Have Some Undersea Fun Making Ocean Thumbprint Animals

BySarah Nenni-Daher Updated:

These awesome ocean thumbprint animals were born of deep boredom on my kiddo’s part–but they’ve resulted in HOURS of fun! Learning to draw has never been so easy!

thumbprint ocean animals child drawing
These thumbprint animals are the easiest way to teach kids to draw animals–jungle animals and ocean animals.

Ocean Thumbprint Animals

Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, we have been hearing a lot of “I’m bored” lately. And, in conjunction with that, the kiddo has shown a significant interest in learning to draw. But she’s not looking to become Monet or something–just add to her sketchbook. So, we came up with these fun ocean thumbprint animals!

RELATED READING: JUNGLE THUMBPRINT ANIMALS

Octopus, jellyfish, crabs and turtles–they’re all adorable and fun when made from a fingerprint. If you’re ready to make a fun set of ocean fingerprint animal set, let’s get started.

how to teach a child to draw a jellyfish with thumbprints with text which reads make five thumbprint ocean animals
No Time to Make This Now? Pin it for Later

You’re busy, I get it. Pin this to your favorite easy kids activities board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready.

photo collage of how to teach kids to draw using thumbprints as a base with text which reads five thumbprint ocean animals

As an Amazon Associate, I can earn from qualifying purchases.

Tips to Make Fingerprint Animals

  • I don’t recommend using paint. Paint is just messy and, while fun, does not dry nearly quickly enough to get to the fun part of drawing. So, I say, just use stamp pads. And then you can just dab it off if you get too much on a thumb, on a paper towel or another piece of paper.
  • Be sure to let the ink dry all the way before attempting to draw all the other animal parts. The pen ink might not stick and you’ll be unimpressed with the results.
  • Take the time, while you’re letting your ink dry, to go ahead and decorate a full-on scene. ocean animals can’t just swim around in mid-air! Give ’em some water!
  • Want some great ideas you can make using these thumbprint animals as decorations? I’ve got you:
    • Father’s day pencil cup made from a tin can covered in paper with the fingerprint animals.
    • Cards to grandma and grandpa just to say “I miss you”.
    • Mason jars for the teacher or school librarian for teacher appreciation week!
how to make thumbprint ocean animals

How Do I Make Ocean Thumbprint Animals?

I’m so glad you asked. Below is our written tutorial.

Yield: Ocean Thumbprint Animals

Ocean Thumbprint Animals

how to make thumbprint ocean animals

I can't get over how fun it was to make this little undersea ocean thumbprint animals scene. I mean, all the fingerprint animals are fun but the thumbprint ocean animals are my favorite.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $1

Materials

  • Paper

Tools

  • Stamp Pad
  • Fine Point Marker

Instructions

Fish Instructions:

  1. Make a horizontal (sideways) thumbprint in the color of your choice.
  2. Add a squiggly fin to the top.
  3. Add a squiggly fin to the bottom.
  4. Add a larger fin to the back.
  5. Draw an eye and a smile. 
  6. Add small ‘

Crab Instructions: 

  1. Make a horizontal thumbprint.  This is your crab’s body.
  2. Using a red Sharpie, make four lines - two on each side of the body. 
  3. Add six legs.
  4. On top of the crab’s body, draw two lines. 
  5. At the end of the two lines you just drew, add circles.  These will be the crab’s eyes. 
  6. Draw the dots for the eyeballs.
  7. Using your pointer finger, make two red fingerprints, one on each side, on the two lines you drew in step 2.
  8. Add a smile for your crab. photo collage tutorial of how to teach a child to draw a crab with a thumbprint base

Jellyfish Instructions:

  1. Choose your colors of ink. 
  2. Make a horizontal thumbprint.
  3. Add your face - two eyes and a smile. 
  4. Draw a few lines coming off the thumbprint.
  5. In between the lines, draw squiggle lines. photo collage tutorial of how to teach children to draw a jellyfish with a thumbprint

Octopus Instructions:

  1. Begin with a vertical thumbprint.  This is the octopus’s head.
  2. Draw eight tentacles coming off of the octopus.  
  3. Add two big eyes.
  4. Draw a smile. photo collage tutorial of how to teach children to draw an octopus with a thumbprint

Turtle Instructions.

  1. Make a green thumbprint.
  2. Using a green sharpie, draw a green circle attached to the top of the thumbprint.  
  3. Draw the front two legs.  The front legs should be larger than the back legs. 
  4. Draw the back two legs.  Add a small pointy tail.
  5. Make your face on the turtle.
  6. Add six blob shapes to the shell.  how to draw a turtle with a thumbprint base

Notes

For more fun kids craft ideas, visit Ruffles and Rain Boots!

Did you make this?

Please leave a comment or share a photo and tag me @rufflesandrain

© Sarah Nenni-Daher
Category: Kid Crafts

Creativity, Delivered

Would you like inspiration delivered right to you each week? Sign up for the once-weekly Ruffles and Rain Boots newsletter and you’ll get that and more! Get access to the exclusive libraries full of free SVGs, hand lettering practice, and so much more.

More Easy Kids Activities You Might Like

  • Jungle Thumbprint Animal Ideas – These jungle animals are made easily the same way as our ocean animal thumbprint art!
  • Sun & Clouds Paper Craft – This is such an easy craft–just hand the kiddo the template and let them go!
  • Gnome Home – If your kiddo loves fairy houses, gnomes and all the whimsical fun they bring, you have to make this little gnome home with them! So easy!
  • Kid-Made Kite – You will definitely love getting outside to show the kiddo that their kite really can fly.
Please Save This to Pinterest

Your shares are how this site grows and I am sincerely grateful. Know a friend who’d like this? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite easy kids activities board on Pinterest.

photo collage of how to draw a jellyfish with a thumbprint with text which reads thumbprint ocean animals

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *