How to Draw an Octopus

An octopus crawls through the water using its eight arms. Picture this one scurrying near the ocean bottom, searching for a snack.

Learn how to draw this octopus.
Learn how to draw this octopus.

In this section, we’ll show you how to draw the above octopus. Either draw it freehand while looking at your computer monitor or print out this page to get a closer look at each step.

Follow the red lines in each illustration to learn exactly what to draw in that step. The lines drawn in previous steps are shown in gray. We’ll show you an illustration of each step and then give you a description of how to draw it.

Start by drawing shapes for the octopus's head and four of its arms.

Step 1: Draw an upside-down egg shape for the head. Add four curved shapes for some of the arms.

Next, draw four more arms and the octopus's facial features.

Step 2: Draw four more curved shapes for the rest of the arms. Add the eye shapes and pupils. Sketch a crescent shape for the mouth.

Draw detail lines for the octopus's eyes and mouth, and spots on its arms and head.

Step 3: Add some detail lines around the eyes and mouth. Finish this step by drawing some round spots all over the arms and head.

Using a felt-tip pen, trace the lines you want to keep in the octopus drawing.

Step 4: Use a felt-tip pen to trace the lines you want to keep, and erase the extra pencil lines.

Add some color to your finished drawing with paints, crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Another animal that starts with the letter O is next. Read on to find out how to draw an ostrich.

Want to expand your drawing skills? See: