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How To Draw an Octopus Easy Step-by-Step Tutorial

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Learn how to draw an octopus with easy step-by-step instructions that make this fun sea creature come to life! Perfect for beginners.

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This How to Draw an Octopus Easy Tutorial is so fun for the kids to learn the easy steps on how to make their own lion cartoon drawing.

Drawing an octopus is great with the creative process and a fun way to explore the wonders of the ocean! With its long, wiggly arms and cool suction cups, the octopus is are exciting sea creature to sketch. In this simple guide, we'll show you how to draw an octopus step by step. 

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned artist, you'll love bringing this underwater creature to life on paper. Grab your favorite drawing tools, and let's get started on creating your very own octopus masterpiece!

world octopus day

Octopus Fun Facts

Drawing an octopus is not only creative fun but also a great way to learn some interesting facts about these incredible creatures! With their eight arms, covered in rows of suction cups, octopuses can do incredible things like squeezing through tight spaces and even opening jars! 

As you draw, you can explore how they use their arms to swim and hunt, or how they change colors to camouflage themselves on the ocean floor. Adding these fascinating details to your octopus drawing makes the activity both fun and educational!

Don't miss our Octopus Coloring Page for more octopus fun!

A child draws on white paper with colored pencils at a blue table, following a How To Draw an Octopus guide. Several colored pencils are scattered on the table as they create their octopus masterpiece.

Learning to Draw

Learning to draw is such a great activity for kids of all ages. Drawing some of your favorite characters and animals is a great way to build drawing skills.

We break down the lesson into simple steps in our step-by-step guide. Starting with basic shapes and simple lines is a good way of building confidence and turning those simple shapes into a final drawing. Having the printable drawing tutorial alongside your artist is also great for helping bring your octopus to life! If you enjoy drawing and want help with other fun drawings, don't miss some of our other easy step-by-step tutorials.

Before you start drawing, we also want to make sure you have the right tools. Here are the drawing paper and drawing pencils that we like to use.

Now let's learn to draw an octopus!! Happy Octopus Sketch!

Side-by-side images show a colored and an outlined cartoon octopus, with a hand drawing the outline. Text at the top reads How To Draw an Octopus, making it easy for beginners to follow along.

How To Draw an Octopus

Start with your Octopus Drawing Tutorial (at the bottom), a clean sheet of paper, and your pencil. 

Octopus’s Head

A simple black outline of an oval with inward curves on each side, resembling the basic shape of a head and neck, appears centered on a white background with a number 1 in the top left corner—perfect as step one in a How To Draw an Octopus guide.

The first step is to draw the head of your octopus. Start by drawing an upside-down U with a slightly curved line on each side of the head, and the curve slightly in.

Octopus Tentacles

Black outline drawing of a head and shoulders with no facial features or details, labeled with the number 2 in the top left corner, as seen in step-by-step guides like How To Draw an Octopus.

Start by drawing two tentacles out of the bottom of each side of the octopus.

Outline drawing of an octopus in progress, labeled with the number 3 in the corner; perfect for a How To Draw an Octopus guide, showing the main body with two tentacles in black and two more tentacles added in gray.

Next, add two more tentacles in the front. Make sure to round the ends of the tentacles.

Black and white outline drawing of an octopus with four arms in black and four in gray. The number 4 is boxed in the top left, perfect for a How To Draw an Octopus guide.

Add four more tentacles off the bottom of the octopus.

Black and white line drawing showing How To Draw an Octopus with three circles on its head, labeled 5 in the top left corner. The octopus has eight arms and sits inside a rectangular border.

The next step is to add three oval shapes to one side of the octopus head.

A simple black and white drawing shows how to draw an octopus, featuring six visible arms and three circular spots on its head, labeled with the number 6 in the corner.

Add some small circles to the four tentacles added last. This should give the appearance that they are the back tentacles.

Octopus Eyes

Black and white line drawing showing How To Draw an Octopus, featuring two large eyes, three small circles on its head, and round spots on its tentacles. The number 7 appears in the top left corner.

Add two large oval shapes to the bottom portion of the octopus head. Then add two circles inside the ovals for the actual eyeballs. Once you have all the lines of the octopus drawing how you want them, erase any extra lines and trace over your octopus outline with a dark pencil or black marker.

Cartoon illustration of a purple octopus with big eyes, orange-spotted tentacles, and three purple spots on its head. Inspired by How To Draw an Octopus, the number 8 appears in the top left corner.

The final step is to grab your crayons, colored pencils, or markers and start to color your octopus with different colors. Pick your favorite colors and make your octopus the star of the show!

Viola, you have the cutest octopus drawing ever!

Happy Drawing!

We highlighted this Animal Drawing along with some other fun kids' crafts in our Animal Craft and Animal Coloring Pages, as well as April Crafts in celebration of World Aquatic Animal Day on April 3rd, along with our Easy Crafts.

You also do not want to miss our Color Pages and Kids Printables, which are full of Crafts and Coloring Pages.

Drawings For Kids

Simple Drawings

Here are some other simple drawings that are full of all kinds of fun and HAPPY.

Two printed How To Draw an Octopus worksheets with numbered steps sit on a blue surface, surrounded by colored pencils, paper clips, a ruler, foam puzzle pieces, a calculator, and watercolor paints.

Download Free Printable Octopus Tutorial

Enter your email address in the form below and you'll be taken directly to the free downloadable Octopus Tutorial PDF file.

*For personal use only

Side-by-side images show a colored and an outlined cartoon octopus, with a hand drawing the outline. Text at the top reads How To Draw an Octopus, making it easy for beginners to follow along.

How To Draw an Octopus

Learn how to draw an octopus with easy step-by-step instructions that make this fun sea creature come to life! Perfect for beginners.
Author: Alli Ward
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
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Material

Tools

  • Pencil

Instructions

  • Start with printing out your Octopus Drawing Tutorial. Then grab a clean sheet of drawing paper and a pencil.
    Two printed How To Draw an Octopus worksheets with numbered steps sit on a blue surface, surrounded by colored pencils, paper clips, a ruler, foam puzzle pieces, a calculator, and watercolor paints.
  • The first step is to draw the head of your octopus. Start by drawing an upside-down U with a slightly curved line on each side of the head, and the curve slightly in.
    A simple black outline of an oval with inward curves on each side, resembling the basic shape of a head and neck, appears centered on a white background with a number 1 in the top left corner—perfect as step one in a How To Draw an Octopus guide.
  • Start by drawing two tentacles out of the bottom of each side of the octopus.
    Black outline drawing of a head and shoulders with no facial features or details, labeled with the number 2 in the top left corner, as seen in step-by-step guides like How To Draw an Octopus.
  • Next, add two more tentacles in the front. Make sure to round the ends of the tentacles.
    Outline drawing of an octopus in progress, labeled with the number 3 in the corner; perfect for a How To Draw an Octopus guide, showing the main body with two tentacles in black and two more tentacles added in gray.
  • Add four more tentacles off the bottom of the octopus.
    Black and white outline drawing of an octopus with four arms in black and four in gray. The number 4 is boxed in the top left, perfect for a How To Draw an Octopus guide.
  • The next step is to add three oval shapes to one side of the octopus head.
    Black and white line drawing showing How To Draw an Octopus with three circles on its head, labeled 5 in the top left corner. The octopus has eight arms and sits inside a rectangular border.
  • Add some small circles to the four tentacles added last. This should give the appearance that they are the back tentacles.
    A simple black and white drawing shows how to draw an octopus, featuring six visible arms and three circular spots on its head, labeled with the number 6 in the corner.
  • Add two large oval shapes to the bottom portion of the octopus head. Then add two circles inside the ovals for the actual eyeballs. Once you have all the lines of the octopus drawing how you want them, erase any extra lines and trace over your octopus outline with a dark pencil or black marker.
    Black and white line drawing showing How To Draw an Octopus, featuring two large eyes, three small circles on its head, and round spots on its tentacles. The number 7 appears in the top left corner.
  • The final step is to grab your crayons, colored pencils, or markers and start to color your octopus with different colors. Pick your favorite colors and make your octopus the star of the show! Viola, you have the cutest octopus drawing ever!
    Cartoon illustration of a purple octopus with big eyes, orange-spotted tentacles, and three purple spots on its head. Inspired by How To Draw an Octopus, the number 8 appears in the top left corner.
Course: How To Draw Tutorials

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A colorful guide titled “How To Draw an Octopus” shows a simple cartoon purple octopus with orange spots and big eyes on an orange and white background, with steps 1 and 2 outlined in boxes at the bottom.

More How To Draw Tutorials

About Alli

Discover a world of creativity and joy with Alli Ward, the creative mind behind Made with Happy. From DIY crafts to delicious recipes, Alli brings happiness to every project!