How To Draw A Cartoon Tortoise

How to Draw a Cartoon Turtle

Drawing a turtle that looks a little more round and dimensional, and not so flat, can happen by simply changing the point of view. Instead of a profile view, try a view from the front, so students can see how the shell wraps up and over the neck. That's all it takes to make a big difference in the results.

Coloring Tip: Look for a couple of shades of green to complete this drawing, if possible. The green body needs to look different than the grass color. If that's not possible, then use shading (changing the pressure) to make them stand out from each other.

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Materials for How to Draw a Cartoon Turtle

Pencil. The Ticonderoga brand are the most reliable, make nice dark lines when you need them, and are the easiest to erase. Buying the pre-sharpened ones will save busy teachers a lot of time.

Eraser. Large ones you can hold in your hand do a much better job than just the pencil tip erasers, especially when erasing leftover pencil lines after tracing.

Black Sharpie Marker. These fine point permanent marker pens make nice black outlines, have a good tip for coloring, and never bleed when they get wet. Use them with good ventilation and add extra paper underneath to protect your tables.

Prang Crayons. These are a bit softer than other crayons so they sometimes look like oil pastels. They also have a some nice brown shades that Crayola does not have unless you buy their larger boxes.

Crayola Crayons. The reliable brand that always works well. The 24 pack has some of my favorite golden orange and yellow colors that seem a bit richer and warmer than the ones Prang has.