intimidating. Highly recommended for the long summer hours!”

– David D. [Amazon Review]

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