Below you’ll find an easy step-by-step tutorial video for how to draw an Octopus and an Octopus Coloring Page.

Octopus Painting

This octopus drawing tutorial was designed to help students draw one with a more active pose than most tutorials do online. By starting with the two outside legs first, then one in the middle, then filling in the rest, students are much more likely to get legs that are all spread out. This is so much closer to what they look like in real life, and not that difficult if you take it one step at a time.

Classroom experience taught me that curves are some of the hardest shapes for new artists to draw, in the sense that it is initially tricky to see just how curvy something needs to be. For instance, a gentle slope is very different from say, a very curly head of hair, and it takes practice to see all those variations.

To learn more about these amazing creatures, there’s a great documentary on Netflix called “My Octopus Teacher”. It’s beautiful and fascinating, just be forewarned that there are some “circle of life” lessons, so preview it first to see if it’s right for your students. I almost reached for a tissue box while watching it myself!

Use the Button below to grab a PDF Tutorial

A step by step tutorial for how to draw an easy Octopus, also available as a printable.

How to Draw an Octopus PDF

Octopus Coloring Page

Open the Octopus Coloring Page

Materials for Octopus

Prang® Watercolor Pan Set

Ever the gold standard, these Prang paints offer smoothness, perfect blending, intense pigments and the best tone palette of its kind.

Watercolor Paper

Real watercolor paper always makes the watercolor paintings much more vibrant *affiliate link

Non-Spill Paint Cups

Train your students to return brushes to the cup they came from and you have an easy system with very little cleanup *affiliate link

Paint Brush

A good paint brush can make a big difference and this style with a sturdy rounded tip is my favorite. *affiliate link

Sharpie Marker

Sharpie Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black

Pencils

Ticonderoga Wood-Cased Pencils, Unsharpened, #2 HB Soft

Erasers

Step by Step Directions for Octopus Drawing

Time needed: 45 minutes

How to Draw an Octopus

Start the with the head shape.
Add two outside legs. Draw lightly as that middle line will be erased when you are done.
Draw a third leg in the middle.
Draw two legs in the space on the right.
Add another leg in the space on the left.
Draw two more legs in the background.
Erase the line, and add eyes and bumps on head.
Add circles to the legs and some bubbles in the water.
Trace the drawing with marker and color.