Plesiosaurus — Colored Example

Choosing basic colors and layering them

First, let's pick colors that look like a sea creature. Deep blue-greens (turquoise blue or cobalt blue) and calm grays (stone gray or indigo blue) are great choices. Here is a secret to make your coloring page look real with colored pencils: do not press hard at first. Start with light colors and layer them again and again. This is called "layering," and it gives your colors a deep look. For example, color light gray all over, put turquoise blue over it, and add darker indigo blue to the shadows. This makes a cool, realistic color!

How to draw the texture (scales)

To show off Plesiosaurus's detailed scale patterns, color them to make the bumpy scales pop! Instead of carefully filling in every single scale, layer a darker color into the grooves between them where shadows fall. Carefully add deep indigo blue or dark gray to shadowy spots—like the base of the neck, under the belly, and the underside of the flippers—to make the scales look nice and 3D. Do the same for the bumps on its back, and make the shadows stand out to give them a realistic texture!

3D look and shine

To show that it is wet and shiny in the water, you can leave bright spots white where the light hits. You can also blend light colors with a blender pencil. For the shiny parts (the curve of its back, the top of its neck, and the tops of its flippers), color them lightly or layer a white pencil over them to make them bright. On the other hand, if you color the darkest shadows extra dark (under its belly and under its flippers), it will look super real and 3D!

Adding the Background and Environment

To make your Plesiosaurus look even realer, let's add an underwater background! Use soft, layered blends of cobalt blue and turquoise blue to show the ocean with colored pencils. Around your Plesiosaurus, you can use a soft pencil touch to add little water bubbles and soft trails of flowing water from its flippers swimming. This will make it look super exciting!