How to draw a long fin tuna

Learn how to draw a colorful long fin tuna made from basic shapes and filled with gorgeous colors. This simple cartoon fish is visually quite interesting to sketch. Made with a long body, several bright fins and basic textures, this illustration is relatively easy to create even if you are a beginner.

Before having access to all steps required to draw a beautiful cartoon tuna like this one, let's take a few minutes to study this animal carefully so that we can end up with a realistic and satisfying result.

1. Eyes and pupils are made from small circles.
2. Two fins are located on top of the tuna. One large and a smaller one.
3. Small finlets are visible on the tail of the character.
4. The back fins are long, narrow and pointed.
5. Some texture made from lines can be seen on the body.
6. Two additional (and small) fins are visible below the animal.
7. Another fin is located inside the cartoon tuna.
8. Don't forget to draw cute and realistic lips.

Great! Now that we are a little bit more familiar with this creature, let's draw this one using all steps available below. :)

Step 1 - Using basic shapes as a reference

It's always a good idea to draw a few simple shapes if we want to end up with accurate proportions. First, draw a long oval shape to form the body of this long fin tuna. Then, draw a few triangles above and below the body to form these fins. Don't forget to work on the tail as seen in the illustration below.

step 2 - Adding lines to draw the long fin tuna

Using mostly long curved lines, you can now draw the tuna as well as all fins available on this one. Notice how all fins are pointed and the particular shape of the lips. Once you are done, you can erase all shapes sketched previously.

step 3 - Adding more details

Inside the head, draw a long curved line to separate this one from the body. The eyes and the pupils are done using small circular shapes. Finally, work on all small finlets found around the tail using tiny (but sharp) triangles. 

step 4 - Time for some colors!

Tunas are generally filled with a bright blue color (at least in the wonderful world of cartoon images). In this case, the head is filled with a very light blue color. A darker version of the same color is used on the top part of the body. You can also modify all outlines and use colors instead of black.

Finally, another blue color (close to grey) is added on the bottom part of the body. Finlets are quite darker. As for all other fins, you can use a bright and saturated yellow color to complete this step.

step 5 - Using the gradient tool to add some depth

Inside all yellow fins, add a second color (a dark orange one) to create a little bit of volume. You can also add a dark blue color on all parts of the body to create depth. See how the illustration below already feels more interesting even if only a few colors were added? :)

step 6 - Drawing pointed lines for texture

Inside all yellow fins, create some long (and orange) pointed lines to create texture. If you have access to a vector application, you can also add some transparency to partially hide all these new lines so that textures can be subtle.

step 7 - Reflection to create a more realistic tuna

Do you see all these new white shape on the cartoon tuna below? Once transparency is applied (and only the top part of these new shapes can be seen), you will have created some nice reflection to help you create even more volume on your long fin tuna. It's a simple technique that can be very effective on all cartoon characters you are creating.

step 8 - Finally ... A beautiful tuna!

Below you can see the result once transparency is applied on all white shapes. See how colored lines are perfect to make a professional illustration that is visually beautiful and colorful? No need to draw tons of details to end up with a fun fish that is extremely appealing. :)

Hope you had fun creating this great fish!

Drawing a long fin tuna is a fun exercise once you are more familiar with the shape of this creature. It's up to you to decide the level of details you wish to include in your illustration. Some prefer to draw really basic versions while others are tempted to sketch realistic animals filled with textures, shadows and digital effects.

Remember that more characters from the same series are also available here. :)

Go back to How to Draw Vector Illustrations of Animals
Go back from How to Draw a Long Fin Tuna to home page

Follow the current adventures of Pascal & Hal, two lovely cartoon characters gifted with amazing personalities. New and exclusive comic strips are added twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays). Enjoy!