There's no one right way to draw a shark. Here are 34 ways artists on Magma drew theirs, and how you can learn from them.
In "shark!", a public Art Jam on Magma that 18 artists joined, everyone drew sharks on one shared canvas. One painted a shark seen from above, one a black-and-white shark with its jaws open, one a goblin shark with its long flat snout, others drew a sketchy shark in a few lines or a toothy one in brown ink. The shark with the swim ring further down (#69) is one of them.
Open the Art JamWork from a reference and paint the shark as light and shadow: dark grey on the back, a sharp line where it turns white underneath, and water that fades into deep blue around it.
The great white (#13) turns toward the viewer, and the whole drawing rests on one edge: slate grey on the back and fins, a jagged line, then white along the jaw and belly. Around it the blue gets darker toward the corners.
The great white (#6) is painted side-on next to a small brown rabbit standing on its back legs. The rabbit is barely as tall as the shark's head, so you feel how big the shark is.
In (#26) the sharks are seen from below, as dark shapes against sun rays coming through the water. No eyes, no teeth, no detail, and they still read as sharks from their fins and tails.
There are hundreds of kinds of shark, and each has one shape or pattern that gives it away: the whale shark's spots, the hammerhead's wide head, the tiger shark's stripes. Draw that one thing clearly.
The whale shark (#20) rises through dark blue water, its broad back covered in rows of small white dots. The wide, flat head and the huge tail are the only other things you need.
In (#72) a stocky great white, a hammerhead with its T-shaped head and a long-snouted shark swim side by side. They're painted the same way, so you can compare the shapes.
The tiger shark (#146) is a long grey body with a white belly, swimming low over a sandy floor with seaweed, small fish and a sea turtle above it. The artist wrote its name across the top.
Round everything off: a big head, a short body, small fins and big eyes. Keep a few small teeth or a smile so it still says shark.
The grey shark (#99) is almost all head: one big round shape, a large shiny eye and a small body that tapers into a curved tail. No teeth at all, and it still reads as a shark from the fins.
The tiny round shark (#35) sits in a boat made from a slice of melon, holding a fishing rod. The shark itself is just a soft blob with a fin and a pink cheek.
#41
#69
Simplify the shark into a few bold shapes and push one thing: a huge grin, googly eyes, glowing colors or chunky pixels.
The flat-color shark (#116) is mostly mouth: a wide pink opening with two rows of white triangle teeth, among bubbles and darker fish shapes in the background. Light blue on top, white underneath, no outlines.
In (#1) sharks circle a purple swirl, outlined in glowing blue and red. Their shapes are ordinary sharks; the colors make the drawing.
The lemon shark (#47) is drawn as a slice of lemon in the shape of a shark, with leaves for a tail. The artist's rough sketch of it sits in the corner.
A few lines are enough. Studies and quick sketches are how most artists learn the shark's long body, its fins and how it bends when it turns.
The pencil studies (#11) show great whites from the front and the side on one page. Each is built from the same few shapes: a cone for the snout, triangles for the fins and a crescent tail.
The great white (#129) is one clean black outline: pointed snout, a row of gill lines, the tall back fin and a crescent tail. Nothing else.
The fastest way to get better at sharks is to draw them next to other people. 4 of the 34 drawings on this page were made in Art Jams: shared canvases where everyone draws at the same time.
In the "shark!" jam, 18 artists drew sharks side by side on one canvas: painted, sketched, cute and toothy. Join a shark jam, watch how others handle the fins, the snout and the tail, or start your own and share the link.
No shark jam is live at the moment. Browse the open Art Jams, or start your own and share the link.
The basic shapes behind a swimming shark. Once they're down, pick a way from above and make it yours.
Counts from Magma's public Art Jams and posts, September 2026.
Open a free canvas in your browser. Nothing to install, and it works on Chromebooks too. Post it when you're done, and it could end up on this page.
Draw a shark nowThere's no single right way. Start with simple shapes (a long torpedo body, a pointed snout, a tall triangle fin on the back, two side fins and a crescent tail), then pick a style: realistic, a particular species like a whale shark or hammerhead, cute, cartoon or a quick sketch. The easiest way to improve is to draw alongside others in a shark Art Jam and see how they do it.
Make the head big and round, the body short and the fins small. Give it large eyes and a smile or a couple of small teeth. The round grey shark and the shark fishing from a melon boat on this page are good examples.
Start from the same torpedo body and change one thing. A whale shark gets a wide, flat head, a huge mouth at the front and rows of white spots. A hammerhead gets a head stretched sideways into a T, with an eye at each end.
Draw it on Magma and post it to your public feed. We pick drawings for this page from public posts, and every one is credited to its artist.
Draw your shark now
Draw a shark now
